first amendment
Senators Continue to Push Legislation Curbing Facial Recognition Use By Federal and State Governments
Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey has formally reintroduced his “Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act”. Initially debuted in the Senate chambers in 2021, Markey has been persistent in reintroducing it.
If passed, the bill would be a first for regulating … Read more »
Report On Leak Investigation By CBP Reveals Unrestricted Surveillance Powers
According to an investigation by Yahoo News, a little-known division of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was found to regularly snoop on journalists, nonprofit workers, and even members of Congress using CBP’s vast arsenal of surveillance tools. Moreover, … Read more »
Research Shows Poor Americans More Severely Harmed By Surveillance
According to a piece in The New York Times, a recent study by the Pew Research Center revealed that Americans in lower income groups confront greater privacy and security concerns, but enjoy less access to means of addressing them… Read more »
Proposed Amendment Would Place Chicago Under Gaze of Colossal Facial Recognition Surveillance Network
According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a CCDBR partner organization through its Electronic Frontier Alliance, city officials are considering a change to the municipal code that would allow private businesses in Chicago to deploy facial recognition software as part of … Read more »
Defending Rights and Dissent Releases Resources Equipping Activists to Protect Free Speech Rights
Defending Rights and Dissent, a partner organization affiliated with the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights, has released a collection of online resources for instructing activists how to preserve their right to peaceful protest. The resources, known collectively … Read more »
In First Amendment Victory, Federal Prosecutors Drop Charges Against Remaining Trump Inauguration Protesters
According to a new article by The Guardian, last week federal prosecutors dropped charges on the last 39 demonstrators participating in a Washington, DC Inauguration Day protest who were awaiting trial on felony rioting charges, among other alleged offenses. The … Read more »
Justice Department Steps Up Assault on Press Freedom with Records Request Into New York Times Journalist
A new article from the New York Times reports that the Department of Justice sought, and was granted, communications records for a journalist as part of an investigation into a former Senate Intelligence Committee staffer who allegedly acted as a … Read more »
More Trump Inauguration Protester Prosecutions Dropped as Judge Rules Government Suppressed Evidence
Al Jazeera reports that US attorneys prosecuting a group of protesters at a Washington, DC Inauguration Day demonstration (known as J20) for felony rioting charges have dropped charges against a new group of defendants after a judge ruled that the … Read more »
Police Persecute Black Activist Attacked by White Supremacists
According to a new article from The Guardian, a journalist stabbed by white supremacists while chronicling counter-protesters’ presence was subsequently charged for rioting and assault, among other offenses. Cedric O’Bannon, an activist and journalist, was filming counter-protesters opposing a Neo-Nazi … Read more »
Illinois Bill Authorizing Police to Fly Facial Recognition-Equipped Drones Over Protests Falters in House, For Now
Chicago Tribune reports that the Illinois House has tabled a bill that would allow law enforcement across the state to deploy drones armed with facial recognition technology over large public demonstrations. The bill (SB 2562), which was … Read more »
