We’re Fighting Mass Surveillance Tech—and Winning

EFF is on the front lines of the fight against tech-enabled tyranny, but we aren’t alone. Our team depends on your help to fight back against the surveillance state.

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People around the world are pushing back against the mass surveillance that undermines privacy and free expression for everyone. You can help during EFF’s spring membership drive.

One of the people who joined the fight for digital rights is EFF client Will Freeman. Will created the website DeFlock.me to reveal the dangers of automated license plate readers (ALPRs)—cameras that collect location data on every vehicle they see and upload that to a massive nationwide police database. Deflock.me turns the tables by enlisting ordinary people to track the locations of tens of thousands of ALPR cameras.

But when the police spy-tech company Flock Safety went after Will’s website with legal threats citing trademark law, he saw it for what it was: an attempt to silence critics and dim the light on mass surveillance.

The company will try everything it can to downplay the criticism, but EFF will be right there demanding accountability.

“I was totally unprepared to receive a cease & desist letter. I can see how most people would be bullied into submission by a threat like that. That’s when I remembered Dave Maass from the EFF introduced himself via email several weeks before, so I reached out for help,” Freeman says.

And that’s when EFF stepped in. Recognizing DeFlock.me as a quintessential expression of grassroots advocacy and a form of criticism protected by the U.S. First Amendment, EFF’s lawyers helped Will fight back. And the Big Surveillance Tech flinched.

But these battles against Flock’s Spying tools rage on. In cities around the country, privacy advocates are pressuring officials to block or end contracts for ALPRs—and winning. The company will try everything it can to downplay the criticism, but EFF will be right there demanding accountability.

“I’m really grateful the EFF was able to step in and help. Without them, free speech would be only for those wealthy enough to defend themselves against billion dollar companies. We’ve grown a lot since then and are expanding our efforts to expose and push back against mass surveillance on our streets,” Freeman says.

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