Kudos to Zack - this is an in-the-weeds but really important detail that’s gotten misunderstood or just been ignored by most of the news coverage (and Members of Congress!) on FISA 702

At that time, 70% of Congressional Democrats voted to renew the government's warrantless surveillance powers of Americans under 2024, ignoring our warnings that Biden wouldn't be president forever. Now, Raskin and Lieu and other folks are back on the right side, but with damaged credibility.

These surveillance systems were largely set up under Bush & Cheney, with some senior Democrats' connivance. Democrats started off on our privacy scorecard with about 1/3 of Democrats voting well. That persisted till the FISA renewal of 2024, when Biden pressed Congress hard for renewal w/o reforms.

...giving privacy-minded Republicans cover because he thought FISA sucked.

But a keynote of Trump 2.0 has been systematic privacy violations (DOGE, ICE, Palantir, FISA reversal), so Republicans' scores are about to plunge, soon as DTF updates its data for year 1 of Trump 2.0.

Decide The Future Find out how your legislators have voted on surveillance and the Fourth Amendment.

www.decidethefuture.org tracks the votes of Members of Congress, and this isn't quite right.

When the site began, in 2013, about 1/6 of Republicans generally voted well on privacy issues. As of 2024, that had risen to about 1/2. Trump's fulminations on FISA were part of that...

In a dramatic scene that unfolded in the wee hours this morning, members of the House defeated a ploy by the administration and Speaker Johnson to ram through a 5-year reauthorization of FISA Section 702. Here’s what happened, and what will/should happen next. 1/20

No, the 20 votes came from hardline Freedom Caucus-type Republicans in safe Republican districts

Here's the full takedown of Johnson's and House GOP leadership's fake warrant ploy, from @lizagoitein.bsky.social and @hannahajames.bsky.social at the @brennancenter.org. #FISA #Section702 #FakeWarrant #VoteNO @housedemocrats.bsky.social

As @wyden.senate.gov would tell you -- with experts at @brennancenter.org @cdt.org @demandprogress.bsky.social @pogo.org and @aclu.org -- Mike Johnson's "deal" actually broadens the use of 702 data for standard criminal cases, and does nothing to stop backdoor searches. It's a fake warrant. Vote NO.

Vote NO on Mike Johnson's fake warrant for FISA 702, @housedemocrats.bsky.social @hakeem-jeffries.bsky.social @aguilar.house.gov @usprogressives.bsky.social.

As @raskin.house.gov & @repmcgovern.bsky.social said on the Floor, this midnight-hour nonsense adds no protections and makes 702 worse.

Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights are not for sale The FBI has admitted to purchasing commercially available data to track Americans’ movements and location histories, and Congress has the opportunity to close the data broker loophole and ren…

Conservative Ohio congressman Warren Davidson with an important op-ed in @thehill.com about the need to reform Section 702 if Congress reauthorizes it, and to close the loophole that lets law enforcement skirt your Fourth Amendment rights with cash.
thehill.com/opinion/cong...

Thank you @masspirates.bsky.social for your help and publicity!

Join us to protest Rep. Katherine Clark's silence on President Trump's AI-driven warrantless surveillance of Americans, at her office in Malden on Wednesday at 4pm!

warrantless.org/clark-protest/

Jerome County sheriff used Flock cameras to search for wife’s vehicle, documents show Documents obtained by KMVT revealed the sheriff was under investigation leading up to his announcement.

Another story on abuse of mass #surveillance data! 😩

"in 'one month‘s time,' the sheriff queried his wife’s license plate number approximately 152 times. His stated purpose was to assess the system’s reliability before a contract decision."

Ban ALPRs! 🚫

#deflock #alpr

⚠️ "Every city council gets the same pitch.

1. Only your agency controls your data
2. Federal agencies do not have direct access
3. Nobody from Flock is accessing your footage

None survive the paperwork.

The reality is that non-sworn city staff have access. As do Flock employees. As does the FBI."

Your data will be used against you (and be wrong).

Caught by Your Own Devices: The Rise of Sensorveillance Your car just called the cops on you. Find out how smart tech is changing the nature of surveillance.

#BookSky and #BlueSky family interested “Your Data Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance” (released yesterday), here is a free excerpt from the book. @spectrum.ieee.org

spectrum.ieee.org/digital-surv...

No To Mass Government Surveillance! Cosponsor PLEWSA/GSRA! Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to ram through a reauthorization of the government's powers under FISA to spy on US persons' communications without a warrant, and without suspicion of any of us being i...

Write your Congressmember to say No To Mass Government Surveillance! Cosponsor PLEWSA/GSRA!. Write one here: actionnetwork.org/letters/no-t...

Mass Surveillance EXPOSED as Plate Trackers Spread Nationwide YouTube video by Legal AF

A great rundown from @chadmarlow.bsky.social

"maybe they need to think about whether or not we should actually be keeping a location dossier on every single person in the country, because any one of us *could* turn out to be a criminal? That seems like a decidedly un-American perspective"

#deflock

Somerville could have skipped these police grants that come with strings attached - Cambridge | Somerville Independent The Somerville City Council accepted nearly $200,000 for the police department on Thursday. The debate was fractious, with stress spilling over from a chaotic Finance Committee meeting on Tuesday into...

My latest for the @csindie.bsky.social:

Some grants are more trouble than they are worth, and overtime is a dumb way to provide core services.

csindie.com/somerville-c...

"There is no mechanism to discover which agencies are using what custom hotlists, or for a person to discover whether they are on a custom hotlist, to challenge their inclusion, or to request removal. There is no judicial review, no expiration requirement, and no independent audit."

#deflock #alpr

US Lawmakers Move to Kill the FBI’s Warrantless Wiretap Access A bipartisan bill would force the FBI to get a warrant to read Americans’ messages and ban the federal purchase of commercial data on US residents ahead of a critical April deadline.

NEW: A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill requiring warrants for FBI searches of Americans' communications under FISA, aligning federal law w/ a 2025 ruling that found the practice unconstitutional.

It would also ban the government from buying Americans' private data from data brokers.

🔴 Surviving Surveillance Livestream with Stephen Perez of Restore The Fourth (RT4) - 3/14 @ 4pm ET

Section 702 is the backdoor used to bypass your Fourth Amendment rights. Join us and Stephen Perez from Restore The Fourth to learn how to fight back. 🛡️

Link in the first reply! 🔗

City hasn't disclosed BPD's communications with feds Three Boston city councillors last week filed formal requests for information from the Boston Police Department about its collaboration and information sharing with federal law enforcement.

Boston PD's general attitude to public records requests, whether filed by us or by members of the City Council, is to ignore them, which is a hell of an attitude to the law for a "law enforcement agency."

flipsidenews.net/city-hasnt-d...

First Came the Pink Paint, Then Came Questions About Surveillance - The New Pine Plains Herald Markings for automatic license-plate reader cameras unsettled Pine Plains residents and officials, who said no contract had been granted to Flock Safety, a multibillion-dollar surveillance company.

A victory for community vigilance and local journalism over an attempt to sneakily install dragnet #surveillance infrastructure in a small town! 🏆

There are shorter summaries, but these are the original local reporting and are well worth the time to read.

#deflock #alpr

1/4

The vote for helmets, shields, and batons passes with only Councilor Scott opposed.

The vote for surveillance software passes with (I think) only Councilor Scott opposed.

The vote on the fucking basketball game is six to five.

The cops get their overtime for basketball.

35/?

If you're in Somerville, and want to let the City Council know you oppose these technologies, let the City Council know at publiccomments@somervillema.gov.

You'll be glad you did!

#somerville #fourthamendment #surveillance #privacy

We filed comments to Somerville City Council too on their 2026 Annual Surveillance Report, that seeks reauthorization of around 13 surveillance techs.

We object to 7: GrayKey, ShotSpotter, Pole cameras, Safety Stick, and various CCTV cameras (Fire Station/GLX/DHS)

warrantless.org/wp-content/u...

Read the comments here, and if you're in Cambridge, email CityCouncil@CambridgeMA.gov to let them know your opinion. @councilloralzubi.bsky.social's Public Safety Committee will hold a standalone hearing on ShotSpotter & review the whole Report before the end of May

warrantless.org/wp-content/u...

We filed comments to the Cambridge City Council on the 2026 Annual Surveillance Report, that seeks authorization of around 75 surveillance technologies.

We object to 8: ALPR, ShotSpotter, CCTV at Central Sq, BRIC, Magnet Forensics, Covert Cameras, police use of Sprout Social, & remote meter readers