A new report is alarming about tracking technology that could be used to target pregnant women if and when Roe v. Is reversed. Wade.

Because of the leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court stating that at least five justices plan to overturn the important abortion decision, New York lawmakers have passed bills to protect patients and providers. abortion, and to limit the power of other states to extradite people seeking abortion in New York.

Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project and co-author of the report, said search-engine tools such as geofencing and keyword warrants are already being used to track pregnant women, and can be scaled up without Roe.

“All the apps on our phone that collect our data are a court order away from being a policing tool,” Fox Cahn asserted. “And while that has been the reality for countless Americans for years, that will be a life -changing threat for pregnant people in America.”

The report pointed to a case in Mississippi where a woman’s search history was used to charge her with second-degree murder after a miscarriage. Fox Cahn urged lawmakers to implement privacy protections to complement abortion protections. He noted that the ban on geofence warrants is pending in the Legislature.

Fox Cahn stressed that even if the bill is approved to stop the extraditions of abortion patients in New York, law enforcement agencies will still be able to share surveillance data with other jurisdictions.

“As we’ve seen over the years that even though we claim to be a sanctuary city in New York City, our police data is still being used to target our undocumented neighbors,” Fox Cahn pointed out.

A group of 42 lawmakers last month signed a letter to Google’s CEO, asking the company to stop collecting and maintaining location data from its users.

Fox Cahn added that this is just the latest warning since 9/11 of surveillance tools being installed in the name of national security, posing threats to personal privacy.

“I think it’s really going to be an inflection point in the history of surveillance in America,” Fox Cahn said. “Because I think we can no longer have a denial about how dangerous these tracking technologies are.”

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By Halena Sepulveda of Kent State University
Broadcast version by Mary Schuermann reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration.

A bill currently being passed by the Ohio legislature could increase penalties for people arrested while protesting in the state.

Ohio House Bill 109 would create three new felony charges of “riot assault,” “riot vandalism” and “bias motivated intimidation.” These cases are fifth-degree felonies, and can be elevated to third-degree felonies if the suspected assault would result in injury to a law enforcement officer.

The first two cases will intensify penalties for offenses such as rioting and misconduct. “Bias motivated intimidation,” a new charge, would make it a felony to cause harm to a person or their property because of their status as a first responder.

The law is one of several bills written in response to protests that took place in the summer of 2020. It saw significant partisan support from Ohio’s Republican State Representatives after it was introduced by major sponsors Reps. Sarah Carruthers (R-Hamilton) and Rep. Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison) in February.

“As a former Cincinnati Police officer, this bill is close to home,” Representative Abrams said via email. In 2001, he served as a member of the 15-official response team that responded to the civil unrest.

“The violent actions of some bad actors put everyone at risk – peaceful protesters, community members, and law enforcement,” Abrams wrote. “HB 109 ensures that individuals who seek to harm others during these mass gatherings are held accountable.”

Opponents of the bill argue that it threatens the First Amendment rights of Ohioan. Gary Daniels, chief lobbyist for the Ohio ACLU, said organizations planning or promoting protests and demonstrations could be at risk.

If violence at any level breaks out during a protest, the organization promoting or planning the event may be in violation of HB 109 and Ohio’s corrupt activity laws, which involve engaging or attempting to engage in harassment. behavior defined as “racketing activity”

“In all the years I’ve been doing this work, I haven’t seen a bill as bad as this about free speech rights,” Daniels said.

Ohio is currently in the second year of its two -year legislative session, which will end in December 2022. House Bill 109 has passed the Ohio House of Representatives and is awaiting a decision from the Senate. If the Senate approves the bill, it will go to Gov. Mike DeWine for signature or veto.

The legislature will hold for recess in early June and reconvene in November.

“I am working with my colleagues in the Ohio Senate and across the aisle to pass this bill and have high hopes that HB 109 will be signed into law by the end of the year,” Abrams said via email.

Ohio defines riot as a group of four or more people who gather and violate codes of misconduct, seeking to commit a misdemeanor or prevent a public official from doing their job.

Organizations like the ACLU of Ohio are concerned about what the passage of HB 109 would mean for future protests and the right for Ohioan to assemble for purposes they care about.

“I think the result for so many people is they just stop talking, stop participating, stop planning, stop showing up,” Daniels said.

This collaboration was made in conjunction with Public Interest Media and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.

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The new congressional map – made by Gov. Ron DeSantis and approved by the Republican -controlled Florida Legislature last month, scattered more than 370,000 Black voters from the ability to choose their representative – and a circuit judge said that was unconstitutional.

The decision, which is expected to be appealed, came as no surprise to observers including those who say they tried to work on a more equitably drawn map.

State Representative Kelly Skidmore – D -Boca Raton – is a senior member of the House Congressional Redistricting Subcommittee.

“The court recognized that this was a reduction in Black representation in Congress,” Skidmore said, “and there was a violation of the U.S. Constitution and our Fair Districts Amendment.”

The challenge focused on a district in north Florida now held by Rep. Al Lawson – D -Tallahasse. The district runs from Jacksonville west more than 200 miles to Gadsden County and nearly half of its population is Black.

Lawson said he was pleased with the decision, while the DeSantis administration issued a statement vowing to appeal.

Skidmore said everyone knows what DeSantis is proposing is unconstitutional.

He said he warned his colleagues during the debate but eventually the Republican leadership in both the House and Senate bowed and refused to challenge the governor with a new map of their own after he vetoed them.

“When I went to school, you didn’t get to mark your own work,” Skidmore said, “You weren’t able to draw the map and then approve the map you drew. That’s not what the government should do. Work. There are no checks and balances in that process. “

DeSantis ’move prompted a majority of Black lawmakers to stage a sit-in protest during voting for the maps.

The order from the judge expected today or Friday is likely to replace the DeSantis map with one of two put out by the Legislature in the bill the governor received in March.

Judge Layne Smith said he plans to follow the state constitution in his decision. The legend is expected to reach the conservative-leaning Florida Supreme Court.

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As the Minnesota Legislature considers new police reform proposals, the discussions match results from the Minneapolis Police Department’s state investigation. Groups advocating change say a meaningful response is needed.

Last week, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced that Minneapolis police were engaging in a pattern of racial discrimination that violates state law.

The investigation began after the murder of George Floyd. Johnathon McClellan-president of the Minnesota Justice Coalition-said his group is not anti-police, but he hopes the findings will convince those skeptical of reform to reconsider their stance.

“If the protests are not enough for you,” McClellan said, “if the deaths of George Floyd and Daunte Wright or Winston Smith are not enough for you, we hope the report is enough for you to look at it. . “

His group supports the law that sets deadlines for police to release body-camera footage. Another plan would extend civil law limits on deadly force cases.

Those are part of the House’s larger public safety plan. However, Senate leaders stressed other public safety priorities, including the recruitment of police officers.

In Minneapolis, accountability groups said community voices should be included as the state works with the city on a consent mandate to establish changes. For Minnesotans elsewhere, McClellan said he hopes the report resonates with them, even if they haven’t been victimized by police.

“It should ask all of us what we believe and what our role is, in a society and as a people,” McClellan said.

The Minnesota Justice Coalition has asked federal officials for investigations into the practices of other agencies, including the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The group suspects that questionable procedures have been brought to other jurisdictions, but no decision has yet been made to authorize those investigations.

Separately, the U.S. Justice Department is continuing its own review of the MPD after the assassination of George Floyd.

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