 Welcome to Affector from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. This is the audio edition of EFF's email newsletter geared towards keeping you on the bleeding edge of your digital rights. Check the show notes for links to all of our stories. This is Affector, Volume 33, Issue 6, titled, Why EFF Flew a Plane Over Apple's Headquarters. This issue was published on Thursday, September 23rd, 2021, and I'm your host, member outreach assistant, Christian Romero. Let's start with some top features. First up, let's answer the question, why EFF Flew a Plane Over Apple's Headquarters? In August, Apple announced that it would soon install photo and message scanning software in every device. These features would open a back door to increased surveillance and censorship around the world, giving ammunition to authoritarian governments wishing to expand surveillance and are the first steps towards truly ending secure messaging for Apple's users. Despite their public outcry and more than 60,000 signatures in a petition demanding Apple cancel its plans, the company has delayed the features while it conducts more research. We're winning, but this delay may well be a diversionary tactic. Every September, Apple holds one of its big product announcement events, where executives detailed new devices and features coming out. Apple likely didn't want concerns about the phone scanning features to steal the spotlight. Now we can't let Apple's disastrous phone scanning idea fade into the background only to be announced with minimal changes down the road. Along with protests at Apple stores last week demanding the company keep its promises, EFF turned to an old school messaging system during the company's hashtag Apple event, aerial advertising. Now let's go through some updates. First up, HTTPS is actually everywhere. Once we started offering HTTPS everywhere, the battle to encrypt the web has made leaps and bounds. What was once a challenging technical argument is now a mainstream standard offered on most web pages. Follow these steps to turn on native HTTPS only features in Firefox, Chrome, Edge and Safari and celebrate with us that HTTPS is truly everywhere for users. Next, what's up with WhatsApp encrypted backups? WhatsApp is rolling out an option for users to encrypt their message backups and it is a big win for privacy and security. Next, encryption backups should become the default for all users, not just an option. Next, the catalog of carceral surveillance, exploring the future of incarceration technology. Prison technology and telecom companies such as Securus and Global Tellink are already notorious for their ongoing efforts to extract every last penny from incarcerated people and in the process destroying any shreds of privacy they have left. By exposing some of the horrifying technologies that Securus and Global Tellink have envisioned in their patents, our hope is that all of these ideas never move from concept to reality and that they remain visible only in obscure patent documents. Next, lessons from history, Afghanistan and the dangerous afterlives of identifying data. The history of this world is filled with stories of information, collected responsibly or not, with intended uses that were benevolent or not, having long afterlives. For two decades, the United States spearheaded the collection of information on the people of Afghanistan, both for commonplace bureaucratic reasons like payroll and employment data and in the massive databases of biometric material accessible through devices called Hyde. With the Taliban retaking control of the nation, reporting about the Hyde program prompted fears that the equipment could be seized and used to identify and target vulnerable people. Next, stop military surveillance drones from coming home. The Department of Defense's 1033 program has already placed $7.4 billion in military equipment with police departments since 1990. Congress should curtail the amount of dangerous military equipment, including surveillance drones, that could be transferred to local and state law enforcement agencies. Next, geofence warrants, threatens civil liberties and free speech rights in Kenosha and nationwide. Following the police shooting of Jacob Blake on August 23, 2020, hundreds of protesters marched on the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms used a series of geofence warrants to force Google to hand over data on people who were in the vicinity of, but potentially as far as a football field away from, property damage incidents. These warrants, which police are increasingly using across the country, threaten the right to protest and violate the Fourth Amendment. The other 20-year anniversary, freedom and surveillance post 9-11. The 20th anniversary of the attacks on September 11th are a good time to reflect on the world we've built since then. Those attacks cause incalculable heartbreak, anger, and fear. But by now it is clear that far too many things that were put in place in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, especially in areas of surveillance and government secrecy, are deeply problematic for our democracy, privacy, and fairness. Next, the New Texas Abortion Law is likely to unleash a torrent of lawsuits against online education, advocacy, and other speech. In addition to the drastic restrictions it places on women's reproductive and medical care rights, the New Texas Abortion Law, SB 8, will have devastating effects on online speech. This law creates a cadre of bounty hunters who can use the courts to punish and silence anyone whose online advocacy, education, and other speech about abortion laws draws their ire. And for our last update, Facebook's secret war on switching costs. Facebook is full of people whose company you enjoy, but if you don't like its ads, its surveillance, its deceptive practices, or its content moderation policies, why not leave Facebook and find a better platform or run your own? While continuing to send and receive messages from the communities, friends, and customers who haven't left Facebook yet. The short answer is, it's because you can't. Next, let's go through some events. First up, digital sanctuary cities, surveillance, immigration, and protecting Black descent. Join STOP, a local organization in the Electronic Frontier Alliance, on September 29th at 3pm pacific time, to learn about the variety of individual surveillance technologies used by the Department of Homeland Security Agencies. Next up, broadband community summit 2021. Bills, bills, bills, and getting them passed. EFF's legislative council, Ernesto Falcon, will be speaking at the broadband community summit on September 29th at 10.30am pacific time. The summit is the leading event for community leaders, multi-family property owners, and network builders, and employers interested in building, managing, marketing, and monetizing of high-speed broadband technologies and services. Last up, we've got some mini-links. First, how the NYPD is using post-911 tools on everyday New Yorkers. This one comes from the New York Times. NYPD used face surveillance to identify a speaker at a protest for Black lives, then sent dozens of armed officers to arrest him at his home. Police must stop using face surveillance. Next, opinion. We built a system like apples to flag child sexual abuse material, and concluded the tech is dangerous. This one's from the Washington Post. The former FCC chief technologist built a scanning system like apples, but then, quote, we warned them against our own system design. End quote. And finally, how AI-powered tech landed man in jail with scant evidence. This one's from AP News. Shot spotter is inaccurate. Shot spotter is too secretive. Shot spotter changes findings that support police claims. Shot spotter enables police to arrest people for scant evidence. Shot spotter is dangerous. Shot spotter does not work. And that's it. We made it to the end. Thanks for listening. If you like what you're hearing, be sure to sign up for the email version of Effector, which includes links to in-depth coverage of these stories and more. See past issues and subscribe at EFF.org slash Effector. That's EFF.org slash EFF ECTOR. Before we end this issue of the newsletter, I just want to let you know that EFF is a member-supported non-profit organization, and you can help us protect digital privacy, security, and free expression for everyone. Donate to EFF today, and even grab a bit of gear by heading over to EFF.org slash Effect. That's EFF.org slash EFF ECT. You can become a member for as little as $25, or even sign up as a monthly or annual donor. Thank you for your support, and I hope you'll join us for the next issue of Effector.