Thread by @jdp23

Wow. @djenne got the #ColorOfSurveillance conference of to such a powerful start. Great schedulingn by the organizers!

And @jevanhutson is doing some live-tweeting at

https://twitter.com/jevanhutson/status/1539659254734344192

Also @GeorgetownCPT is live-tweeting as well. Here's their first thread, with Korica Simon's discussion of eugenics and forced sterilization....

https://twitter.com/GeorgetownCPT/status/1539657038883454976

And @KendraSerra's #ColorOfSurveillance discussion of LGBTQ+ perspectives.

https://twitter.com/GeorgetownCPT/status/1539661244436688898

@lesliereagan8 (author of "When Abortion Was a Crime") discusses how 1900s law required private actors -- doctors, hospitals -- to cooperate with coroners and police in the surveillance of women. #ColorOfSurveillance

ucpress.edu/book/978052038…

"All of these we can expect in the future. And things will be worse." -- @lesliereagan8 at #ColorOfSurveillance

@ReproRose of @JanesDueProcess describes what happens to a young person seeking abortion care in a state like Texas. Abortion rates dropped by 75% for teens in Texas after the law went into effect. #ColorOfSurveillance

All communications are encrypted, phone numbers aren't shown -- even when people are just seeking information. They worked with Digital Defense Fund on using technology to protect confidentiality. #ColorOfSurveillance

@ReproRose notes the problems with the private enforcement section of Texas' SB-8 -- clinics closing for fear of civil lawsuits.

@lesliereagan8: "It's horrible." Notes pressures on staff as well as doctors, civil duty to report and surveill and judge. #ColorOfSurveillance

@ReproRose @LeslieReagan8

https://twitter.com/KendraSerra/status/1539669740217458688

@ReproRose talks about the importance of centering people having abortions in advocacy and activism, the important role of @AbortionStories. #ColorOfSurveillance

@lesliereagan8 Ends on a (relatively) hopeful note. Talks about the long history of resistance. Despite the horrible effects of criminalizing abortion, "These laws are not going to work. They never have worked." #ColorOfSurveillance

https://twitter.com/MistressBlunt/status/1539672351444553729

https://twitter.com/GeorgetownCPT/status/1539676208035667969

Some great perspectives from @Cyn_K on intersections between reproductive justice and Indigenous rights and sovereignty. @GeorgetownCPT has some good links here.

https://twitter.com/GeorgetownCPT/status/1539678850225000448

Khiara M. Bridges notes that a big change since 1970 (when Roe legalized abortion) is the increase in the number of incarcerated people -- including punishing pregnant people (especially Black women) for endangering their foetuses. #ColorOfSurveillance

Khiara M. Bridges "Roe's demise creates circumstances under which Black people will be over-represented on those who are exposed to prosecution for abortions."

Dr. Bridges is author of "Critical Race Theory: A Primer"

faculty.westacademic.com/Book/Detail?id…

Kate from Digital Defense Fund, who provides digital security for the abortion access movement, talks about the importance of perspectives like Khiara's to identify the surveillance systems that actually put people at risk (and avoid "shiny object syndrome") #ColorOfSurveillance

Once people are reported for potentially seeking abortions, "mobile forensic extraction" -- seizing devices and extracting information like texts and google searches -- is frequently the next step. #ColorOfSurveillance

Tech people frequently try to come up with perfect technology stacks that keep abortions completely secret, but that's not realistic. People may not know that abortion is criminalized when they search for info. Many protections break down when targeted by law enforcement

@KateRoseBee makes a great point: don't surrender to the nihilism! We have a right to communicate with peopel we trust and get information. Inspired by "Our Data Bodies" project. #ColorOfSurveillance

odbproject.org

@KateRoseBee: Digital autonomy and bodily autonomy are fundamentally linked. We won't get one without the other! 💯

Digital Defense Fund has some great resources on their site, including this Guide to Abortion Privacy #ColorOfSurveillance

digitaldefensefund.org/ddf-guides/abo…

Great question from @KendraSerra on data collection by governments, based on Dr. Bridges' "Reproducing Race" discussion of data collection about pregnant people.

Dr. Bridges: "Even standard medical information is now incriminating" #ColorOfSurveillance

ucpress.edu/book/978052026…

Dr. Bridges notes that HIPAA has an exception for law enforcement purposes. "That's terrifying!" But people are used to sharing this information.

@KateRoseBee notes that the idea of disclosing information is normalized. #ColorOfSurveillance

@Cyn_K has a great thread on this segment with some very complementary tweets.

https://twitter.com/Cyn_K/status/1539683132642689026

@KateRoseBee also brings up the role of contractors who hold a lot of information on behalf of governent.

Dr. Bridges: "When Kate talked about punishing people for withholding information, sirens went off in my head."

#ColorOfSurveillance

When people withhold information from (for examples) social workers, that implies they're trying to hide something -- and makes them the subject of an investigation. "Damned if you do, damned if you don't." #ColorOfSurveillance

Closing again on a non-nihilist note, what gives people hope?

Dr. Bridges: People insisting on their autonomy is an act of resistance, it should be acknowledged. And we're phrasing the discussion in terms of Reproductive Justice - not just abortion. #ColorOfSurveillance

@KateRoseBee the people who inspire me the most are the people who are helping abortion seekers, working to provide funds, the community of storytellers. The culture of security is phenomenal, broad community of people saying "you don't have to share that" #ColorOfSurveillance

@KateRoseBee picture channels with disappearing messages, like Signal, makes it easier to speak freely. Also broader context: working with trans people, sex workers ... "I can see the pathways for bodily autonomy coming together as a movement." #ColorOfSurveillance

After an outstanding segment of reflections, @KendraSerra wraps things up, stressing the "through line" of eugenics, echoing Dr. Bridges' focus Reproductive Justice. #ColorOfSurveillance

@KendraSerra highlights the role of non-governmental, non-police parties as the ones who set off the chain -- often in response to pressure to share information.

What does it mean to have privilege to refuse? How to use that privilege? #ColorOfSurveillance

@KendraSerra wears the shirt "privacy as a human right". Since the Dobbs leak, more and more people are stopping them on the street to discuss. Easy to be cynical, but with the end of Role privacy *matters* to a lot more people. #ColorOfSurveillance

Follow the words of @prisonculture: "Let this radicalize you!"

Relates back go Dr. Bridges article on Race, Pregnancy and the Opioid Epidemic. #ColorOfSurveillance

harvardlawreview.org/wp-content/upl…

@KendraSerra highlights the opportunity to create a path that benefits all those who have been targeted by surveillance -- topics have been discussed in past #ColorOfSurveillance workshops. "All that remains to do is the work. And if we're not going to do it, who will?"

@Cyn_K: "This is not the end". They'll post a reading list, some recordings, and continue conversations.

And that wraps up #ColorOfSurveillance ... great work by all, so much to think about!

https://twitter.com/jevanhutson/status/1539691791527469056

@threadreaderapp please unroll

@MindingPrivacy, Dr. Khiara Bridges' answer in response to a #ColorOfSurveillance question about what gives her hope was very aligned with yours: we're phrasing the discussion in terms of Reproductive Justice.