A Year of Action in Support of the Black-Led Movement Against Police Violence and Racism

“Black lives matter on the streets. Black lives matter on the internet.” A year ago, EFF’s Executive Director, Cindy Cohn, shared these words in EFF's statement about the police killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Cindy spoke for all of us in committing EFF to redouble its efforts to support the movement for Black lives. She promised we would continue providing guides and resources for protesters and journalists on the front lines; support our allies as they navigate the complexities of technology and the law; and resist surveillance and other high-tech abuses while protecting the rights to organize, assemble, and speak securely and freely.

Like many of you, the anniversary of George Floyd's murder has inspired us to reflect on these commitments and the work of so many courageous people who stood up to demand justice. Our world has been irrevocably changed. While there is still an immeasurably long way to go toward becoming a truly just society, EFF is inspired by this leaderful movement and humbled as we reflect on the ways in which we have been able to support its critical work.

Surveillance Self-Defense for Protesters and Journalists 

EFF believes that people engaged in the Black-led movement against police violence deserve to hold those in power accountable and inspire others through the act of protest, without fear of police surveillance of our faces, bodies, electronic devices, and other digital assets. So, as protests began to spread throughout the nation, we worked quickly to publish a guide to cell phone surveillance at protests, including steps protesters can take to protect themselves.

We also worked with the National Lawyers Guide (NLG) to develop a guide to observing visible, and invisible, surveillance at protests—in video and blog form. The published guide and accompanying training materials were made available to participants in the NLG’s Legal Observer program. The 25-minute videos—available in English and Spanish—explain how protesters and legal observers can identify various police surveillance technologies, like body-worn cameras, drones, and automated license plate readers. Knowing what technologies the police use at a protest can help defense attorneys understand what types of evidence the police agencies may hold, find exculpatory evidence, and potentially provide avenues for discovery in litigation to enforce police accountability.

We also significantly updated our Surveillance Self-Defense guide to attending protests. We elaborated on our guidance on documenting protests, in order to minimize the risk of exposing other protesters to harmful action by law enforcement or vigilantes; gave practical tips for maintaining anonymity and physical safety in transit to and at protests; and recommended options for anonymizing images and scrubbing metadata. Documenting police brutality during protest is necessary. Our aim is to provide options to mitigate risk when fighting for a better world.

Protecting the Right to Record the Police

Using our phones to record on-duty police action is a powerful way to expose and end police brutality and racism. In the words of Darnella Frazier: "My video didn't save George Floyd, but it put his murderer away and off the streets." Many have followed in her courageous footsteps. For example, Caron Nazario used his phone to film excessive police force against him during a traffic stop. Likewise, countless protesters against police abuse have used their phones to document police abuse against other protesters. As demonstrations heated up last spring, EFF published advice on how to safely and legally record police.

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