Portland's Techno-Activism Third Mondays, a local organization in the Electronic Frontier Alliance (not EFF), will host this event:
The Digital Defense Fund and information security in abortion access
From the Organizers:
The 2020s have seen new and complex challenges for those fighting for reproductive freedom. In September of last year, the Texas legislature passed one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the nation, prohibiting all procedures after 6 weeks, without exceptions for rape or incest. But SB8 goes further, giving citizens with no connection to the woman the right to sue in civil court any person who aids her in seeking an abortion. As Planned Parenthood states, this means that “private citizens can sue other Texans for having or aiding in the procurement of an abortion—they can sue anyone from the person who drives the patient to the clinic to the doctor who performs the abortion.” EFF predicts that “the result will be a chilling effect on speech and a litigation cudgel that will be used to silence those who seek to give women truthful information about their reproductive options.”
Since 2017, the Digital Defense Fund has brought engineers and organizers together to provide security and technology support for the abortion access movement. Kate Bertash, Director of the DDF, will speak during our January event about the critical work the DDF does to create "a future where technology and innovation support secure, autonomous reproductive decisions, free from stigma.”
When:
Tuesday, January 18
6 pm - 7 pm PT
Where:
Online (via Zoom)
This event is organized not by EFF, but by Portland's Techno-Activism Third Mondays—a grassroots group participating in the Electronic Frontier Alliance. The EFA is a network of grassroots organizations across the country committed to promoting digital rights. Together, we're building a movement to promote freedom of expression, privacy, security, creativity, and access to knowledge.
