The Tech Equity Coalition (TEC) is a group of civil liberties and civil rights-focused organizations and individuals working to hold technology accountable and uplift the voices of historically marginalized communities in decisions about technology. The TEC is a group convened by the ACLU of Washington, and is comprised primarily of individuals representing communities historically targeted by surveillance.
 
The Coalition works to center community voices in technology and liberty issues. Coalition members testify in front of state and local legislators, provide public comment to city council members, host educational workshops, write letters, and engage in corporate advocacy.
 

TAKE ACTION AGAINST WEAK DATA PRIVACY BILLS

Strong privacy protections are necessary to protect our civil rights and liberties. For three years, the Tech Equity Coalition has opposed a corporate-backed bill called the Washington Privacy Act. Below are resources to learn more about this bad bill, as well as ways to take action in opposing it.

• Read ACLU-WA's letter to House and Senate leadership about SB 5062 and HB 1850.
• Read TEC letters to legislators about data privacy and HB 1850. 
• Read ACLU-WA's feedback on the 2022 data privacy bill HB 1850.
• Learn about the guiding principles of strong data privacy legislation.
• Protect WA from a bad data privacy bill and write a letter to the editor using this downloadable toolkit.
• Send a message to your lawmakers urging them not to pass the "corporate friendly" 2SSB 5062, the Washington Privacy Act.
• Ask your organization to sign onto a letter opposing Washington's bad privacy bill.

LEARN WHY COMMUNITIES OPPOSE THE WPA AND DEMAND BETTER

• Fact Check: WA's Leadership on Privacy Legislation, by Technology & Liberty Project Manager Jennifer Lee and organizer Maya Morales (People First Bellingham, WA People’s Privacy Network)
• We Need Real Privacy Protection in the States, not the Washington Privacy Act’s Illusion of Privacy, by Consumer Federation
• The Washington Privacy Act: Not a model for state privacy law, by privacy standards expert Gregg Brown
• Comparison Chart – Peoples Privacy Act vs Washington Privacy Act, ACLU-WA
• The Harms of Data Abuse, by ACLU-WA
• We sent a coalition letter to the Legislature urging them to fix 2SSB 5062 or reject it.
• National privacy, civil rights and civil liberties organizations sent a letter to the Legislature with concerns about the WPA.
• We sent a second coalition letter to the House regarding our concerns about 2SSB 5062 that remain after amendments.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PEOPLE'S PRIVACY ACT

HB 1433

Resources

• Legislative Backgrounder
• Comparison of the People's Privacy Act and the Washington Privacy Act
• Learn about the guiding principles of strong data privacy legislation and explore a comparison chart of the 2022 bills.
• Learn more about the harms of data abuse
• Read the FAQ's on the People's Privacy Act for both consumers and corporations.
• General PPA Information Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions

Take Action

• Write a Letter to the Editor with this toolkit.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

We are advocating for a people-centric data privacy bill guided by the leadership of historically marginalized communities.

• Statement on Data Privacy Bills During the 2022 Legislative Session
   

We defeated corporate-friendly data privacy bills that would have undermined people’s privacy rights in 2019 and 2020.  

• Letters Opposing SB 6281 – 2020 WA Data Privacy Act
  • Council of American-Islamic Relations – Washington
  • Densho 
  • InterIm Community Development Association
  • Japanese American Citizens League – Seattle Chapter
  • John T. Williams Organizing Committee
  • La Resistencia
  • MAPS-AMEN (American Muslim Empowerment Network)
  • Real Change
  • Urban League
  • Washington Defender Association
  • Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Letters Opposing SB 5376 – Protecting Consumer Data
  • Asian Counseling and Referral Services
  • Densho
  • El Centro de la Raza
  • MAPS-AMEN
  • OneAmerica
• Testimony
  • January 15, 2020 – Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee
  • February 21, 2020 – House Innovation, Technology & Economic Development Committee
  • January 22, 2019 – Senate Environment, Energy & Technology Committee
  • March 22, 2019 – House Innovation, Technology & Economic Development Committee

 

We pushed forward face surveillance moratorium bills at the state level, achieving a unanimous vote in the House ITED committee in 2020.

• Joint Letter of Support for HB 2856 – 2020 Face Surveillance Moratorium
• Testimony & Vote on HB 2856
• Testimony on HB 1654 – 2019 Face Face Surveillance Moratorium

 

We are mobilizing allies and the public to fight against the deployment of face surveillance technology at the Port of Seattle.  

• TEC Port Biometrics Sign-on Letter - May 10, 2022
• Letter of Dissent  – September 29, 2020
• Open Letter to the Port of Seattle Commission – April 8, 2020
• Call to Action – March 9, 2020

We are engaging in the Seattle Surveillance Ordinance implementation process, and pushing for transparency and accountability over the use of surveillance technologies.

• Joint Follow-up Letter on ID.me to Employment Security Department 
• Joint Letter on ID.me to Employment Security Department 
• ACLU-WA Comments on Group 1 Surveillance Technologies
• ACLU-WA Comments on Group 2 Surveillance Technologies
• ACLU-WA Comments on Group 4B Surveillance Technologies 
• Letters on Group 1 and Group 2 Surveillance Technologies
• CB 119519: Law passed on Seattle Department of Transportation’s use of closed-circuit television traffic cameras and license plate readers.
• Letter to Seattle City Council's Transportation and Utilities Committee this morning to encourage them to adopt amendments to and ordinance regarding SPD's surveillance technologies. 
   

Technology & Liberty Webinars, Workshops, and Toolkits

• We have worked with researchers and academics to collaborate on educational toolkits:
  • Algorithmic Equity Toolkit (AEKit) – A toolkit designed to identify surveillance and decision-making technologies used by governments; make sense of how these technologies work, and pose questions about their impacts, effectiveness, and oversight.
  • Watching the Watchers – Coveillance Toolkit – A toolkit consisting of exercises including mapping data stories, walking tour of surveillance infrastructure, and countersurveillance movements.
• Flights and Rights Presentations
  • Liberty in the Time of COVID-19
  • National Security and Surveillance
• Joint webinars with allies and TEC members
  • Indivisible WA
  • Washington Fair Trade Coalition
  • Eastside for All

GET INVOLVED!

The Tech Equity Coalition (TEC) strives to center the leadership and input of communities historically impacted by technologies. If you or your organization would like to join our efforts, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
 
To learn more or get involved, please contact:
 
[email protected]