"For example, we have a First Amendment right to record on-duty police, including ICE and CBP, but federal agents are violating this right. Indeed, Alex Pretti was exercising this right shortly before federal agents shot and killed him. So were the many people who filmed agents shooting and killing Pretti and Renee Good - thereby creating valuable evidence that contradicts false claims by government leaders."
"To protect our digital rights, we need the rule of law. When an armed agent of the government breaks the law, the civilian they injure must be made whole. This includes a lawsuit by the civilian (or their survivor) against the agent, seeking money damages to compensate them for their injury. Such systems of accountability encourage agents to follow the law, whereas impunity encourages them to break it."
Federal agencies like ICE and CBP have engaged in violent misconduct and intruded on digital rights, including the First Amendment right to record on-duty officers. Alex Pretti and Renee Good were filmed being shot and killed by federal agents, producing evidence that contradicts false official claims. Civil damages lawsuits serve as essential accountability, compensating injured civilians and deterring lawbreaking by agents. 42 U.S.C. §1983 allows suits against state and local officials, but no equivalent statute exists for federal officers. Bivens created a limited federal remedy, but courts have narrowed its scope, leaving a gap that statutes like California S.B. 747 aim to fill.
Read at Electronic Frontier Foundation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]