This Week We’re All Action!

Dear Citizen,

We hope you’re ready to get to work. This week we’re all action, with something everyone can do to inform and protect yourselves, the world, democracy, your family, your pets, your laptop and more. Let’s get to work. 

🚨 SIGN THIS! Stop the Insane AI Regulation Ban 🚨 

Big Tech wanted something for all that election cash, and they’re getting it. There’s currently a provision in a US federal spending bill (aka Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”) that would impose a 10-year moratorium (ban) on all state and local AI regulation. This means states and cities would be prohibited from creating any laws to govern AI technology for an entire decade.

That’s f*&^%$g insane. From our friends at Design it for Us and Accountable Tech, act here to stop this massive big AI power grab:

Tell Senators to Oppose the AI Regulation Ban in the Spending Bill

There’s currently a provision in a federal spending bill that would impose a 10-year ban on all state and local AI regulation. This would prevent states from protecting their citizens from emerging AI risks, leaving families and communities vulnerable. Urge your senators to oppose this ban.

The Action NetworkAction Network

(Not in the US? Share on social) 

📺 WATCH THIS! Tune in for Rubin x Eisenstat x Cadwalladr x You 📺

How is Big Tech contributing to the democratic backslide? We’re going live on Substack next Wednesday July 2nd, 12pm EST / 5pm BST, with Jennifer Rubin from The Contrarian, Carole Cadwalladr from How To Survive The Broligarchy, and Yael Eisenstat from NYU’s Cybersecurity for Democracy - and your questions and comment. 

Sign up here, and be sure to subscribe so you’ll be notified when we go live. 

Going Live with Jen Rubin, Carole Cadwalladr and Yael Eisenstat, July 2

​​On Big Tech And The Democratic Backslide

Citizens ReunitedThe Citizens

🫡 JOIN THIS! The Future of Freedom🫡

From our friends at Free Press, a new initiative - The Future of Freedom - a new project to protect democracy from the rise of authoritarianism. Sign up here for events, alerts, videos, resources and more - the perfect companion to Citizens Reunited. 

The Future of Freedom

Free Press convenes community activists, issue experts, lawmakers and members of the media to offer public education about the stakes of this moment.

Free Press Action Fund

💻 DO THIS! Protect your G-d D*^& Browser Already 💻

Researchers recently caught Meta using an egregious new tracking technique to spy on you. Exploiting a technical loophole, the company was able to have their apps snoop on users’ web browsing. (Meta was also caught this week violating EU sanctions and funneling money to Russian operatives, but that’s a story for another week.)

Here are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself from Meta’s latest privacy invasion:

Protect Yourself From Meta’s Latest Attack on Privacy

The best way to stop this cycle of invasive tracking techniques and patchwork fixes is to ban online behavioral advertising. This would end the practice of targeting ads based on your online activity, removing the primary incentive for companies to track and share your personal data. We need strong federal privacy laws to ensure that you, not Meta, control what information you share online.

Electronic Frontier FoundationLena Cohen and Rory Mir

Lastly, one bonus reading assignment for you this week: Ayah Bdeir’s smart take in the MIT Technology Review on why, if we’re going to have AI hardware, it needs to be open. 

Why AI hardware needs to be open

An iPhone for AI would be a big mistake. Here’s what we need to build instead.

MIT Technology ReviewAyah Bdeir

That’s it for this week. 

Team Citizens

*PS - Join our Signal Chat if you haven’t already!