Hands Off Our Data: Contact Your State Legislators about the Location Shield Act

This Saturday, thousands of us rallied on the Boston Common and around the state (and the country) to protest the chaos, cruelty, and corruption of the Trump administration — with a message of “Hands Off.”

If you went to a rally this weekend, you know what time you arrived, when you left, and where you went next. Your friends and family might know that too.

But do you know who doesn’t need to know that? Bad actors like Elon Musk.

Right now, there is no law that prevents anyone with a credit card from purchasing cell phone location data.

The purchase and sale of cell phone location data empowers bad actors: right-wing extremists seeking to target individuals seeking abortion care or gender-affirming care, domestic abusers seeking to track their victims, predatory bosses seeking to spy on their employees. The list goes on.

Fortunately, the solution is clear: our Legislature can pass the Location Shield Act (H.86 / S.197), which would ban the purchase and sale of cell phone location data.

The bill has had overwhelming support in the Legislature this session, and it will be having a hearing this Wednesday.

Here’s what you can do:

Recording + Links (Follow-up to “DC Attacks, MA Fights Back: Defending Science and Our Health”)

Thank you so much for joining us on Wednesday for our forum “DC Attacks, MA Fights Back: Defending Science and Our Health”!

And thank you again to our speakers!

  • Dr. Nancy Krieger, Professor of Social Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • Dr. Gordon Schiff, Quality and Safety Director, Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care
  • Dr. Sarah Neville, Postdoctoral Researcher, Brown University School of Public Health, and Chelsea School Committee Member
  • Melissa Varga, Science Network Senior Manager, Union of Concerned Scientists
  • Katie Blair, Executive Director, Massachusetts Families for Vaccines

Recording

You can find the video here: https://youtu.be/3W9Hurh6XkM

Slide Decks Shared

What You Can Do

Other Resources

This is a running list of HHS offices eliminated entirely or reduced to the point of non-functionality. https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1_HNSEowQOkojkTM5MjXdNdXzNjPK79Q4BXO8VU83A0w/mobilebasic?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&pli=1&urp=gmail_link

Upcoming Forums

Join us again on May 7: https://actionnetwork.org/events/dc-attacks-ma-fights-back-protecting-masshealth.