I like how the image clearly shows a blue sky for this very expected and foreseeable headline.

You can help

I flashed a $10 orbic to take to local protests.

At protests you should not bring your smartphone but instead rely on anonymous drvices such as Meshtastic.

If you want to bring your smartphone to a protest, set Airplane mode and communicate with others through Bluetooth or WiFi networks using Briar or Bitchat

I don't understand why cell phones don't authenticate the towers they connect to. Is this really just a "standards lag behind modern security" thing, or is it on purpose to allow these Stingray devices to be used?

Yeah, if you go protest you should leave your tracking device at home or, even better, with a friend or relative who you know will not be there. The US government doesn't require subcutaneous tracking chips (yet), you can put yours away.

Those circumstances include immediate threats to national security and situations where a person is in danger of death or serious injury.

Well I see a problem there. It doesn’t specify the cause of the danger or the reason the person is in danger in the first place.

EFF missed a fun opportunity to call the Rayhunter “DeCSS”.

This is exactly why I was railing against some of the earlier protests which featured politicians openly asking protestors to take out their phones and send texts to opt-in for fundraisers. Besides all the obvious bullshit, it put those protestors who didn't know better at serious risk.

Thankfully, I haven't seen too much of that at the protests I've been to recently, but this is a good reminder that we have to keep educating people to leave their phone at home.

Pass paper notes

When I go to a protest with friends/family we leave our phones at home and then use basic walkie talkies. It's open channel, so no privacy, but the main goal is to just communicate basics like "I'm safe." We predetermine a couple of locations to meet up at if things get rough and we're separated.