Should You Think Twice Before Posting a Protest Flyer on Your Instagram Story?
Or feel pressure to delete that bold JD Vance meme you shared? Now imagine that you could get kicked out of the country—potentially losing your job or education—based on the Trump administration’s dislike of your views on social media.
That threat to free expression and dissent is happening right now, but we won’t let it stand.
“…they’re not just targeting individuals—they’re targeting the very idea of freedom itself.”
Lawsuit Against Viewpoint-Based Surveillance and Suppression
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and co-counsel are representing the United Automobile Workers (UAW), Communications Workers of America (CWA), and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) in a lawsuit against the U.S. State Department and Department of Homeland Security. The suit challenges their viewpoint-based surveillance and suppression of noncitizens’ First Amendment-protected speech online.
The lawsuit asks a federal court to stop the government’s unconstitutional surveillance program, which has silenced both citizens and noncitizens. It has even hindered unions’ ability to associate and communicate with their members.
Press Release | Full Complaint in UAW v. State Department
Targeting the Idea of Freedom
“When they spy on, silence, and fire union members for speaking out, they’re not just targeting individuals—they’re targeting the very idea of freedom itself,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.
The Trump administration built this mass surveillance program to monitor the constitutionally protected online speech of noncitizens lawfully present in the U.S. The program uses AI and automated technologies to scour social media and other online platforms to identify and punish individuals who express viewpoints the government considers “hostile” to “our culture” and “our civilization.”
But make no mistake: no one should be forced to conform to the views of the state.
The Foundation of Democracy
Your free expression and privacy are fundamental human rights, and democracy crumbles without them. We have an opportunity to fight back, but we need you.
EFF’s team of lawyers, activists, researchers, and technologists have been on a mission to protect your freedom online since 1990—and we’re just getting started.
Donate and become a member of EFF today. Your support helps protect crucial rights, online and offline, for everyone.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/10/no-one-should-be-forced-conform-views-state
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