Posted on October 23, 2019
6 progressive podcasts to subscribe to right now
We’re living in the golden age of podcasts. According to industry data, there are more than 700,000 active podcasts and more than 29 million available episodes on a wide range of topics that include history, pop culture and current events.
There’s a podcast for virtually everyone, and here at CREDO, we’re fond of podcasters who are lifting up our movement, reporting on the progressive issues that the mainstream media ignores and highlighting frontline activism against Trump’s hateful agenda.
Whether you’re on the bus or subway, traveling in your car, or enjoying your favorite show on your phone or smart speaker at home, there’s a podcast for you. Here are six that we recommend.
Think 100%
When your tagline is the “Coolest Show on Climate Change,” you better deliver, and Think 100% sure does. Co-hosted by Antonique Smith, a Grammy nominated singer and actress, and President and CEO of Hip Hop Caucus Rev Lennox Yearwood, Jr.,, Think 100%’s award-winning podcast brings together musicians, celebrities, government officials, activists and experts to discuss environmental justice, climate change and clean energy while dispelling the myth that people of color aren’t engaged in the environmental movement. Season 2 recently launched, so catch up on all the episodes here.
Brave New Words
With Brave New Words, Anat Shenker-Osorio takes listeners on a journey around the globe as she unpacks real-world narrative shifts that led to real-world victories. From electing the dynamic Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern to repealing a national ban on abortion in Ireland to beating back right-wing race baiting in Minnesota, Shenker-Osorio and her guests explore what made it possible to engage the base, persuade the middle, send the naysayers packing and win! Learn more and subscribe here.
Mothers of Invention
Hosted by Ireland’s first female president Mary Robinson and comedian Maeve Higgins, Mothers of Invention tackles climate justice issues from a feminist perspective. Women will bear the brunt of the climate crisis, so Pres. Robinson, Higgins and their guests – the “mothers” who are driving innovation, activists fighting for climate justice, and policy makers and experts working to save the planet – discuss solutions to climate change.
As its tagline makes clear, “Climate change is a man-made problem – with a feminist solution!” You can find all the episodes here.
Majority Report with Sam Seder
Sam Seder is a progressive comedian, writer, film director and actor whose podcast provides informed, thoughtful political analysis with a healthy dose of scathing humor and features insightful interviews with guests ranging from politicians to musicians.
Daily episodes are free but with a small monthly membership, you get access to all bonus content and can listen to the program five days a week in all formats commercial free. Find it here.
Code Switch
Named for “code switching,” the practice of switching between languages or forms of speech within a single conversation, Code Switch is comprised of seven NPR journalists of color exploring race, ethnicity and culture and how identities are shifting in a demographically changing world.
“Unflinchingly honest and empathetic,” the podcast is funny and at times refreshingly uncomfortable as the team tackles themes ranging from inequality in the education system, systemic racism, history and pop culture. You can find current episodes here.
Kagro in the Morning
If you’re looking for podcast to go with your morning coffee, Kagro in the Morning from Daily Kos Contributing Editor David Waldman could be the one for you.
Daily Kos, one of the premier progressive online communities, is a close CREDO ally in the fight against the Trump administration and for our progressive values. Waldman’s episodes cover news of the day and progressive politics with insight, dry wit and sardonic humor. Start your day with the news, politics and commentary from our progressive friends here.
Posted on October 23, 2019
For privacy and security, get a VPN for your phone
Here at CREDO, protecting our members’ privacy rights is a top priority. We’ve fought the government in court to protect our members’ privacy rights and worked to repeal spying programs like the Patriot Act.
There are also steps you can take to protect your own privacy on your devices. A virtual private network is a way to connect your PC, tablet or smartphone to a remote server and browse the internet using that server’s internet connection.
It’s a good idea for two reasons:
- Privacy: a VPN hides your real IP address behind the remote server’s IP address and prevents the monitoring or tracking of your activity while you’re online.
- Security: a VPN encrypts all the traffic between your device and the server, which gives you protection against hackers.
In the past, VPNs were mostly installed on home computers and laptops. Now, though, people access the internet more often on their smartphone than their PC and there are dozens of companies offering VPNs for your phone.
They’re easy to use:Just download and install. Then, before you access the internet, tap the app. From that point forward, all your internet activity may be hidden and encrypted, whether you’re using a browser like Google Chrome or an internet-connected app like Facebook. You’ll notice little – if any – difference in your phone’s performance. Texting and calling will not be affected.
Here’s CNET’s list of top mobile VPNs. And here’s a list from Popular Science (scroll down to find it).
Look for a mobile VPN that offers high speed, strong encryption and a no-logging policy – which means the VPN does not store information about what you do online. It’s a good idea to choose a VPN that charges a subscription (most are around $10 a month) because these services cost money to operate – and if you’re not paying, then there is a chance that the VPN supports itself by selling your data. Plus, free VPNs tend to be slower and less reliable. You can also read about some VPN recommendations on our previous blog post 3 Ways to Boost Your Privacy on an Android Phone.
There are two reasons why a VPN on your phone is a good idea: privacy and security.
A VPN protects your privacy
A VPN prevents your internet service provider and/or advertisers from watching everything you do online. So, no monitoring, tracking or ad targeting.
You can also be sure that your internet activity is not being tracked and recorded by the shadowy, unregulated data brokers that are now ubiquitous.
Your ISP knows a lot about you, especially since Congress and Donald Trump stripped the internet of privacy rules in March 2017. Here’s what privacy advocate Electronic Frontier Foundation had to say at the time. “Putting the interests of internet providers over internet users, Congress today voted to erase landmark broadband privacy protections. [ISPs] will have free rein to hijack your searches, sell your data and hammer you with unwanted advertisements. Worse yet, consumers will now have to pay a privacy tax by relying on VPNs to safeguard their information. That is a poor substitute for legal protections.”
So, if you’d like data brokers and your ISP to know less about you, use a VPN when you go online.
A VPN protects your security
Everyone likes free public WiFi – at the airport, the cafe, the hotel lobby. Hackers like it too, because data that travels via a public WiFi connection is often unencrypted, unsecured and easy to steal.
There is the man-in-the-middle attack, in which a hacker intercepts information – like your username and password – that travels between you and whatever websites you visit. There is the rogue hotspot, which poses as a legitimate hotspot with a similar name like “Airport WiFi,” and collects your data or plants spyware on your device.
A VPN protects your personal information when you use public WiFi. It encrypts all your data traffic to and from the VPN server and can block access by hackers.
For more tips on protecting your data when you use public WiFi, read our post 6 ways to protect your privacy on public WiFi.
Posted on October 16, 2019
Our favorite posters from the 2019 Climate Strike
On Friday, Sept. 20, millions of people across the planet marched in the Global Climate Strike, a massive, youth-led event to demand climate justice for everyone and end the age of fossil fuels.
Here at CREDO, our staff walked out and joined one of the thousands of marches taking place globally to help lift up the voices of the millions of young people striking for our climate.
While many of us were carrying CREDO-made Climate Strike posters, we were really inspired by the creativity of strikers who carried their homemade designs. Here are a few of our favorite posters from the march in San Francisco.
Posted on October 14, 2019
How to Protect Your Digital Data at the Border
In 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents conducted over 33,000 border searches of electronic devices, a six-fold increase from 2012. Because of the amount and types of information devices like smartphones and laptops contain – including private conversations, family photos, medical documents, and banking information – a search of these devices is a search of the most intimate aspects of our lives. Professionals such as doctors, journalists, and lawyers have a heightened need to keep electronic information confidential to protect the privacy of their patients, sources, and clients.
Laws Governing Border Searches of Electronic Devices
The Fourth Amendment protects an individual’s property or person against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Generally, this means the government must obtain a warrant from a judge based on probable cause that the thing to be searched or seized contains evidence of illegal activity.
However, in the case of “routine” border searches, courts have recognized a heightened governmental interest in border security that outweighs an individual’s right to privacy and thus ruled that the government may conduct such searches without a warrant or suspicion. This is known as the border search exception.
Border searches are permitted to enforce immigration and customs laws, specifically to determine that travelers are authorized to enter the United States and to prevent contraband like drugs and obscene materials from entering the country. This means that border agents can search your luggage or car at the border without a warrant or suspicion.
However, courts have held that “non-routine” border searches – for example, searches that are highly intrusive and impact the dignity and privacy interests of travelers, or are carried out in a particularly offensive manner – require at least reasonable suspicion that the search will reveal an immigration or customs violation. “Non-routine” border searches include body cavity searches and searches that result in the permanent destruction of property.
Courts are still figuring out if and how the border search exception applies to digital data. In 2017, EFF and the ACLU filed a federal lawsuit, Alasaad v. McAleenan, challenging the government’s warrantless, suspicionless searches of electronic devices at the border. In July, we asked a judge to decide the case without a trial. For more information on the current state of the law related to border searches of electronic devices and why we argue for a warrant, read our whitepaper published by the American Constitution Society.
How Do Border Agents Conduct Searches of Digital Data?
CBP and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) mainly conduct electronic device searches at the border in two ways:
The first is a manual (“basic”) search, where an agent searches your devices by tapping or clicking on icons or using search functions already within the device. The second is a forensic (“advanced”) search, where an agent uses external software to search or make a copy of your device’s contents. Although a forensic search may sometimes enable recovering deleted files, the information revealed through either search is largely the same.
Under CBP and ICE’s respective policies, a border agent may conduct a basic search without suspicion. Agents may conduct advanced searches when they have reasonable suspicion of a violation of the laws enforced by ICE or CBP. CBP agents may also conduct an advanced search if there’s a “national security concern.”
According to CBP’s policy, border agents can only access information on the device itself, meaning not content in the cloud or your live social media feeds. Agents must put the device in airplane mode or otherwise disconnect it from the internet. ICE’s policy has no similar limitation. However, even if agents can’t access content in the cloud, they can often see cached content (a snippet of data from the last time your app refreshed.)
How to Protect Yourself and Your Data at the Border
While the law around border searches of electronic devices continues to develop, here are four things you can do to protect your digital data at the border.
- Understand your risk. Border searches are an area where one size does not fit all. You need to understand that factors about you, your data, and your devices are crucial to helping you determine your likelihood of being subject to secondary screening, how you should prepare before you arrive at the border, and how you should respond to an agent’s demand that you unlock your device.
Generally speaking, if you comply with an agent’s demand to unlock your device, an agent may scrutinize and store your data, but you may get through screening quicker. If you refuse, the government may confiscate your device for weeks or even months, but you may prevent agents from accessing your data.
One of the most important factors is your immigration status. If you refuse to unlock your device and you’re a U.S. citizen, an agent must allow you back into the United States, though your device may still be confiscated. If you’re a lawful permanent resident, you must also be allowed entry, but your green card status may be questioned. If you’re a foreign visitor, you may be denied entry altogether.
Other risk factors about you to consider are your:
- Travel history (e.g., if you have visited countries associated with terrorism, drug trafficking, or sex trafficking, or have frequent and/or lengthy international travel, you may be more likely to be sent to secondary screening)
- Law enforcement history (e.g., if you have prior convictions, you may have had a “lookout” or flag placed on your travel profile making it more likely that you’ll be sent to secondary screening)
- Tolerance for hassle from border agents (e.g., if you have a low tolerance for confrontation or delay, you may consider complying with a request to unlock your device)
- Interest in advocating for your privacy (e.g., if you are eager to protect your privacy, you may consider not complying with a request to unlock your device)
Risk factors about your data and devices include:
- Sensitivity of the information (e.g., if you’re a doctor, journalist, or lawyer, you may consider limiting the sensitive data you carry on your device)
- Potential confiscation of the device (e.g., if you don’t have the resources to bear the financial cost of replacing your device, you may consider decreasing the likelihood your device will be confiscated)
- Lost access to data (e.g., if your device is confiscated and losing access to that data would be consequential, you may consider backing up your data before arriving at the border)
- Internet access at your destination (e.g., if you expect to have fast and reliable internet access while traveling, consider uploading your data to the cloud and downloading it at your destination so you have less data on your device when crossing the border)
- Ownership of your device (e.g., if it’s a work device, your employer may have specific rules)
Irrespective of how your specific risk factors may influence how you prepare to cross the border with your electronic device, the following is some general advice.
- Minimize the data you carry. If you’re trying to prevent the government from prying into your personal information, one way to do that is by limiting the amount of data that you carry with you across the border. You can do this in the following ways:
- Use a temporary device rather than your everyday smartphone or laptop.
- Upload data to the cloud rather than carrying it on your device, as CBP policy prohibits officers from searching beyond the data resident on your device.
- Delete data from your device (though it is difficult to delete all data and an agent finding limited information on your device may further raise suspicions).
- Clear, log out, or delete cloud apps and browsers.
- Protect the data you carry. After minimizing data on your device, protect the information that you do carry across the border.
- Ensure that full-disk encryption is engaged on your device, rather than just a screen lock (most modern smartphones integrate encryption with the passcode).
- Use strong passwords, both for your device and your apps and websites.
- Disengage biometric-only locks that use technology such as face recognition or fingerprint identification to unlock your devices.
- Power down your device, which will resist a variety of high-tech attacks against the phone’s security.
- Back up the data on your device.
- Take precautions. Whether you provide border agents with access to your electronic devices or not, take the following precautions when crossing the border.
- Have a plan before you cross the border. You don’t want to be in a situation where you’re attempting to assert your rights while worrying about what happens if you miss your connecting flight.
- Stay calm and respectful.
- Do not lie to border agents or hide data on your device, which are violations of federal law.
- Do not physically interfere with border agents. Agents may inspect the physical aspects of your device (e.g., the battery compartment) to determine whether you’re bringing in any contraband.
- Record the names, badge numbers, and agencies of border agents if you’re concerned about a negative interaction.
- If a border agent decides to confiscate your device, demand a custody receipt (CBP Form 6051D) and contact information for a supervisor.
For more information on how to protect your digital data at the border, read through our how-to guide, Digital Privacy at the U.S. Border. Read more about EFF’s border search work.
EFF is a close CREDO ally in the fight to protect privacy in the digital world, and we’re proud to have donated $366,760 to EFF since 2007 to help the organization defend civil liberties and protect user privacy through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism and technology development. To learn more about CREDO’s donation program, please visit www.CREDODonations.com.
Posted on October 10, 2019
We just shut down Kevin McAleenan
By Nicole Regalado, CREDO Action campaign director
This week, I led a protest that stopped Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan from spreading more anti-immigrant hate and lies at the annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference at Georgetown University Law Center.
McAleenan is one of Trump’s most cruel henchman. During his time as head of CBP, he unleashed border agents to tear gas refugee families, including children in diapers, at the border. Now, as acting head of DHS, he is not only enforcing, but also championing policies that perpetuate family separation and state-sanctioned child abuse. I stood up yesterday because no institution should treat McAleenan, or any Trump immigration official, as if their views on immigration are legitimate or reasonable in any way. They are the enablers of Trump’s hate.
McAleenan withheld information and intentionally misled Congress about the administration’s systematic circumvention of migrants’ due process rights. He oversaw the Clint, Texas, facility with its unsanitary and cruel conditions and was the leader of Customs and Border Patrol, which has killed at least 7 children in its custody since 2018. He also defended Trump slashing the number of refugees allowed to come to the United States to unprecedented levels.
None of this is normal. Yet, mainstream Washington-based groups like MPI, CLINIC and Georgetown Law, are still operating like business as usual, giving a platform to McAleenan like the one they’ve given to other DHS secretaries in the past. The Brookings Institute and the Council on Foreign Relations are also welcoming McAleenan with open arms. That is unacceptable.
And it’s not just McAleenan. Sean Spicer and Sarah Huckabee Sanders are profiting from their time promoting Trump’s lies and trying to burn down the Constitution’s protections of the free press with stints on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and a book deal, respectively. Kirstjen Nielsen, the architect of baby jails who preceded McAleenan at DHS and oversaw family separation, has been given platforms by the Atlantic Fest and the Forbes Powerful Women conference.
Before the speech, 14 immigration rights and progressive groups came together to ask the organizers of the conference to rescind McAleenan’s keynote invitation.
I understand that keynote speeches at important Washington institutions and book deals and consulting gigs are typical for White House officials under any president. But we are living in extraordinary times, and we cannot continue letting the status quo go unchallenged.
The White House, cabinet-level officials and people working throughout Trump’s corrupt and bigoted administration are consolidating power and inciting violence against immigrants, Muslims, and Black and Brown people. Not a single one of them should be treated as legitimate policy makers and administrators. Not a single one should be validated as an expert or a thought leader.
Not a single institution should reward or help them rehabilitate their image after they finish serving Trump.
When some organizations are afraid of rocking the boat and unwilling to speak truth to power and some corporations care more about profits than values, each and every one of us must use our power to hold these institutions accountable and levy social and political consequences on the crooks and liars they elevate.
We have the power to make it impossible for institutions to normalize, rehabilitate or reward the architects and enforcers of Trump’s hate. Just recently, pressure from progressives forced Nielsen to back out of the Atlantic Fest just days before the scheduled event. And last summer, a confrontation at a restaurant and a protest at her home, complete with child snatcher posters, helped force the end of family separation.
That’s why when McAleenan tried to speak on Monday, I shouted louder. None of Trump’s henchmen should be given a platform to spread their hatred. When beltway groups, corporations and media outlets won’t take a stand, they can expect to hear from me and thousands of other activists around the country. Because when immigrants and children are under attack by our own government, we must stand up and fight back.
Nicole Regalado is the campaign director at CREDO Action, a social change network of millions of activists that has led numerous actions and petitions calling on organizations, corporations, and media to not give Trump administration officials platforms. CREDO Action, part of CREDO Mobile, sends tens of millions of petition signatures and hundreds of thousands of phone calls to decision-makers each year. CREDO Action members also participate in meetings, protests and other direct action for progressive change.
Posted on October 10, 2019
CREDO and allies shut down Trump’s racist DHS secretary
No Trump henchmen should be given a platform to spread hatred or defend the racist, xenophobic policies put into place by Donald Trump and Stephen Miller. Institutions that elevate the architects and enforcers of Trump’s hate and normalize that cruelty can expect to hear from us.
And this week, they heard from us loud and clear. We, activists from CREDO Action, Justice for Muslims Collective, La ColectiVA, National Immigrant Justice Center and Sanctuary DMV, disrupted a controversial keynote speech by Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan and forced him off the stage at the annual Immigration Law and Policy Conference at Georgetown University Law Center. We dropped banners from the audience reading “Stand with immigrants” and “Hate is not normal,” while chanting “When immigrants are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” Members of the audience joined in, and GULC students also read the names of children who died in Customs and Border Patrol’s custody.
McAleenan is one of Trump’s most cruel henchman. During his time as head of CBP, he unleashed border agents to tear gas refugee families, including children in diapers, at the border. Now, as acting head of DHS, he is not only enforcing, but also championing policies that perpetuate family separation and state-sanctioned child abuse.
Our disruption made headlines across the country, with coverage in the New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, the Associated Press, Telemundo, CBS Evening News, Buzzfeed News, AJ+ and The Young Turks.
This recent disruption comes after CREDO Action organized an open letter urging the ILPC conveners – the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC) and GULC – to rescind McAleenan’s invitation. MPI and CLINIC refused, citing conference tradition while acknowledging “that this administration has advanced policies that are antithetical to longstanding national ideals and interests.”
The open letter stated: “People like McAleenan who are carrying out and championing [Trump’s and Miller’s] policies should not be treated as if their positions on immigration are reasonable or legitimate in any way. McAleenan is enforcing policies that perpetuate family separation and state-sanctioned child abuse. He has withheld information and intentionally misled Congress about the administration’s systematic circumvention of migrants’ due process rights. No institution should give McAleenan a rubber stamp of approval or megaphone to spread more hate and lies, especially organizations working toward a more compassionate and humane immigration system.”
Thank you to CREDO members who helped make this disruption, and many others, possible. Hundreds of thousands have taken action in opposition to the Trump administration’s cruel, racist and inhumane immigration policies, and support by CREDO members who use our mobile and energy products and services help fund the work we do every day.
Posted on October 2, 2019
How to protect yourself from Google’s Sensorvault surveillance program
It’s a scary thought: You and your friends are marching for gun control, climate action or social justice when a crime happens a mile or two away. Now you and the thousands of people who attended are suspects. And guess who turned you in: Google.
That’s because Google knows where you are right now, even if location tracking on your Google apps is turned off. And the company is handing over your location information to law enforcement agencies.
Google calls this program “Sensorvault” and its use by law enforcement for nearly 10 years was a well-kept secret until the New York Times recently exposed Google’s operation.
The truly troubling part is that you don’t have to be involved in a crime to be targeted by the police when you’re in the vicinity of a crime. Google’s Sensorvault stores your minute-by-minute travel via the Google apps on your mobile phone. One chief of police even boasted that Google can go beyond just a single location to show your “pattern of life.“
There are some ways you may be able to protect yourself from Google’s surveillance program. One word of caution: This solution isn’t foolproof, because Google could still be tracking your whereabouts, even after taking these steps.
Turn off Location History.
Because Sensorvault uses data from your location history, you should first turn this feature off in your Google account. If you’re on an iPhone and don’t use any Google apps (like Maps), you should be okay, but most iPhone users do have these apps installed.
- On a computer, visit the Activity Controls page for your Google account (and make sure you’re signed in).
- Click the slider next to Location History and ensure it’s greyed out.
Delete your Location History.
Now that your Location History is turned off, it’s probably a good idea to delete your previous location data as well.
- On the same screen under Location History, click “Manage Activity,” which will bring you to a map showing the timeline of your historical location data.
- In the lower right corner, click on the gear icon, which will bring up a menu.
- Click “Delete all Location History” and when prompted, click the check box and continue to delete your Location History.
On an Android or iPhone
If you don’t have access to a computer, here’s how you can turn off and delete your Location History. (The Location History feature should be off by default but you may have been asked to turn it on at some point and done so.)
The easiest way is through the Google Maps app. Open the app, then tap the menu icon in the top left corner (the three lines). Tap Your timeline, then tap the three dots in the top right corner. Tap Settings and privacy. Below you’ll see Location History is on or Location History is off. If it’s on, tap it, then, on the Location History screen, toggle off Location History. You’ll be asked if you want to Pause Location History? Tap Pause at the lower right.
To delete your Location History, open Google Maps, tap the menu icon in the top left corner (the three lines). Tap Your timeline, then tap the three dots in the top right corner. Tap Settings and privacy. Now tap Delete all Location History. Going forward, you can choose to delete your Location History on a regular basis. Tap Automatically delete Location History and you’ll be given a choice: delete your Location History every 3 months or every 18 months. Although many have suggested that 3 months is the minimum time Google needs to derive what value it can from your Location History — and that deleting your Location History every 3 months (or 18) is like closing the barn door after the horse has galloped away.
While disabling and deleting Location History from your Google account and devices may protect you from Google’s surveillance, the company continues to track other users and provide information to law enforcement. In fact, some Google apps will still automatically time- and location-stamp your whereabouts without your explicit consent whether or not Location History is disabled.
That’s why we urge you to sign our petition demanding that Google shut down the Sensorvault program once and for all to stop this gross breach of privacy. You can learn more and sign the petition here.
Posted on October 2, 2019
Vote for Amazon Watch, Brady and Social Security Works this October
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly donation to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This October, you can support groups fighting for the environment, gun control and economic justice, by voting to fund Amazon Watch, Brady and Social Security Works.
Since 1996, Amazon Watch has worked to protect the Amazon rainforest and advance indigenous rights. Indigenous peoples have proven to be the best protectors of the Amazon, and with the power of international solidarity, they can avert today’s crisis.
The fires ravaging the Amazon are an urgent threat, and a grant from CREDO would allow Amazon Watch to expand its advocacy work on behalf of its indigenous allies, redirect more funds to urgent direct support, and fund an on-the-ground indigenous campaigner in affected communities of Brazil.
For over 40 years, Brady (formerly the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence) has been uniting gun owners and non-gun owners alike in the fight against gun violence. With programs that tackle the root causes of America’s gun violence epidemic, Brady works to ensure that every community is safer.
Funding from CREDO members will increase Brady’s capacity to combat urban gun violence, take legal action against irresponsible gun dealers, promote safe gun storage and much more, helping the organization get closer to decreasing gun violence 25% by 2025.
Social Security Works knows that the best defense against right-wing lies is a good offense. That’s why SSW fights every day to expand – never cut – our Social Security system.
A grant from CREDO would allow SSW to invest in its communications infrastructure around the vote on the 2100 Act, pushing back on the inevitable right-wing talking points, while fighting to protect Social Security at every turn.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donation among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by Oct. 31.
CREDO members who use our products and services everyday are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and CREDO Energy and join our movement.
Posted on October 1, 2019
Our September grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups supporting social justice, immigrant rights and gun control. In September, over 40,000 CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation to Center for Constitutional Rights, Detention Watch Network and March for Our Lives.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our September grant recipients thank you.
Center for Constitutional Rights
$54,441
“Thank you for standing with the Center for Constitutional Rights! Every vote from CREDO members like you amplifies our ability to challenge oppressive forms of power and strengthen progressive movements that are striving for justice and equality.” – Vince Warren, Executive Director
To learn more, visit www.ccrjustice.org.
Detention Watch Network
$43,086
“Thanks for your support and partnership! Together we can put an end to the cruel and inhumane immigration detention system in the United States” – Silky Shah, Executive Director
To learn more, visit www.detentionwatchnetwork.org.
March for Our Lives
$52,473
“Thank you for your support and trust of student leaders at March for Our Lives! Our movement has already ushered in lifesaving change in our short history, and with your partnership, we can continue and expand on what we’ve built.” – Jaclyn Corin, Co-founder
To learn more, visit www.marchforourlives.org.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in October, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on September 25, 2019
CREDO Tip: Yes, your phone could be listening to you. Here’s what you can do.
Yes, your phone could be listening to you. Here’s what you can do.
Your phone could be listening to you – hearing what you say and then pushing ads according to what it thinks your interests are.
This is the analysis of at least one expert, Dr. Peter Henway, senior security consultant for cybersecurity firm Asterisk, whose conversation with VICE sparked a flurry of online investigation of the listening-phone phenomenon.
You may have suspected it already. Let’s say you’re sitting with a friend at a cafe, your phone is on the table and you’re talking about some totally random topic – like growing geraniums. Then, within hours, you’re seeing ads for geranium seeds on your social media pages.
How does this happen? Here’s how, according Henway: Your phone is, in fact, always listening.
Apple and Google claim that their virtual assistants ignore everything you say unless it’s preceded by these trigger words. But Henway points out that what you say can also be heard by any other apps that have access to your device’s microphone – and these apps may use what they hear to push ads at you, Henway speculates.
“Snippets of audio do go back to [other apps’] servers but there’s no official understanding of what the triggers for that are,” Henway told VICE. “Whether it’s timing- or location-based or usage of certain functions, [apps] are certainly pulling those microphone permissions and using those periodically. All the internals of the applications send this data in encrypted form, so it’s very difficult to define the exact trigger.”
Translation: Just as your Android phone listens for the words “OK Google,” other apps with permission to access your microphone are listening for their own trigger words – thousands of them – which Henway believes could prompt the apps to begin the process that ends with you receiving a targeted ad.
Henway told VICE “Really, there’s no reason they wouldn’t be. It makes good sense from a marketing standpoint, and their end-use agreements and the law both allow it, so I would assume they’re doing it.”
Google and Apple deny listening in on user conversations and selling that data to advertisers. Mark Zuckerberg also denied that Facebook eavesdrops on conversations. In April 2018, he told the Senate that his company does not use audio collected from phones to target ads.
Of course, given Zuckerberg’s open relationship with the truth, it is perfectly reasonable to disbelieve him. In August, it emerged that Facebook was paying outside contractors to listen to audio of users’ private conversations and transcribe what they heard. And Facebook is not the only tech giant caught with its ear to your phone. Reports came out in July that Apple hired contractors to listen to and transcribe audio captured by Siri.
So, yes, it is a very real possibility you have apps on your phone that are eavesdropping – and at least some of them could be using what they hear to serve you ads.
Do you care? An eavesdropping phone may seem no worse than websites that track your activity online. Or it may really creep you out to know your phone is listening to you all the time.
If that’s the case, here’s what you can do: Stop apps from accessing your microphone.
On your Android device, open Settings, then tap Apps or Application Manager (depending on the device). Tap the app you want to check on, then tap Permissions to see what the app is accessing. It might be accessing your microphone, your camera and your contacts. You can turn these permissions off.
On your iPhone, open Settings, swipe down and tap Privacy. Then tap Microphone and toggle off permission for any apps that you think should not have access to your microphone. To stop apps accessing your camera, tap Privacy, then tap Camera.
Here at CREDO, we take customer privacy very seriously. In fact, respecting our customers’ privacy rights is a core mission of our company and we have a long history of fighting to protect it. Learn more about our record of fighting for privacy.
