Bipartisan bill would help domestic abuse survivors bypass mobile surveillance

Bipartisan bill would help domestic abuse survivors bypass mobile surveillance
Written by Feb 1, 2021 | CYBERSCOOP

A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation on Friday aimed at helping domestic violence and stalking victims safely extricate themselves from shared phone plans that could enable their partners to spy on them.


The bill, called the Safe Connections Act, would set up protections for victims of domestic violence by allowing them to leave shared phone plans without being required to pay any penalties or meet burdensome requirements. The bill, if passed, would also require the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to work on connecting domestic violence victims with federal government resources to help survivors establish alternative methods of communications inaccessible to abusers’ prying eyes.


Domestic violence and digital rights advocates have long been calling for Congress to step in and craft legislation that would help survivors safely leave phone plans that could enable an abuser to continue to control and monitor their every move, such as family phone plans. For both victims of abuse and stalkerware, a kind of malicious software which lets abusers surveil targets’ geolocation, texts, calls and social media use, the bipartisan-backed bill could be particularly impactful.


“Because financial abuse is often found alongside other forms of abuse, survivors are often unable to completely sever certain ties, to include cell phone plans, with their abuser,” said Chris Co ..

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