RIGHTS LAB to Premiere at High Concept Labs, 1/16

Surveillance. Civil liberties. Protests. Arrests.

From the rise of the Occupy movement to the outrage over the National Security Agency's data collection, these words have become familiar to anyone who scans news headlines.

But if you take a step behind the scenes, a complex interplay of social power and ever-changing legal precedents are the real drivers behind who is allowed to march and who can be surveilled and how.

Scrappers Film Group, in collaboration with Truthout.org, present a multi-part web series to turn the camera on the most pressing civil liberties issues of our day. The series will premiere January 16 at High Concept Labs in Chicago.

The first episode, Can the Government Spy on My Phone?, uses cinema verite techniques and motion graphics to illuminate the legal and social dynamics behind Stingray surveillance devices. We bring you from protests in the street of Chicago through to a need-to-know explainer of telephone surveillance.

By using real-life case studies, featuring local activists and offering clear and compelling explanations of ongoing legal debates, our series will explore Stingray surveillance, when and how it is legal to film a police officer, the burgeoning debate behind consumer drone flight, what you can and can't do on social media, and much more.

Along with a screening of the Stingray episode of Rights Lab, the event will have a panel discussion including civil liberties lawyer Jerry Boyle and FOIA activist Freddy Martinez, with improvised music by Radio Trio appropriating police technology to ulterior ends.

Rights Lab premiere: Can the government spy on my phone?

Saturday, January 16, 6:30 PM

FREE

High Concept Labs

2233 S Throop St, Chicago, IL 60608

(Located in Mana Contemporary Chicago; enter on Cermak Rd) more information: bit.ly/22GKjOA

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