Ajit Pai’s FCC, which is by its own description, taking a weed-whacker to the last 40 years of broadcast regulation, moved to rapidly dismantle the Lifeline modernization program put into place by his predecessor.
All posts by Midnightschildren
Public Records Act Challenges
The California Public Records Act is a crucial piece of legislation for journalists and activists. The 1968 law, modeled on the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) promoted maximum public disclosure based on the “The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business” statement contained in the California State Constitution.
Blue Ribbon Report on San Francisco Policing
This Fall 2016 report reviews the state of policing in San Francisco and includes some 80 recommendations to improve the Department.
East Bay Stingray Use Restrictions
Cell phone interceptors are some of the most controversial types of surveillance equipment in existence. Long subject to nondisclosure agreements so onerous that prosecutors deliberately threw out criminal cases in order not to disclose the source of evidence derived from their use, the fake cell phone towers that sweep up cell phone traffic have been used without warrants and undercover all over the country.
Here in the Bay Area, Alameda’s “hailstorm”, a second generation stingray device precepitated the development of a use policy in 2015 followed by even stronger memorandums of understanding in place with Oakland’s police department and Fremont’s police department regarding their use of the device. Continue reading East Bay Stingray Use Restrictions
Forecasting Freedom Of Information
A Knight Foundation study of the state of public access to government information.
Digital Denied
This report from Free Press looks at the impact of systemic racism on home Internet adoption and the persistence of the “digital divide”.
The Color of Freedom Report
The Media Action Grassroots Network (www.mag-net.org) met in Washington DC to grapple with surveillance and the police state and how to center the issue with the most deeply impacted communities and use racial justice strategies to fight surveillance and tracking.
Climate Accountability Scorecard
This helpful report from the Union of Concerned Scientists ranks fossil fuel companies on climate deception, disclosure and action.
