by Ryan Lynch. Originally published on Reorg. (Behind a paywall)
All posts by Midnightschildren
Amici Filed in Defense of Open Technology Foundation
Media Alliance joined an amici (friend of the court brief) filed in the case of Open Technology Foundation vs David Pack (and the Trump Administration). Trump appointee Pack disbanded the entire board of OTF which creates and maintains encrypted software tools like Signal and Lets Encrypt, an open source website security protocol.
In an early win, the board was recently temporarily reinstated, overturning an earlier decision on appeal, but the lawsuit is still winding its way through the courts for a final determination.
Continue reading Amici Filed in Defense of Open Technology FoundationWhat Are Trump and his goons up to?
Originally published in Black Agenda Report
That’s the question I asked policing and privacy expert Tracy Rosenberg, Executive Director of Media Alliance, and coordinator of Oakland Privacy.
Ann Garrison: What do you think Trump and his goons might be up to in Portland and the cities with “liberal Democratic mayors” that he’s threatening to invade next? Is this much more than politics, an attempt to win the election with law and order extremes?
Tracy Rosenberg: Certainly, first and foremost, it is a political stunt to capture the law and order crowd and press on divides between the coastal cities and inland voters. But it’s also more sinister than that. The use of federal forces is designed to weaken local accountability by freezing out local government that constituents can reach. Portland’s mayor might not even have opposed some “help” from the feds, but he wasn’t asked. In other words, this wasn’t mutual aid. This was indeed an invasion.
Continue reading What Are Trump and his goons up to?
No On Prop 24
In 2018 , an initiative headed for the ballot led to a frantic and imperfect bargaining session in Sacramento. The outcome was the only comprehensive state consumer privacy law in the country, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
As we pointed out then, CCPA, the result of the watering down of a stronger legislative proposal that had gotten marooned in the Legislature, had significant flaws. It was the best consumer privacy law in the country because it was basically the *only* consumer privacy law in the country.
Continue reading No On Prop 24
Turn Up the heat on facebook
Update: The Facebook Logout begins on Wednesday November 10, 2021 and lasts until Saturday November 13, 2021.
We are sending our message. Without us, Facebook is nothing!
Artists Steuer and Davis have created a new piece of art to decorate your page after you log out.
Download the Steuer/Davis Logout graphic here.
Tag it with #TheFacebookLogout and #FireZuck.
Update: The Protest Facebook campaign is thrilled by this gift of original art from SF artist Sharon Steuer and Flora Davis. Download this poster/graphic for your Facebook mobilizing.
The artists add “Feel free to download these posters to share on social media, and/or to print out and post. Please tag with: #StopHateForProfit #FacebookHateGroups #RussianInterference #CoronavirusDisinformation #BlackLivesMatter #CambridgeAnalytica #WhenTheLootingStartsTheShootingStarts #FinePeopleOnBothSides #CitizensUnited #stopzuck. Created by Sharon Steuer <https://sharonsteuer> @sharonsteuer, and Flora Davis <https://floradavis.myportfolio.com/> @floralindadavis.To request a custom size or resolution, please send a message to sharonsteuer.com/contact“
Whether it’s racist rhetoric by Donald Trump, disinformation about the coronavirus, or lies in ads by political campaigns, Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have failed to act. Their unwillingness to stop Facebook from being used to do harm is inflaming racial hatred and inciting human rights violations. It also has the potential to disrupt the 2020 elections.
Enough is enough! A growing chorus of organizations is calling on corporations to stop advertising on Facebook until the company changes its ways. Please join us in urging these corporations to use the power of the purse to insist that Facebook protect the public from lies, hate, and disinformation on its platform.
This toolkit tells you how to easily reach out to a baker’s dozen of major Facebook advertisers who have not yet signed on to the boycott.
- Sample tweets
- Sample Facebook posts
- Sample email
- Sample phone script
- Contact information for top Facebook advertisers and their corporate HQs
Time’s Up: Amici Brief in Dababneh vs Lopez
Media Alliance joined the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press and 15 other media organizations in filing an amici brief in Sacramento Superior Court in support of Pamela Lopez.
Continue reading Time’s Up: Amici Brief in Dababneh vs Lopez
California AG submits New Privacy Rules at Deadline
Originally published in Communications Daily on June 3
“No changes from the last draft is good and bad, emailed Media Alliance Executive Director Tracy Rosenberg. Privacy advocates are glad the AG rejected many business requests that would have weakened CCPA but “disappointed that a few changes we recommended were not incorporated, including to accept browser do-not-track requests as opt outs.”
Continue reading California AG submits New Privacy Rules at DeadlineCoronavirus Sparks New Fight Over Privacy Law
By Dustin Gardiner originally printed in San Francisco Chronicle
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office is gearing up to enforce the state’s landmark internet privacy law, despite pleas from business groups that say they aren’t ready because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The California Consumer Privacy Act gives people the power to tell companies not to sell their personal data and to demand they delete the information altogether. The law took effect Jan. 1, but enforcement was delayed until July 1 to give businesses time to prepare for a mountain of data requests from their customers.
Continue reading Coronavirus Sparks New Fight Over Privacy Law