For online services, a general maxim to keep in mind is that if you don’t have to pay a fee for the service, then you are the product. Facebook certainly follows this rule, as the site makes most of its money by selling user information to companies that will then use it for targeted consumer …
Continue reading “Meta Fined $414 Million by EU Regulator for Privacy Violations”
Almost two years ago, Business Insider began a series of articles that revealed the extent of the conflicts of interest among upper-level members of the US government. In a series of articles published in mid-December of 2020 collectively called “Conflicted Congress,” Insider revealed that 54 members of Congress and 182 upper-level Congressional staffers have violated …
The 5th Circuit Court of the US has ruled that a Texas law banning social media companies from censoring users’ viewpoints is constitutional. Although small progress in combating social media censorship, this ruling is undoubtedly a victory for those who value free speech in the digital age. Trade groups NetChoice (Orwellian name there) and the …
Continue reading “Small Free Speech Victory In 5th Circuit Court Ruling”
The charge of social media censorship is far from a new one. However, the past two years have seen more aggressive actions taken by social media to promote Establishment voices through algorithms, decide what constitutes misinformation, and remove content that “conflicts” with vague community guidelines. Yet it is difficult to take action against these companies …
Continue reading “What’s Going on With Missouri AG’s Lawsuit Against Biden, Fauci, & Others”
In a typical investor-owned company, the first responsibility goes to the shareholders. These individuals should reap the benefits of the company’s activity, and the firm should be loyal and even deferential to these individuals. What happens when an environmental law firm joins the list of shareholders of a major oil company, meaning that the corporation …
Continue reading “Fighting from Within: Shell Shareholder Sues for Climate Action”
In 1954, then-former President Harry Truman wrote in a diary that an “honest public servant can’t become rich in politics.” The paraphrase of this entry has been widely shared through Internet memes, although Truman never actually uttered the phrase, “you can’t get rich in politics unless you’re a crook.” We’d all like to believe that …
We like to imagine that the US justice system is set up to prosecute wrongdoers and those who have committed egregious crimes against one or more members of the public. Yet this rose-coloured view has little bearing on how US courts are used in real life. With sad frequency, they are used to protect powerful …
Continue reading “A Tale of Two Prisoners: Updates on Steven Donziger and Julian Assange”
The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) is a government agency that was created in 1974, and has a stated purpose is “to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections.” In the first years of its …
There is always a price to pay for truly standing up to power. When your actions threaten the profits or power of a nation’s largest corporations, these dominant entities will come after you to either silence you, halt your actions, or make an example of you so that others do not attempt to upset the …
Continue reading “Free Steven Donziger: This is What Totalitarianism Looks Like”
Between the travesty that was the Steven Donziger court ruling and discussion of increased Facebook censorship among Congress, it was difficult to decide what to write about this week. The Donziger case might be next week’s subject, but this week I have decided to write about the massive leak of documents called the Pandora Papers. …
Continue reading “Taxes are for the Poor Part 2,175: The Pandora Papers”
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