Oct. 27, 2016 – Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to extend crucial privacy protections to broadband users. The new rule empowers consumers to control how broadband providers use and share their information. The Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) worked with the FCC, civil society, and other stakeholders throughout the process to ensure […]
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U.S. Cities Go to the Source to Protect Drinking Water
October 27, 2016 – In 2002, a catastrophic wildfire that burned 138,000 acres of forest made Denver’s drinking water supply run black with ash and soil. Cleanup of infrastructure damage, debris and erosion cost more than $25 million, while the fire-ravaged landscape caused increased flooding that wreaked havoc on water infrastructure and roads for years. This catastrophe pushed […]
Donald Trump Super PAC Illegally Soliciting Money from Chinese National to Influence U.S. Elections
Oct. 27, 2016 – The Campaign Legal Center today filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission based on an undercover investigation conducted by The Telegraph. The British newspaper’s reporting showed how representatives of a super PAC supporting Donald Trump attempting to arrange for a Chinese businessman to illegally contribute $2 million to the super […]
US abstains for first time in annual UN vote on ending embargo against Cuba
Oct. 27, 2016 – In a near unanimous action, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution underlining the need to end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against Cuba, while also welcoming progress in the relations between the two countries. But, for the first time in the 25 […]
As Election Nears, Voters Divided Over Democracy and ‘Respect’
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 27, 2016) – As the presidential campaign enters its final days, opinions about American democracy and the candidates’ respect for democratic institutions – as well their respect for women, minorities and other groups in society – have emerged as political flashpoints, according to a new national survey by Pew Research Center. Donald […]
U.S. Will Fail to Hit Paris Climate Commitments Unless Policymakers Get Beyond ‘Magical Thinking’ About Easy Solutions
WASHINGTON, Oct. 27, 2016 – With the Paris climate agreement coming into force next week, U.S. policymakers will need to get beyond the magical thinking that there are easy solutions to reach the ambitious targets the country has committed to, according to a new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). If the […]
White Supremacist Activity on Internet Spikes When Trump Talks Anti-Immigration
Oct. 27 2016 – The presidential race between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump has coincided with a large spike in white supremacist activity on the Internet, with Jewish journalists targeted in particular, according to a Vanderbilt professor. “The Trump campaign has given the white nationalist movement a long-awaited opportunity to spread its message to a […]
Texas ignores concerns over mandatory burial/ cremation of embryonic and fetal tissue from abortions or miscarriages
Oct. 27, 2016 – The Center for Reproductive Rights today denounced the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) for ignoring thousands of public comments expressing concern over the state’s latest politically motivated attempt to restrict a woman’s right to access safe and legal abortion by requiring mandatory burial or cremation of embryonic and fetal […]
Women’s wages could be 69 percent higher if the gender wage gap and overall inequality were eliminated
Oct. 26, 2016 – In 2015, the typical woman was paid 83 cents for every dollar earned by her male counterparts on an hourly basis. A large body of research diagnoses and investigates this gender wage gap—and finds that eliminating it is essential to ensuring the economic security of American women and the families that […]
Treating people like pollution: Homelessness and environmental justice
NEW ROCHELLE, NY, Oct. 26, 2016 – In cities where homeless persons are viewed as an “environmental contaminant”–a form of pollution, efforts to purge the homeless from the area tend to push them to the fringes of the community and diminish their access to the urban environment and the resources it provides, according to an […]
Bitter political climate in House chills some scientific pursuits
Oct. 26, 2016 – The House of Representatives Science, Space & Technology Committee has been operating in lockstep with the combative political climate this election season. Since last year, the committee chair has issued more than 25 subpoenas to investigate science agencies and others. But rather than bring misdeeds to light, some scientists say the […]
Clinton’s coalition of young supporters as large as Obama’s in 2012
Oct. 25, 2016 – A new GenForward survey released today reveals that support for Hillary Clinton among young white adults has increased in the past month and that she is now positioned to win a similar percentage of young voters to that of Barack Obama in 2012 (60 percent). However, Clinton’s coalition includes more young […]
UN expert group urges USA to abolish the mandatory detention of migrants
WASHINGTON, October 24, 2016 – The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention today called on the Government of the United States of America to abolish the mandatory detention of migrants, especially asylum seekers, from all countries. “Mandatory detention of migrants, especially asylum-seekers, is against international law standards,” the expert panel stressed at the end […]
Refugees and terrorism: “No evidence of risk” – New report by UN expert on counter-terrorism
NEW YORK (24 October 2016) – “Overly-restrictive migration policies introduced because of terrorism concerns are not justified and may in fact be damaging to state security,” warned the United Nations Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, Ben Emmerson, at the UN General Assembly in New York. Presenting a new report* on the impact of […]
Lawsuit to Bare Full Range of EPA Radiation Rollback
Washington, DC October 24, 2016 – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is illegally withholding the specific effects of its pending plan to dramatically hike permissible radiation exposure in our drinking water, according to a federal lawsuit filed today Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). While EPA is poised to allow vastly greater radioactive contamination than […]
Allowing guns on college campuses unlikely to reduce mass shootings
October 24, 2016 – Policies allowing civilians to bring guns on college campuses are unlikely to reduce mass shootings on campus and are likely to lead to more shootings, homicides and suicides on campus, especially among students, a new report concludes. The report was published by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health with […]
Final presidential debate is a tactical victory for Clinton
October 20, 2016 – Donald Trump entered Wednesday night’s presidential debate with his campaign in crisis mode. As sexual assault allegations and an endless parade of scandals beset the GOP nominee, the likelihood that he will suffer a landslide defeat on Nov. 8 grows by the day. A steady drumbeat of national polls now show […]
3 Men Arrested in Plot to Bomb Kansas Apartment Complex, Mosque Following Presidential Election
Oct. 18, 2016 – Three members of a southwest Kansas militia dubbed the “Crusaders” were arrested Friday on charges stemming from a plot to attack a housing complex that houses a mosque in Garden City, Kan. Editors’ Note: This post has been updated. Curtis Allen, 49, Gavin Wright, 49, of Liberal, Kan., and Patrick Stein, 47, a resident of a […]
Half of All American Adults are in a Police Face Recognition Database, New Report Finds
Oct. 18, 2016 – Half of American adults – more than 117 million people – are in a law enforcement face recognition network, according to a report released today by the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law. The study, The Perpetual Line-Up: Unregulated Police Face Recognition in America finds that one in four […]
Most Trump, Clinton Backers Say Spouses Share Their Vote Preferences
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 18, 2016) – As the 2016 campaign enters its final weeks, very few voters who support either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton expect their spouse or partner to cross the aisle and vote for the other candidate, according to a new national survey by Pew Research Center. Overall, 78% of registered voters who […]