This week, I’m down in Florida at the Poynter Institute as a “visiting faculty member,” talking about social media and politics. My first presentation, embedded below, was on the promise of open data journalism.
E-PluribusUnum.org- In a dual crisis of of pandemic and protest, DC extends “vote-by-email” to people who requested an absentee ballotDigital democracy reforms tends to advance or retreat in fits and starts, but when exigent circumstances require more from us and our governments, change can happen unexpectedly. On May 26, I requested an absentee ballot, intending to cast my vote … Continue reading →
- Trump’s executive order on social media is a transparent attempt to stop his viral disinformation from being checkedThe United States needs a “whole of society” effort to increase resilience against disinformation and misinformation, particularly in the context of a global pandemic. Unfortunately, the actions of the Trump White House are weakening the health of our body politic, … Continue reading →
- The watchdogs protecting American democracy and informing the publicThe past decade has shown the world again and again how important anti-corruption watchdogs and nonpartisan advocates for transparency and accountability are for defending civil liberties and public access to information, online and off. The stress test that the Trump … Continue reading →
- Using location data to fight COVID19 puts civil liberties under greater threatWhen it comes to using location data to surveil the incidence and spread of the novel coronavirus, efficacy is what matters. Presidents, legislatures, and regulators around the world are trying to learn how to leverage existing and emerging technologies to … Continue reading →
- What cities can learn from Gainesville’s experiment with radical transparencyThere’s much to be learned from the experience of the city Gainesville, Florida, where a commissioners voted in 2014 to publish the public’s email correspondence with them and the mayor online. More than five years on, the city government and … Continue reading →
- Remote biosurveillance poses novel existential threats to civil libertiesFierceElectronics reports that Draganfly is claiming that their technologies can, when attached to a drone, detect fever, coughs, respiration, heart rate, & blood pressure for a given human at a distance. Put another way, this drone company is saying that … Continue reading →
- If disinformation is a public health risk, put lies into epistemic quarantineInforming the public during a pandemic has always been a challenge for public health officials, but the information landscape of 2020 has been polluted by the the Trump administration’s history of lying in ways that make response to the coronavirus … Continue reading →
- US FOIA Advisory Committee recommends agencies harmonize FOIA and open data programsYesterday, the United States Freedom of Information Act Advisory Committee met at the National Archives in Washington and approved a series of recommendations that would, if implemented, dramatically improve public access to public information. And in May, it will consider … Continue reading →
- Department of Justice Quietly Answers Senate Questions on FOIA RegressionDuring Sunshine Week in March 2019, members of the Senate Judiciary sent a letter to the Justice Department’s Office of Information Policy (OIP) that asked for information about the state of the Freedom of Information Act, noting a lack of … Continue reading →
- Digital technologies are disrupting democracies, for both good and illElon University and Pew Research Center asked experts what the impact of digital disruption will be upon democracy in 2030: Perspectives differ! About half predicted that humans will use technology to weaken democracy over the next decade, with concerns grounded … Continue reading →
- In a dual crisis of of pandemic and protest, DC extends “vote-by-email” to people who requested an absentee ballot
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