Dec 4, 2019Member-onlyA Nonprofit Alliance Becomes an Ally of Big TelecomHow well-meaning, public-serving groups wound up as part of an alliance aimed at undermining state regulation of broadband and privacy laws. BY CHRIS WITTEMAN AND TRACY ROSENBERG -NOVEMBER 24, 2019 Originally published in 48 Hills. It’s not unusual for businesses to spend princely sums lobbying government to free them from…Telecommunication9 min readTelecommunication9 min read
Apr 27, 2019Member-onlyThese Four California Democrats Can Break PrivacyNowadays, do 94% of Americans agree on anything? It sure doesn’t seem like it, but in fact there are a few things that we aren’t polarized about. One of these things is wanting tech companies to get our permission before they share our personal information. Bowing to overwhelming consensus, California’s…Politics2 min readPolitics2 min read
Apr 7, 2019Member-onlyBreaking The Deal To Sell You Your Privacy: Privacy For AllIn a much-heralded backroom deal to end all backroom deals, the State of California launched the California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA, the “American GDPR” in June of 2018. Days before a statewide ballot initiative was to qualify for the ballot, with high poll numbers and a growing industry slush…Privacy4 min readPrivacy4 min read
Jan 28, 2019How FEMA Blew Up A Wildlife Refuge 35 TimesEvery year in September, around the anniversary of 9–11, Bay Area SWAT teams, along with occasional visitors from Bahrain, Hong Kong, Brazil or Israel, gather for the annual training exercise called Urban Shield. …Environment4 min readEnvironment4 min read
Dec 31, 2018Intersectionality and Me: The Women’s March SufferingIntersectionality and Me: The Women’s March Suffering Every once in a while something goes on in the world, and it has the interest level for you of a gory car crash; you can’t bear to watch and you can’t bear to look away. So with this week’s Women’s March blow-up…Anti Semitism7 min readAnti Semitism7 min read
Nov 21, 2018Find Us One More ShotFind us one more shot. According to a lawsuit filed in the Western District of New York federal court, those are the instructions the Rochester Police Department sent to Shotspotter, a manufacturer of gunshot detection sensors, in the evening following the shooting of Silvon Simmons on April 1, 2016. It…Police5 min readPolice5 min read
Nov 7, 2018A Firewall Fraying: Chronicle Election Coverage in 2018According to a number of experts, and most of us on the natch, the 2018 midterm election has been one of the most hostile and partisan in years. …Politics7 min readPolitics7 min read
Oct 31, 2018The Purpose Of The Smart City Is To Kill UsJust because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean ….. It’s been a hell of a week. No doubt it was extra added if you happen to carry the last name that I was born with — Rosenberg. But virtually no one wants to be blown away for an identity that they can’t…Smart Cities4 min readSmart Cities4 min read
Oct 22, 2018Notes From The Last Urban Shield As We Know ItOn September 7th and 8th, I attended the Bay Area’s police militarization expo, Urban Shield. Urban Shield is a competition for the Bay Area’s SWAT teams, fire departments, and hazmat and emergency operations teams and a law enforcement equipment expo, which is funded by the Department of Homeland Security’s UASI…Terrorism9 min readTerrorism9 min read
Aug 2, 2018Taming High Tech Law and Order in the Wild Wild WestI didn’t grow up in California. Instead I grew up in the relatively staid brick-lined streets of the Northeast, where history looks like pilgrim hats. I understood Blazing Saddles better than Stagecoach. But life can take you in some unexpected directions. I grew up to become a privacy advocate on…Privacy4 min readPrivacy4 min read
