On Wednesday, 68 lawmakers sent a letter urging the FCC to stop attacking Lifeline, a program that subsidizes phone and internet access for poor people.
Although unchecked government surveillance remains a popular topic in the post-Snowden era, the surveillance debate far too often overlooks how these programs have always disproportionately affected communities of color.
Internet service providers have a nearly unencumbered view of what people do online. They can track the websites we visit, the messages we send, even our physical location if we’re using mobile devices.
During the 1960s, the FBI and NSA followed, wiretapped and bugged Martin Luther King Jr. Today, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security spy on Black Lives Matter activists under the guise of “counterterrorism” and “situational awareness.”
The threat of widespread surveillance has muted many voices, especially those using digital media to express political views or organize others in their communities.
If this week is any indication, many of our representatives in Congress have abandoned their responsibility to represent their constituents and uphold the Constitution.
