Category «Censorship»

ICE Is Searching a Massive Insurance and Medical Bill Database to Find Deportation Targets

404 Media: “Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have gained access to a massive database of health and car insurance claims and are using it to track down people they want to deport, according to internal ICE material viewed by 404 Media. The database, which contains details on more than 1.8 billion insurance claims …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, E-Records, Government Documents, Health Care, Transportation

In the fight against foreign information manipulation, the US can’t afford to disarm

Atlantic Council: “As its adversaries wage an information war, the United States is retreating from the front lines. Washington has dismantled key programs for countering foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI), such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Foreign Influence Task Force. This leaves a dangerous vacuum in the US national defense posture. If left …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Defense, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The U.S. government is failing on vaccine policy

STAT – The Vaccine Integrity Project is here to help: “Recently, the Department of Health and Human Services floated new standards for vaccine approvals, rescinded longstanding Covid-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, and fired all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee. These actions represent a …

Subjects: Censorship, Congress, Health Care, Medicine

Once it was mostly a taco website. Now it’s covering L.A. ICE raids.

Washington Post via MSN – no paywall: “It all happened so quickly. On June 6, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended upon Los Angeles, raiding businesses and arresting more than 40 people. Once word got out on social media, protests began and L.A. Taco’s six-person news team headed out to the streets. Investigative reporter Lexis-Olivier …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

NOAA Proposes Permanently Closing Premier Hurricane Research Institute

Michael Lowry – Eye on The Tropics – “Only days after the U.S. Department of Defense abruptly announced the immediate termination of satellite data critical to hurricane forecasts – granted a moratorium early Monday through July – NOAA posted details of its 2026 budget request to Congress, which closes more than a dozen world-class weather …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, Congress, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

Websites hosting major US climate reports taken down

AP: “Websites that displayed legally mandated U.S. national climate assessments seem to have disappeared, making it harder for state and local governments and the public to learn what to expect in their backyards from a warming world. [Note – this article includes full text PDF copies of the disappeared reports] Scientists said the peer-reviewed authoritative …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, E-Government, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care

Sudden loss of key US satellite data could send hurricane forecasting back ‘decades’

The Guardian posted the text of a government press release – Topic: Suspension of All Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Data by June 30, 2025 Date/Time Issued: June 25, 2025 1735 UTC Product(s) or Data Impacted:  All Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data and products: FINE, SMOOTH and HOUSEKEEPING data from Operational Linescan System (OLS), …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, E-Government, E-Records, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management

Turns Out Appeasing Trump Only Emboldened Him

The American Prospect: “…Biden appointed a milquetoast moderate, Merrick Garland, as attorney general, and as The New York Times and Washington Post reported in detail, he initially refused to prosecute Trump on his globally televised sedition and insurrection, instead attempting a traditional organized crime roll-up that went nowhere and ate up months. It wasn’t until …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Legal Research

Stand Up for Science

“Stand Up for Science was born in February 2025—in the wake of devastating cuts to federal research funding and infrastructure, unprecedented government censorship of scientific work, and targeted attacks on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Supported by a team of over 100 volunteers, we hosted over 30 official Stand Up for Science rallies on March …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Education, Environmental Law, Food and Nutrition, Health Care, HIV/AIDS, Medicine

Law360 mandates reporters use AI “bias” detection on all stories

NiemanLab: “A new policy at Law360, the legal news service owned by LexisNexis, requires that every story pass through an AI-powered “bias” detection tool before publication. The Law360 Union, which represents over 200 editorial staffers across the 350-person newsroom, has denounced the mandate since it went into effect in mid-May. On June 17, unit chair …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Justice Dept. Explores Using Criminal Charges Against Election Officials

The New York Timesl: “Senior Justice Department officials are exploring whether they can bring criminal charges against state or local election officials if the Trump administration determines they have not sufficiently safeguarded their computer systems, according to people familiar with the discussions. The department’s effort, which is still in its early stages, is not based …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Records, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research

Federal Judge – HHS layoffs were likely unlawful and must be halted

AP: “A federal judge has ruled that recent mass layoffs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services were likely unlawful and ordered the Trump administration to halt plans to downsize and reorganize the nation’s health workforce. U.S. District Judge Melissa DuBose granted the preliminary injunction sought by a coalition of attorneys general from …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Records, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine