The free movement of data across borders is critical to economic growth, has benefits for data security, and promotes privacy, speech, and associational rights. Yet, increasingly states are adopting a range of measures that restrict data flows to the United States and elsewhere and adopting costly data localization mandates, pursuant to which companies must store data locally. … continue »
It’s well known that government is in the computer hacking business and, we would argue, that under the right circumstances, has legitimate reasons to stay in it.… continue »
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THE PRESS AND PUBLIC DISCOURSE
Trump again stirs up racial divisions, this time by weighing in on NFL stars’ protests.
All About That Base: Trump Goes To War With NFL Over Racial Justice Protests
Trump spent this past weekend stirring up racial divisions in a sustained attack on NFL players kneeling in protest during the pre-game national anthem that was reportedly a deliberate nod to his electoral base.… continue »
As Puerto Rico faces the ordeal of recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Maria, its ability to import supplies is being curtailed by an arcane law that has long bedeviled the American island: The Jones Act.… continue »
The day-to-day news cycle focuses on critically important national security issues, such as North Korea saber rattling, the ongoing Russia investigation, or whatever else happens to be the national security topic du jour. This flood of daily national security news makes it difficult to take a step back from the day-to-day news cycle and look at the broader security and geopolitical trends that are taking place—but that is exactly what climate change and its corresponding security impacts demand.… continue »
Last week, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), approved a State & Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for fiscal year 2018. Most importantly, by a vote of 31-0, the bill adds back nearly $11 billion to the Trump administration’s whittled down budget submission.… continue »
Tuesday, September 12
9:30am – Senate Foreign Relations Committee – Nominations: Mr. Eric M. Ueland of Oregon to be Under Secretary of State (Management); The Hon. John R. Bass of New York, to be U.S. Ambassador to the Islamic Republic Of Afghanistan; Mr.… continue »
As Congress finally starts to debate whether to reauthorize Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act before it expires at the end of this year, it’s important to remember that we know a lot more about the government’s troubling practices since the law was last reauthorized in 2012.… continue »
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RULE OF LAW
Trump’s pardon of Arizona’s former sheriff Joe Arpaio raises questions about the rule of law.
Trump Pardons Joe Arpaio
Last Friday Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff convicted of criminal contempt for continuing in his hunt of undocumented immigrants even after his policies were found to be unconstitutional.… continue »
With less than five months to go until Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expires, we still do not have a clear path forward to a reauthorization that would also address the law’s substantial problems. A major reason for this is an impasse on what to do about the law’s most significant flaw: that it permits the government to seek out the content of Americans’ communications that have been swept up through Section 702 without any suspicion of wrongdoing, let alone a warrant, a problem known as “the backdoor search loophole.” Unfortunately, opponents of reforming the loophole have either failed to understand how the proposed fix to the loophole would actually work, or are describing it inaccurately in an effort to discredit reform.… continue »
