First POST: Failures
BY Micah L. Sifry | Tuesday, March 10 2015
The CIA tried to undermine iPhone and iPad security; Wikipedia, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International USA, the ACLU and others sue the NSA; the White House's new $100 million tech initiative; and much, much more. Read More
Civic Tech and Engagement: In Search of a Common Language
BY Micah L. Sifry | Friday, September 5 2014
Marten van Valkenborsch, Construction of the Tower of Babel (c. 1600)
We need much clearer language to describe civic tech. Too often, people working in this field struggle to put into words what it is they are striving for. It's not enough to assume that, like the Supreme Court and obscenity, we know good civic tech when we see it. And if we can't say why something is good (or even great), how can we know what to design for? Indeed, how do we even know if we're after the same design goals? Read More
First POST: Cockamamie and Catastrophic
BY Micah L. Sifry | Wednesday, April 9 2014
More fallout from the "Cuban Twitter" misfire; Snowden explains how he is not like Assange; the benefits of open data; and much, much more. Read More
Surveillance in Ethiopia Is Bad Now, But Human Rights Watch Report Warns It Could Get Worse
BY Jessica McKenzie | Tuesday, April 1 2014
A grassroots surveillance network stretches even to remote rural areas (Adam Jones / Flickr)
Last week Human Rights Watch published a 100+ page report on government surveillance in Ethiopia that explains how the authorities use technology from countries like China, Germany and Italy to spy on opposition members, dissidents and journalists, even after they flee the country.
Read MoreFirst POST: Fight Club
BY Micah L. Sifry | Tuesday, February 11 2014
More than 6,000 websites and organizations are "fighting back" against NSA mass surveillance today; Not included among them, Wikipedia, which was critical to the anti-SOPA/PIPA coalition; a new mobile app Secret seems in tune with the new privacy zeitgeist, or is it?, and much, much more. Read More