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Ashley Williams has mastered the art of practicing Black girl magic, and the proof is not only in her master’s but her law degree that she earned the exact same week. Before you ask — no, she wasn’t enrolled in a dual program, she actually attended two different universities located in two states at the same time. In 2019, Williams earned a master’s degree in political management from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., just two days later received her JD from the University of Pennsylvania, according to Because of Them We Can. To add to the abundance of Black girl magic, Williams completed her master’s while she was working as a special advisor and director of special projects to the U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. “I was really interested in beginning a program that would allow me to build upon my undergraduate degree, love for politics, and allow me to continue working. I knew I needed to grow. The Political Management degree at GW was perfect,“...
Apr 17, 2020
The California Consumer Privacy Act may be a beacon of hope for consumers who want to take the reins back from Big Brother. The law is the brainchild of Californians for Consumer Privacy Founder Alastair Mactaggart , who helped fund the ballot initiative that eventually became law. CCPA — which will take effect on Jan. 1 — will offer individuals the right to prevent data collection companies from selling their personal information. It also gives consumers the right to understand how companies plan to use their data and sue in the case of specific violations. The first of its kind, the law may give a green light to other states seeking to avoid the approval quagmire of similar federal privacy initiatives in favor of introducing local efforts. As reported in a recent USA Today article , though the new law gives consumers certain rights, it may not give them the wherewithal to exercise them. For example, under the CCPA, offenders can be fined from $2,500 to $7,500. However, the...
Dec 27, 2019
In the weeks following the Christchurch shooting — which spread rapidly across the internet — countries around the world have considered implementing new laws to prevent a repeat. Australia even proposed a bill that included possible prison time for executives whose companies failed to “expeditiously” remove violent content. On the other hand, the European Union, actually passed a new law. On Wednesday, the EU Parliament voted to fine big companies — like Facebook, Google, and Twitter — if they failed to quickly remove requested content. Under the law, “terrorist content,” should be removed within an hour. That includes any text, images, sound recordings or video that incites or solicits terrorist offenses, provides instructions to commit such offenses, or solicits the participation in activities of a terrorist group. Any companies who “systematically and persistently” fail to do so may face fines of up to 4 percent of their global turnover. However, for small companies who haven’t...
Apr 18, 2019
The internet has typically been viewed as a sort of free-for-all environment, but that may be changing. Recently, the United Kingdom proposed new legislation to regulate big tech online, which if passed can have major implications for the tech industry as a whole. In what would be the world’s first “online safety laws,” the new rules would regulate things like social media, file sharing platforms, search engines, public discussion forums for content found that causes “online harm.” The UK plans to bring on an independent regulator to enforce “stringent new standards.” Any platforms that don’t regulate hate speech and violent content relating to issues like suicide, cyberbullying, and abuse will be subject to fines. In addition, social media companies specifically have to follow a “duty of care” to protect users, and “could face heavy fines if they fail to deliver.” In the UK’s press release, digital secretary Jeremy Wright said: The era of self-regulation for online companies is...
Apr 8, 2019
Recently, the Australian government introduced a tough new bill to “prevent the weaponizing of social media platforms” by holding social media executives responsible for violent content on their platforms. Under the proposed law, social media platforms that fail to “expeditiously” remove “abhorrent violent material” (such as terrorism, murder, and rape) are subject to punishment. This can include a fine amounting to 10 percent of the companies’ annual earnings and executives could also be imprisoned for up to three years. In a press release , Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: “Big social media companies have a responsibility to take every possible action to ensure their technology products are not exploited by murderous terrorists. It should not just be a matter of doing the right thing. It should be the law.” Any platforms who become aware of violent content on their sites are required to notify the Australian Federal Police. If they don’t, they could face fines up to...
Apr 1, 2019
In Florida, the state legislature is considering two bills, known as the Florida Biometric Information Privacy Act, that would introduce new biometric data privacy laws, as reported by Health IT Security . The bills in question, SB 1270 and HB 1153 , were introduced by State Sen. Gary Farmer, Jr. and State Rep. Bobby DuBose, respectively. They’re both meant to establish requirements and restrictions on private businesses for the use, collection, and maintenance of biometric identifiers and biometric information. “The Florida Biometric Information Privacy Act would ensure that all Floridians are notified in writing that their biometric information is being collected and what the process is for the use of those most private identifiers by organizations seeking it,” DuBose said, according to Biometric Update . What’s considered a biometric identifier can vary. Generally, biometrics are physical characteristics that can be measured or calculated. In Florida’s case, biometric identifiers...
Mar 13, 2019