• For the first time, prosecutors in Saudi Arabia are seeking the death penalty against a woman activist, Israa al-Ghomgham, solely related to her peaceful activism. She gained notoriety by filming Shia protests during the Arab Spring in 2011. Along with her husband, she was arrested and imprisoned in late 2015.
(“Saudi Prosecution Seeks Death Penalty for Female Activist,” Human Rights Watch, Aug. 21, 2018; “Saudi Arabia Freezes Canada Trade Ties for Urging Activists’ Release,” BBC News, Aug. 6, 2018)
• Donald Trump’s Treasury Department has moved to weaken financial disclosure requirements for secret “dark money” political groups, provoking an outcry from campaign finance reformers. Under the new rules, political non-profits who spend money to influence elections are not required to share the names of donors with the Internal Revenue Service. In response, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, introduced a bill to repeal the Treasury Department ruling.
(“Trump’s and the Koch Brothers War on Disclosure,” American Prospect, July 26, 2018)
• ProPublica reports health insurers are working hand in hand with big data companies to collect personal information on tens of millions of Americans. Data brokers are now able to track an individual’s race, TV viewing habits, net worth, education and social media posts. Health insurers can feed the data into a computer algorithm to project health care costs for specific individuals.
(“Health Insurers Are Vacuuming Up Details About You—And It Could Raise Your Rates,” ProPublica, July 17, 2018)
