Data Privacy
What to know: A bill before the Texas Legislature would give Texans more control over their personal information online.
The TPPF take: We generally have little knowledge of how our personal information is used, even with current safeguards such as privacy notices.
“The bill includes strong digital rights for Texans to exercise, empowering them to have ownership and control of their data,” says TPPF’s David Dunmoyer. “Further, for the processing of data belonging to a child, the child’s parent or legal guardian is entitled to exercise these rights on the child’s behalf. This would put Texans back in control of their personal information.”
For more on date privacy, click here.
Crime in D.C.
What to know: President Biden is playing defense on crime in D.C., supporting Congress’s roll back of the D.C. City Council’s efforts to lower punishment for violent crime.
The TPPF take: President Biden’s about-face on crime is about politics, not principle.
“The truth is that President Biden watches the news and has plenty of aides who can tell him which way the wind is blowing on crime,” says TPPF’s Lars Trautman. “Americans still want to improve the criminal justice system—one poll in October 2022 found that 8 in 10 Americans support criminal justice reform. But Americans have also seen violent crime rise in many places over the last few years and want real action to address it.”
For more on crime, click here.
DEI is Losing
What to know: Another university system has ditched its “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” (DEI) statements from its hiring process. This time, it’s Texas State University.
The TPPF take: Discriminatory DEI policies have no place in our public universities.
“Texas colleges and universities have been giving preferential hiring treatment (inclusion) to those who believe our country is driven by racism, white supremacy and a binary gender patriarchy,” says TPPF’s Sherry Sylvester. “Everyone else, especially those who espouse principles like merit, initiative, color-blindness and equality fall into the ‘white supremacist’ category. They’re excluded.”
For more on DEI, click here.