DENVER - Issues of Internet freedom have been the focus of a three-day meeting in Denver. The National Conference for Media Reform brought together thousands of policymakers, advocates and tech experts who met to discuss such issues as protecting the Internet from government, and corporate attempts at limiting its free and unfettered usage.

Congressional bills to regulate the Internet, known as SOPA and PIPA, were roundly rejected last year when grassroots activists organized petitions, protests and a one-day service blackout on the Web. However, according to activist Holmes Wilson, the next threats to the Internet are on the doorstep and may require similar uprisings.

"People care immensely about the Internet; it's so important to them, and there's so many ways that it could get messed up," he warned. "It's honestly, actually, pretty fragile."

Advocates pointed to a cyber-security bill in Congress called CISPA which they say is deeply flawed, a move by AT&T to dissolve regulations regarding affordable and open networks, and international trade agreements that would affect Internet freedom.

Jessica Gonzalez of the National Hispanic Media Coalition worries about the underprivileged and seniors who might lose their "lifelines" under AT&T's plan.

She defined the situation as one "where they're basically trying to do an end run and get out of all their obligations to the public, including the basic requirement that they actually provide service to everyone, which is kind of crazy."

AT&T promises its proposed deregulation will bring substantial consumer benefits.

Craig Aaron, whose group, Free Press, hosted the conference, declared that the uprising against SOPA and PIPA has had a lasting effect.

"The good news is that if you're on Capitol Hill right now, you'll still hear members of Congress talking about not getting 'SOPA'd', he said. "What we really have to watch out for is these big companies: if they don't get their way in Washington, they'll go try to do it at the local level. If they don't get their way at the local level, they'll go try to do it internationally, sneak things into trade agreements."

Elizabeth Stark, an open-Internet advocate and former academic, said blackouts can't be mounted every time there's a threat. She asserted that it's a marathon, not a sprint.

"SOPA was a sprint-like moment where we had a very short amount of time, we had a huge goal and we had to address it and we prevailed and succeeded. But this is going to be decades-long, in our goal to keep the Internet free."


This story was produced as part of the Media Consortium's Media Policy Reporting and Education Project, thanks to a generous grant from the Media Democracy Fund.





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SALT LAKE CITY - With rising numbers of people targeted in hate crimes and related violence, a new report analyzes the hate-crime laws in each state.

The Movement Advancement Project and 16 partner organizations detail the patchwork of state laws in ten areas, and make suggestions for how states could move forward to reduce hate crimes.

Naomi Goldberg, deputy director of the group behind the report, said Utah updated its hate crime statute in 2019 to be more inclusive after violence against an immigrant man. But she said the state lacks support services for victims.

"We know that hate violence impacts those individuals," said Goldberg, "who may often need mental health care, potentially physical health care, and other pieces to help recover, but also communities that experience hate violence need those kind of supports."

The FBI consider a hate crime as an act of violence against people based on race, religion,
disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.

Goldberg said law enforcement agencies in Utah collect data on hate crimes, but only on a voluntary basis. She notes data collection is vital to get a full picture of what's happening in a state.

Goldberg said adequate law enforcement training also is crucial, along with solutions that focus beyond prison walls. She said several states have created sentencing options that don't strictly involve incarceration, and are instead based on restorative justice practices.

"That could include education, it could include actually engaging with victims and helping to build understanding," said Goldberg. "Which, when we think about hate violence, I think it's important that this isn't just a crime that happens. This is hate that is in our community, and intolerance that's in our country. So, how do we actually get to that root cause?"

Ultimately, Goldberg said eliminating hate violence will require society-level changes.

"We can't think about hate crime laws as a single solution," said Goldberg. "We really need to be thinking more broadly."

Partners for this report include the Anti-Defamation League, Matthew Shepard Foundation, National Black Justice Coalition and National Disability Rights Network.

DENVER - As Congress struggles to pass legislation to boost recovery from the pandemic's economic fallout, tax experts are urging lawmakers to invest in policies that benefit working families by taxing the rich.

Chuck Marr - senior director of federal tax policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - said expanding access to affordable housing, quality child care and other supports can help families re-enter and remain in the workforce, and begin to close a widening racial wealth gap.

He pointed to recent reports showing that the nation's wealthiest households and corporations pay little or no income tax, the nation's primary tax revenue stream.

"And the idea here is just (to) raise taxes on the wealthiest people in the country," said Marr, "and to use that revenue to improve the economic opportunities and stability of working middle-class families."

Coloradans now seeing hundreds of dollars each month deposited in their bank accounts through the temporary Child Tax Credit, a policy projected to dramatically reduce child poverty, would continue to receive those benefits under proposals making their way through Congress.

Democrats also are pushing to expand access to health care and giving all workers access to paid family leave.

Critics warn that expanding safety-net programs will usher in an age of big government, and some lawmakers say raising taxes would slow economic recovery.

Marr said people have become wise to claims that cutting taxes boosts economic growth, and points to polls showing Americans overwhelmingly support raising taxes on the people who can most afford to pay.

"There's just an absence of evidence that cutting taxes for rich people and large multinational corporations has economic benefits," said Marr. "It's sort of the 'trickle down economics' for the last 40 years, and it failed over and over again."

Marr said tax policy can be crafted to narrow the nation's racial wealth gap, or it can continue to allow wealthy families, which are overwhelmingly white, to pay little or no taxes.

Marr said making investments in programs that help the bottom 60 to 80% of households, where people of color are disproportionately represented, would be a step in the right direction.

EAST TROY, Wis. -- Wisconsin is at the center of a lawsuit targeting federal debt relief for farmers of color.

The suit was filed this spring by a Wisconsin-based conservative law group. The plaintiffs argued specialized aid in the American Rescue Plan unfairly excludes white farmers.

Those assisting BIPOC farmers said they are finally getting attention after being left behind for far too long.

Donale Richards, food systems program manager at the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, contended it speaks to the lack of awareness of the scope of aid programs.

"Most of the time, when people are making these types of arguments, they don't necessarily have the facts," Richards asserted. "They just look at, 'Why am I being held back?'"

Richards pointed out aside from historical land access issues and loan discrimination, USDA programs are restrictive for BIPOC farmers. He argued the screening process is onerous, making it hard to qualify for aid.

The Environmental Working Group reported last year, white farmers received nearly 97% of the aid from the USDA's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Meanwhile, the lawsuit has temporarily halted this year's loan forgiveness efforts approved under the Rescue Plan.

Richards noted aid from certain USDA programs, like ones that help farmers just starting out access equipment, tend to have a short window. That can limit the growth of BIPOC-operated farms once the equipment breaks down.

"The intent is to really make a huge impact in a year or two," Richards stated. "But there really isn't given much thought to five-year plans or ten-year plans."

The Institute is ramping up outreach through its own Food Systems program. It gives aspiring farmers, especially those from traditionally marginalized ethic groups, a broad layout of the U.S. food system and how to best navigate its layers.

Over the past century, the acreage owned by Black farmers in the U.S. has been cut in half. Less than 1% of Wisconsin producers are Black.