Tracy Rosenberg
@twrling.bsky.social
Executive director of Media Alliance (https://media-alliance.org) and advocate with Oakland Privacy (https://oaklandprivacy.org). Journalism, communication rights, privacy, surveillance, transparency. And caramel ...
"Department of Homeland Security and State Department documents instead cite their advocacy for Palestinian rights in protests and writings — activities protected by the First Amendment" theintercept.com/2026/01/23/m...
New Legal Documents Show Marco Rubio Targeted Students for Op-Eds and Protesting
Rubio accused Mahmoud Khalil, Yunseo Chung, and others of supporting terrorism, but records unsealed after litigation by The Intercept undermine his claims.
theintercept.com
January 27, 2026 at 7:04 PM
"Department of Homeland Security and State Department documents instead cite their advocacy for Palestinian rights in protests and writings — activities protected by the First Amendment" theintercept.com/2026/01/23/m...
“I guess if you’re not the card-carrying, you know, U.S. citizen, then you must be illegal, because that’s what they told me is he’s illegal, and he’s definitely not a criminal. So what part of him is illegal? I don’t know.” newrepublic.com/post/205623/...
ICE Agents Violently Arrest Black Corrections Officer
The local sheriff was horrified by the arrest of his recruit, and said the federal government is telling a different story from what’s really happening on the ground.
newrepublic.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:59 PM
“I guess if you’re not the card-carrying, you know, U.S. citizen, then you must be illegal, because that’s what they told me is he’s illegal, and he’s definitely not a criminal. So what part of him is illegal? I don’t know.” newrepublic.com/post/205623/...
"The acting #FBI supervisor of the Public Corruption Squad in the Minneapolis field office, Tracee Mergen, resigned last week in part due to the pressure on her to reclassify/discontinue the (Good) investigation" www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-age...
FBI agent in Minneapolis involved in Renee Good probe resigns
Tracee Mergen, whose FBI squad was involved in the Renee Good investigation and probes into public benefits fraud in Minnesota, resigned last week, sources said.
www.cbsnews.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:56 PM
"The acting #FBI supervisor of the Public Corruption Squad in the Minneapolis field office, Tracee Mergen, resigned last week in part due to the pressure on her to reclassify/discontinue the (Good) investigation" www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-age...
"#FEMA has reduced the payments that #fire departments receive for the use of their fire engines when they’re asked to help with wildfires outside their jurisdiction.
This could prompt some departments to stop answering calls for help" www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...
This could prompt some departments to stop answering calls for help" www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...
FEMA cuts payouts to local fire departments responding to wildfires
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is reducing the reimbursement city and rural fire departments get for responding to wildfires. Fire officials fear it will hamper fire response across the...
www.sfchronicle.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:52 PM
"#FEMA has reduced the payments that #fire departments receive for the use of their fire engines when they’re asked to help with wildfires outside their jurisdiction.
This could prompt some departments to stop answering calls for help" www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...
This could prompt some departments to stop answering calls for help" www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...
"The proposed bills would limit federal agencies from accessing #Flock data and require agencies to delete raw data, including pictures of vehicles and their license plates, within 72 hours of collection" #ALPR www.king5.com/article/news...
Washington lawmakers move to limit Flock license plate reader cameras amid privacy concerns
Lawmakers in Olympia push for tighter controls on automatic license plate readers, citing privacy concerns and bipartisan support for new regulations.
www.king5.com
January 26, 2026 at 8:36 PM
"The proposed bills would limit federal agencies from accessing #Flock data and require agencies to delete raw data, including pictures of vehicles and their license plates, within 72 hours of collection" #ALPR www.king5.com/article/news...
"As his four-year-old grandson watched and cried, Thao was led out in handcuffs wearing only sandals and underwear with just a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Agents eventually realized that he was a US #citizen with no criminal record" #ICE www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
US citizen says ICE forced him from his home without clothes in subfreezing weather
ChongLy ‘Scott’ Thao of Minnesota says agents pointed guns at his family, and his four-year-old grandson watched and cried
www.theguardian.com
January 26, 2026 at 6:45 PM
"As his four-year-old grandson watched and cried, Thao was led out in handcuffs wearing only sandals and underwear with just a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Agents eventually realized that he was a US #citizen with no criminal record" #ICE www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
"#Drone models similar to the Stalker VXE30 have been used in #military operations around the world and are currently being used by the U.S. Army and other branches for long-range reconnaissance" www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
Baton Rouge Acquires a Straight-Up Military Surveillance Drone
The Baton Rouge Police Department announced this week that it will begin using a drone designed by military equipment manufacturer Lockheed Martin and Edge Autonomy, making it one of the first local p...
www.eff.org
January 26, 2026 at 6:39 PM
"#Drone models similar to the Stalker VXE30 have been used in #military operations around the world and are currently being used by the U.S. Army and other branches for long-range reconnaissance" www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...
"San Francisco approved $92 million for police #overtime. Meanwhile, the #PublicDefenders office received no new felony attorney positions" 48hills.org/2026/01/why-...
Why the Public Defender's Office can't take all the felony cases the Superior Court is forcing on us - 48 hills
The mayor's anti-crime agenda has a cost—and the indigent clients of Public Defender Mano Raju shouldn't be paying it
48hills.org
January 26, 2026 at 6:23 PM
"San Francisco approved $92 million for police #overtime. Meanwhile, the #PublicDefenders office received no new felony attorney positions" 48hills.org/2026/01/why-...
"This is the 10-year anniversary of the largest #methane gas leak in United States history. Over four months the #AlisoCanyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in Los Angeles County released more than 100,000 tons of methane, drowning nearby communities in toxic fumes" calmatters.org/commentary/2...
Opinion | Suspicion looms over Aliso Canyon storage facility a decade after massive gas leak
Residents are angry that the natural gas storage site still operates. Its methane gas leak in 2015-16 displaced 10,000 families and caused illness.
calmatters.org
January 26, 2026 at 6:17 PM
"This is the 10-year anniversary of the largest #methane gas leak in United States history. Over four months the #AlisoCanyon Natural Gas Storage Facility in Los Angeles County released more than 100,000 tons of methane, drowning nearby communities in toxic fumes" calmatters.org/commentary/2...
LAPD sees the Olympics as a surveillance and military equipment cornucopia. laist.com/news/lapd-wa...
LAPD wants nearly $100M to police the Olympics. Who's going to pay for it?
City Hall is already in dispute over the department's current budget. Now, LAPD wants new vehicles and equipment for 2028.
laist.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:11 PM
LAPD sees the Olympics as a surveillance and military equipment cornucopia. laist.com/news/lapd-wa...
There have been 3 deaths in the past two weeks at the Fort Bliss #immigrant detention center. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Third immigrant detainee at facility in El Paso has died, ICE says
Camp East Montana on Fort Bliss in El Paso is one of the largest ICE detention centers in the country.
www.nbcnews.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:05 PM
There have been 3 deaths in the past two weeks at the Fort Bliss #immigrant detention center. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
"They argue, the deregulation strategy is popular because it’s easy for powerful forces in our society to accept:. The crisis in affordability is not linked to a lack of #housing supply, but to the growing economic inequality in the country" 48hills.org/2026/01/new-...
New study shows that deregulation is not the answer to the affordable housing crisis - 48 hills
Upzoning might make SF affordable—in 100 years. Or we could address economic inequality, the real cause of the problem
48hills.org
January 22, 2026 at 5:59 PM
"They argue, the deregulation strategy is popular because it’s easy for powerful forces in our society to accept:. The crisis in affordability is not linked to a lack of #housing supply, but to the growing economic inequality in the country" 48hills.org/2026/01/new-...
Reposted by Tracy Rosenberg
40+ tech and justice orgs including @18millionrising.bsky.social @accessnow.org @stopspyingny.bsky.social and @ultraviolet.bsky.social demand lawmakers take swift action to stem the tide on ICE violence and the tech and data spending that help it spread!
www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-01...
www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-01...
40+ tech & justice organizations call on Congress to vote NO on funding for ICE’s multi-billion dollar panopticon and to abolish the agency
Citing extraordinary abuse of power and of surveillance technologies, a coalition of over 40 tech and justice organizations has issued an urgent letter calling on Congress to vote NO on all funding fo...
www.fightforthefuture.org
January 20, 2026 at 10:08 PM
40+ tech and justice orgs including @18millionrising.bsky.social @accessnow.org @stopspyingny.bsky.social and @ultraviolet.bsky.social demand lawmakers take swift action to stem the tide on ICE violence and the tech and data spending that help it spread!
www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-01...
www.fightforthefuture.org/news/2026-01...
Even the state itself can't get the records to investigate #jail deaths. www.pasadenastarnews.com/2026/01/19/c...
California agency tasked with scrutinizing jail deaths hasn’t completed a single review
A year-and-a-half after the In-Custody Death Review Division was created within a state agency, the office has yet to obtain completed records from counties.
www.pasadenastarnews.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:23 PM
Even the state itself can't get the records to investigate #jail deaths. www.pasadenastarnews.com/2026/01/19/c...
"We are in a state of emergency. In my 55 years on this earth, I cannot recall more dangerous time in our nation’s history,” said Woods. “Our civil liberties are being trampled on a daily basis.” www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/01/21/b...?
Bay Area county committee passes ICE response plan for future enforcement operations, bans agency from county property
The proposals call for a coordinated regional response to federal immigration raids, ban ICE and other immigration authorities from county-owned buildings and demand that federal immigration office…
www.eastbaytimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 7:16 PM
"We are in a state of emergency. In my 55 years on this earth, I cannot recall more dangerous time in our nation’s history,” said Woods. “Our civil liberties are being trampled on a daily basis.” www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/01/21/b...?
Useful toolkit from the Marshall Project on how best to report on and investigate deaths in #jails and #prisons. #journalism #criminaljustice www.themarshallproject.org/2025/01/31/d...
How Journalists Can Investigate Deaths in Prisons and Jails
When you get a tip about a death or multiple deaths in your local jail or prison, there are concrete steps you can take to start investigating.
www.themarshallproject.org
January 21, 2026 at 6:47 PM
Useful toolkit from the Marshall Project on how best to report on and investigate deaths in #jails and #prisons. #journalism #criminaljustice www.themarshallproject.org/2025/01/31/d...
California? "While services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube TV look increasingly like a cable package, they aren’t subject to thelaw that require cable access fees to be collected. The bill would change that". #localnews #communitymedia #CALeg whatworks.news/2026/01/11/c...
Cord-cutting threatens local access cable. Can legislation save this vital community lifeline?
By Greg Maynard Massachusetts is home to more than 250 local cable access stations. Bay Staters know them as the folks who videotape and broadcast local government meetings, high school sports and …
whatworks.news
January 21, 2026 at 6:33 PM
California? "While services like Netflix, Hulu and YouTube TV look increasingly like a cable package, they aren’t subject to thelaw that require cable access fees to be collected. The bill would change that". #localnews #communitymedia #CALeg whatworks.news/2026/01/11/c...
"Here, amidst the repurposed neoclassical columns and wooden pews of a building constructed to worship a different kind of permanence, lies the physical manifestation of the "virtual" world" #Internet hackernoon.com/the-long-now...
The Long Now of the Web: Inside the Internet Archive’s Fight Against Forgetting | HackerNoon
A deep dive into the Internet Archive's custom tech stack.
hackernoon.com
January 21, 2026 at 6:27 PM
"Here, amidst the repurposed neoclassical columns and wooden pews of a building constructed to worship a different kind of permanence, lies the physical manifestation of the "virtual" world" #Internet hackernoon.com/the-long-now...
"They laid out a case that included the finding that, between June and October 2025, state agencies accessed Santa Cruz camera data roughly 4,000 times on behalf of federal law enforcement, including ICE, in violation of California’s SB 34." #Flock www.kqed.org/news/1206970...
Santa Cruz the First in California to Terminate Its Contract With Flock Safety | KQED
Santa Cruz City Council voted to terminate its contract with Flock Safety, the license plate reader company that has come under scrutiny for its data collection and sharing practices.
www.kqed.org
January 19, 2026 at 10:33 PM
"They laid out a case that included the finding that, between June and October 2025, state agencies accessed Santa Cruz camera data roughly 4,000 times on behalf of federal law enforcement, including ICE, in violation of California’s SB 34." #Flock www.kqed.org/news/1206970...
#Colorado is the last of the 50 states to agree to livestream its state #legislative committee hearings. They just joined the rest. gazette.com/2026/01/03/c...
Colorado legislature votes to make committee hearing livestreams permanent
The executive committee of the legislative council — the six top leaders of the House and Senate — voted 5-1 Wednesday to make permanent the video livestreaming of committee hearings, starting in the ...
gazette.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:17 PM
#Colorado is the last of the 50 states to agree to livestream its state #legislative committee hearings. They just joined the rest. gazette.com/2026/01/03/c...
DHS lies a lot. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Some criminals ICE takes credit for arresting were already in Minnesota prisons
Several of the 13 “worst of the worst” criminals that the Department of Homeland Security said were arrested in Minnesota through its immigration enforcement operation were actually handed over to ICE...
www.mprnews.org
January 19, 2026 at 9:59 PM
DHS lies a lot. www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
"A lawyer for the government on Tuesday apologized for what he said was a “mistake” by an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement who failed to properly flag the court order because he thought it no longer applied as she was out of Massachusetts" #ICE www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
US judge gives Trump administration three weeks to return deported student
Lawyer for administration had apologized earlier for violating court order and admitted ‘mistake’
www.theguardian.com
January 19, 2026 at 9:54 PM
"A lawyer for the government on Tuesday apologized for what he said was a “mistake” by an officer with Immigration and Customs Enforcement who failed to properly flag the court order because he thought it no longer applied as she was out of Massachusetts" #ICE www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
SJPD, one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the state, is the latest agency caught sharing #Flock #ALPR scans with federal agencies. www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/01/15/s...
San Jose latest city to face questions whether federal authorities are accessing police license plate camera data
Department denies wrongdoing and said searches ‘were not related to immigration enforcement.’
www.eastbaytimes.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:07 PM
SJPD, one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the state, is the latest agency caught sharing #Flock #ALPR scans with federal agencies. www.eastbaytimes.com/2026/01/15/s...
Search warrant for the home of a Washpo #reporter in a white collar crime case has media outlets and advocates upset. www.cnn.com/2026/01/15/m...
‘Tip of the iceberg’: The FBI search of a reporter’s home has newsrooms bracing for more | CNN Business
Inside The Washington Post, the impact was immediate. Reporters called the search “incredibly disturbing.” Hannah Natanson, whose home was raided, urged her Post colleagues to keep reporting.
www.cnn.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Search warrant for the home of a Washpo #reporter in a white collar crime case has media outlets and advocates upset. www.cnn.com/2026/01/15/m...
#Socialmedia companies have revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children in Australia since the country banned use of the platforms by those under 16. apnews.com/article/aust...
Social media platforms removed 4.7 million accounts after Australia banned them for children
Social media companies have revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children in Australia.
apnews.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:46 PM
#Socialmedia companies have revoked access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children in Australia since the country banned use of the platforms by those under 16. apnews.com/article/aust...