CfA's March 27, 2020 Newsletter

Our Latest Work:

• Tech Giants Fail to Eradicate Face Mask Sales: On Tuesday, CfA released the results of our investigation showing that private sales of vital medical face masks are still being readily promoted on Facebook, Instagram, and Google, despite their promises to ban such promotion on their platforms.  (Press Release, Report ) 
  • Our findings were covered by several outlets including TechCrunch, The Independent, and Quartz.
  • The investigation was conducted as part of the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), our research initiative designed to hold large technology companies accountable. (TTP Website )
• #FOIAFriday: For #FOIAFriday, CfA is highlighting the work we've done in the past year to hold the Trump Administration accountable on the issue of choice, and are continuing to bring attention to HHS's failure to respond to two FOIA lawsuits that we filed in February, which seek information regarding taxpayer funds that are administered through the Title X Family Planning program and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) program. (Click here to view on Twitter.)

We're Hiring:

• CfA is Hiring: We're looking for a Summer Legal Intern.

What We're Reading:

• Fed’s big boost for BlackRock raises eyebrows on Wall Street: One asset manager, who wished to remain anonymous due to BlackRock's extreme influence on Wall Street, was quoted as saying "It is truly outrageous... BlackRock will be managing a fund and deciding if they want to use taxpayer money to purchase ETFs they manage. There’s probably another 100-200 managers who could do this, but BlackRock was chosen."  (Financial Times, 3.27.20)
• How Covid-19 is changing the public perception of big tech companies: Many of the actions taken by big giants in light of the crisis are being hailed as positive and improving their public perception. Yet, there are still many ways in which they need to remove. This is not to say that much of the normal backlash has disappeared, it is simply "on pause." (The Verge, 3.26.20)
• How Republicans Snuck Anti-Abortion Measures Into the Coronavirus Bailout Bill: Provisions in the bill make it "much more difficult, if not outright impossible" for organizations like Planned Parenthood to access relief funds from the bill. This comes at a time when many states are trying to restrict abortion further by labeling it as a "non-essential" health service during this period when medical resources are stretched thin. (VICE, 3.27.20)

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