When the #IRS shared the addresses with #DHS, it also inadvertently disclosed private information for thousands of #taxpayers erroneously, a mistake only recently discovered, said people familiar….
The affected individuals could be entitled to financial compensation for each time their #information was improperly shared. And government officials can personally face stiff #civil & #criminal penalties for sharing #confidential #tax information.
Federal #courts have since blocked the data-sharing arrangement, holding that it violates #taxpayers’ rights, though the #FederalGovernment appealed those rulings.
Before the agreement was struck down, #DHS requested the addresses of 1.2 million individuals from the #IRS. The tax agency responded with data on 47,000 individuals, acc/to court records.
When the #IRS shared the addresses with #DHS, it also inadvertently disclosed private information for thousands of #taxpayers erroneously, a mistake only recently discovered, said people familiar….
The affected individuals could be entitled to financial compensation for each time their #information was improperly shared. And government officials can personally face stiff #civil & #criminal penalties for sharing #confidential #tax information.
Hi folks, I come from another instance where I got to know Bird UI, and what can I say, I was just completely thrilled. I like having a few more characters than are possible with the normal Mastodon installation, and I also found some other things on this instance interesting.
I'm interested in #socialmedia, #society, #data protection, #media development, #decentralized networks, and #religion, among other things. Born in 1977 and a city dweller. I'm interested in ways we can improve #communication between #people. I don't consider #moderation questions irrelevant. #Civil liberties and #privacy.
My normal language is German, but because of the Finnish focus, I wanted to do the introduction in English (maybe Finnish, but then I would be too dependent on IT and couldn't check what it was doing : )
Hi folks, I come from another instance where I got to know Bird UI, and what can I say, I was just completely thrilled. I like having a few more characters than are possible with the normal Mastodon installation, and I also found some other things on this instance interesting.
I'm interested in #socialmedia, #society, #data protection, #media development, #decentralized networks, and #religion, among other things. Born in 1977 and a city dweller. I'm interested in ways we can improve #communication between #people. I don't consider #moderation questions irrelevant. #Civil liberties and #privacy.
My normal language is German, but because of the Finnish focus, I wanted to do the introduction in English (maybe Finnish, but then I would be too dependent on IT and couldn't check what it was doing : )
Could #Federal prosecutors charge the officer? [if this were a different admin]
Federal prosecutors can charge law enforcement officers for fatal #shootings, but the bar is very high & charges are rare.
Prosecutors would need to show the officer knew his conduct was unlawful or acted with reckless disregard for the constitutional limits of his authority, which is difficult to prove in court.
The #Trump admin has defended the officer's actions.
In addition to #federal #immunity, the agent could argue that his actions were reasonable under the #Constitution, that he acted in self-defense or that he did not act with intent to harm or kill.
Federal officers are immune from #civil lawsuits unless their conduct clearly violated a constitutional right.
This #legal standard, known as #QualifiedImmunity, has become a highly effective tool for shielding #police officers accused of using #ExcessiveForce.
Our 4 demands for #EuSummit25:
💶 #Fediverse Fund for user-centred development in the amount of €30 million annually
1️⃣ Anchoring the #Plus1 principle in the work of the federal government and public institutions
🤝 Establishing legal certainty: recognition of #non-profit status
🇪🇺 Establishment of #decentralised, interoperable and cross-sectoral multilingual pan-European #media platforms with the involvement of #civil society from the outset
The alliance ‘ Open Networks and Democratic Public Spheres. #Decentralised, sovereign and for the #common good!’ #Introduction👋
Our alliance of digital organisations would like to actively contribute to the development of concepts for #digitalsovereignty on the occasion of the 🇪🇺 ‘ #European Summit on Digital Sovereignty’ hosted by #Germany and #France on 18 November 2025 in #Berlin.
You can find the video of our press conference with 26 language translations here:
https://displayeurope.video/w/1xijkEtEd4dMnvJD386s7C
Our 4 demands for #EuSummit25:
💶 #Fediverse Fund for user-centred development in the amount of €30 million annually
1️⃣ Anchoring the #Plus1 principle in the work of the federal government and public institutions
🤝 Establishing legal certainty: recognition of #non-profit status
🇪🇺 Establishment of #decentralised, interoperable and cross-sectoral multilingual pan-European #media platforms with the involvement of #civil society from the outset
The #Chicago#Police Dept will be barred from helping #federal authorities with #civil #immigration enforcement or any related patrols, traffic stops & checkpoints during the surge, acc/to an EO signed by Mayor #BrandonJohnson.
The mayor directed all city departments to guard the #ConstitutionalRights of Chicagoans“amidst the possibility of imminent militarized immigration or #NationalGuard deployment by the federal government.”
“To see that this admin is plotting out how they're going to expand its use in ways that we have not seen before is very shocking & very concerning,”said Sameera Hafiz, policy director of the Immigration Legal Resource Center, a national advocacy org providing legal training in #immigration #law.
“It is…in a way trying to create a second class of US citizens:”where one set of #Americans is safe & those not born in the country are still at risk of losing their hard-fought #citizenship, she said.
Other #immigration experts point to another part of the guidance, which gives US attorneys broader discretion to determine other eligible #denaturalization cases. "These categories do not limit the #Civil Division from pursuing any particular case," the memo states, & priorities for denaturalization can include "any other cases referred to the Civil Division that the Division determines to be sufficiently important to pursue."
But #immigration #law experts expressed serious concerns about the effort's constitutionality, & how this could impact #families of naturalized #citizens.
🚨 The #DOJ memo says that the federal govt will pursue #denaturalization cases via #civil #litigation — an especially concerning move, said Cassandra Robertson, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University.
🚨In #civil proceedings, any individual subject to #denaturalization is NOT entitled to an #attorney, Robertson said; there is also a lower #BurdenOfProof for the govt to reach, & it is far easier & faster to reach a conclusion in these cases.
Robertson says that stripping Americans of citizenship through civil litigation violates #DueProcess & infringes on the rights guaranteed by the #14thAmendment.
But #immigration #law experts expressed serious concerns about the effort's constitutionality, & how this could impact #families of naturalized #citizens.
🚨 The #DOJ memo says that the federal govt will pursue #denaturalization cases via #civil #litigation — an especially concerning move, said Cassandra Robertson, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University.
In the wake of Trump's attacks on their institution, Harvard made their online courses on the US government, the US constitution, civic engagement, and more... available for FREE.
✅ Government Courses | Harvard University
https://pll.harvard.edu/subject/government
#trump #civil #harvard #education