Weekly Writers Round-Up: Another Big Tech Lawsuit, Charter School Successes, and a New Threat to Smartphone Privacy

Each week, we’ll be featuring opinion pieces from the alumni and current participants of AF’s Writing Fellows Program. A few highlights from the past week are below. Do you dream of having bylines like these? We can help make those a reality. Apply now for our fall session of the Writing Fellows Program! Applications are open now through August 23!

Tulsi Gabbard’s $50 Million Lawsuit Against Google Is Another Attack on Online Free Speech by Billy Binion (Spring 2018) in Reason

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D–Hawaii) took a cue from conservative conspiracists Thursday, when the congresswoman and Democratic presidential hopeful sued Google for $50 million and accused the company of violating her right to free speech. The suit, filed in a federal court in Los Angeles, argues that Google infringed on the First Amendment when it suspended her campaign advertising site for six hours, briefly impeding her ability to raise money right after a well-received debate performance…

Detroit charter school successes will go unsung in debates by Kristiana Bolzman (Spring 2019) in Detroit News

The second round of Democratic debates are well underway in Michigan’s Motor City. Among topics discussed by the 20 presidential candidates, you’re unlikely to hear about something really wonderful — how the debate’s host city is being revitalized by the same charter schools most of these candidates oppose.

Democratic campaigns have been marked by charter school criticism. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont proposes obliterating charter schools run by for-profits and halting the growth of charter schools run by nonprofits, claiming they’re led by unaccountable leaders who accomplish little more than slashing funding from traditional public schools…

AG William Barr Wants to Hack Your iPhone by Brad Polumbo (Summer 2018) in The Washington Examiner

Right now, Apple takes painstaking care to ensure that your Snapchats, iMessages, photos, and everything else on your iPhone stays secure. But if Attorney General William Barr gets his way, all your private data could soon be at risk.

Barr’s position isn’t exactly coming out of nowhere. Apple has been in a stand-off with law enforcement agencies for years now, with the tech giant wrapped up in legal challenges due to its noble refusal to create a software to unlock passcode-protected iPhones. The company has long held the belief that were they to create a tool to allow law enforcement to unlock iPhones, the technology could leak and put everyone’s data in jeopardy…

For Male Survivors of Sexual Assault — Like Me — #MeToo Can Help Change Culture of Silence by Jacob Bruggeman (Summer 2017) in USA Today

#MeToo is still making its mark. It has already taken down hundreds of allegedly abusive and wicked men, resulted in policy changes across industries and brought about a shift in the culture that is more accepting of those who report sexual abuse. Unfortunately, some men, having decided that #MeToo isn’t great news for the good ol’ boys club, have adopted a reactionary posture. 

But for male victims of sexual assault like myself, this moment is our opportunity to reevaluate how men respond to sexual assault — of both men and women — in America…