FedTech: Agencies Should Take Advantage of Their .Gov Eligibility. “More than 9,000 local, state and federal government agencies carry the .gov designation on their websites, but tens of thousands more do not. A major federal update of the infrastructure supporting that domain should encourage more state and local government organizations to do so, and will improve security for those already using it, experts say.”
State of Connecticut: Governor Lamont Commissions Independent Review of Falsified Reporting of Traffic Records by the State Police. “Governor Ned Lamont today announced that, based on a recent audit that revealed a troubling number of erroneous records in the Connecticut State Police records management system and the State of Connecticut’s traffic stop racial profiling database, he is commissioning an independent review to determine how and why this misconduct occurred, why it went undetected for so many years, and what reforms should be implemented to ensure that such misconduct does not reoccur.”
Ballotpedia News: Ballotpedia launches database of asset management companies that contract with state pensions. “Ballotpedia publicly launched a new database on April 4 designed to help interested parties better understand the relationships between state pension funds and asset management firms. Over the course of several months last year, Ballotpedia researchers compiled the names of all asset management companies that handle state pension money and the total assets under management by each company for each state.”
Politico: Disconnected: Eurocrats go unlisted in EU phone book. “Under a new policy, the European Commission has removed the names of lower-level staff from the EU WhoisWho directory. The online database used to have email addresses and phone numbers for officials up and down the ranks of the EU executive. But that apparently made them too easy prey for those seeking to influence EU policy. So now only their bosses — heads of unit and above — will be included in the public-facing directory.”
The Verge: TikTok is expanding its state-controlled media label to more countries. “The company first announced the labels in response to the war in Ukraine, saying it was ‘expediting’ the rollout of the program with the pilot in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Several government-controlled Russian outlets like RT, RIA Novosti, and TASS have been labeled under the policy so far. Now, TikTok will expand the labels to 40 markets beginning immediately, with more to come in the future.”
Reuters: Vietnam to Require 24-Hour Take-Down for ‘False’ Social Media Content. “Vietnam’s information minister said on Friday authorities had tightened regulations to deal with ‘false’ content on social media platforms so that it must be taken down within 24 hours instead of 48 hours previously.”
PR Newswire: New Website Helps Public Health Job Seekers Nationwide. (PRESS RELEASE). “The site offers a simple way to search for jobs both nationally and by state and includes job preview videos of several different public health careers as well as information on working in governmental public health. In the future, add-ons to the site will include additional career spotlights as well as fellowship, internship and training programs in governmental health departments, a job-skills quiz to help identify potential career fits, and career resources for those seeking their first job in government.”
Associated Press: Japan steps up push to get public buy-in to digital IDs. “Japan has stepped up its push to catch up on digitization by telling a reluctant public they have to sign up for digital IDs or possibly lose access to their public health insurance.”
NBC News: Cyberattack on Colorado state website follows Russian hacktivist threat. “Colorado state officials said the government’s website was taken offline Wednesday, the result of an apparent cyberattack that came shortly after a known Russia-based hacker group posted on Telegram that it would be targeting U.S. state websites.”
Idaho Capital Sun: New website allows Idahoans to sign up for public meeting notices for nearly 200 state agencies. “Idaho residents can now subscribe to receive notifications for public meetings for almost 200 state of Idaho agencies, boards and commissions… according to a Thursday press release from Gov. Brad Little and State Controller Brandon Woolf. Other enhancements to the new website include the ability to use a keyword search, copy meetings to your online calendar and use a text reader to find information in documents related to public meetings, according to the release.”
The Marshall Project: See If Police in Your State Reported Crime Data to the FBI. “Nearly 40% of the 18,000 law enforcement agencies across the U.S. failed to report crime data to the FBI’s national database in 2021 after the transition to a new collection system. The transition creates huge gaps in national crime stats sure to be exploited by politicians in this election year.”
National Renewable Energy Laboratory: NREL Releases Comprehensive Databases of Local Ordinances for Siting Wind, Solar Energy Projects . “NREL released two new databases of state and local wind and solar energy zoning laws and ordinances in the United States. The data sets are machine-readable so geospatial analysts and researchers can readily analyze siting impacts. This work is part of ongoing research at NREL to explore the dynamics of land use and clean energy deployment.”
Federal News Network: Spy agencies look to standardize use of open source intelligence. “Intelligence agencies are starting to coalesce around a set of common standards and data for using open source intelligence, but challenges remain in boosting the use of OSINT throughout the intelligence community.”
Big Country News: Idaho Unveils new Website Aimed at Centralizing Public Meeting Information for State Agencies. “On Tuesday, Idaho Governor Brad Little and State Controller Brandon Woolf unveiled the new… online one-stop-shop for all public meeting information for state executive branch agencies.”
Make: Hacking Garbage Trucks to Bring Broadband to Those in Need. “Millions of households lack the broadband access they need to learn from home, work from home, and generally keep up in our internet-dependent world. What if cities could pinpoint which neighborhoods were in need? What if cities collected real-time information that got services to the people who need them most? And what if they could do it faster and cheaper? They can. One city is bucking the system and using open source hardware, DIY ingenuity, and a pandemic-induced urgency to address the digital divide in real-time, paving the way for others to do the same.”
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