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Silicon Valley sheriffs push cellphone surveillance

It’s not just the immense amount of information collected by such tech giants as Apple, Google and Facebook that is riling privacy advocates. Now the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department is seeking new cellphone surveillance technology — paid for by federal funds from

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Judge: Donor identities can be kept secret — for now

First Amendment advocates are cheering a ruling by U.S. District Judge Manuel Real that foundation donor lists can be kept secret — at least until the matter winds its way through the court system. The matter concerns the billionaire Koch bothers’ Americans for

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LAPD hustles to post records

A CalWatchDog.com review of the website of the Los Angeles Police Department found it has updated its reports on discipline and use of force after criticism for posting aged data in the aftermath of federal oversight. It also now takes just one click to go

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Obama, tech industry speak at Stanford

Speaking today at the White House Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection at Stanford University, President Obama and tech industry leaders outlined different visions of the digital future. While the president called for cooperation between government and industry to increase the security of

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Wired: Anti-vaccine parents common in Silicon Valley

The coverage of the measles outbreak in the U.S. often makes the point that opponents of compulsory vaccination for schoolchildren are split politically between affluent leftists with New Age-y views about modern medicine and conservatives who don’t like government telling

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Obama heads Stanford Summit on cybersecurity

On Friday, President Obama travels to Stanford University to give the keynote address on a topic much in the news: cybersecurity. Last week, Anthem Blue Cross was hacked and data stolen. Previous data breaches have hit Target and Home Depot.

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Despite strong profits, Farmer Bros. gives up on CA

A highly profitable coffee distribution and production company with deep roots in Los Angeles County and a national clientele is closing its primary Los Angeles facility and preparing to move to Texas or one of several states promising lower taxes,

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The unexpected check on an Indian casino free-for-all

When state voters approved Proposition 1A in 2000 — the measure paving the way for the broad expansion of Indian casinos in California — opponents warned that once casinos were a big money generator, there would be a free-for-all driven

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CalPERS reacts to Anthem security breach

The hacker attack on health insurance provider Anthem Blue Cross announced last night in particular affects hundreds of thousands of members of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System. But a security expert told CalWatchdog.com the breach is not critical —

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CA DNA database does not compute

A new bill seeks to eliminate the California “biobank” created last year over strenuous objections from privacy advocates and some judges. Assembly Bill 170, introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Glendale, aims to curb the broad and longstanding practice of acquiring

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