Another tax on the poor: Surrendering privacy for survival

Americans at the lower end of the economic ladder suffer from an ever-growing privacy divide, impacting more than just their personal dignity and autonomy. In 1969, a woman named Barbara James walked into a neighborhood legal services office in New York City in search of help to fight the city’s home visit policy. Her case…

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EU launches antitrust investigation into Google’s ad tech practices

The European Commission opened a formal antitrust investigation on Tuesday into whether Google has abused its market position by favoring its own online display advertising technology. Why it matters: The probe will target parts of Google’s massive $147 billion annual ads business that have never been investigated formally by regulators, including ways its advertising practices…

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Food stamp “hunger cliff” looms as 32 states set to slash benefits – CBS News

A “hunger cliff” is looming for millions of Americans, with 32 states set to slash food-stamp benefits beginning on Wednesday. The cuts will impact more than 30 million people who are enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, in those states, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Among the states…

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SVB Chief Pressed Lawmakers To Weaken Bank Risk Regs

Eight years before the second-largest bank failure in American history occurred this week, the bank’s president personally pressed Congress to reduce scrutiny of his financial institution, citing the “low risk profile of our activities and business model,” according to federal records reviewed by The Lever. Three years later — after the bank spent more than…

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