News from The Hill Ferguson fuels 'kill switch' debate

By Kate Tummarello

Tech and civil liberties groups are pushing back on a California "kill switch" bill that they warn could be used to silence protests like the ones seen this week in Ferguson, Mo.

Critics say a California bill passed on Monday contains a dangerous carve-out that could give law enforcement the power to shut down cellphones during emergency situations, possibly including public demonstrations.

The California bill is aimed at curbing cellphone theft by requiring all smartphones sold in the state — home to 37 million people — to come equipped with a feature that allows users to remotely wipe their personal data and make the devices inoperable.

Read the story here.

Read More

From the Hill: Perry Calls indictment “abuse of power, vows to fight charges.”

By Peter Sullivan

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) forcefully stood behind his actions after he was indicted on Friday, and called the decision to charge him "an abuse of power."

Perry was indicted on felony charges by a grand jury in Austin for allegedly abusing his veto power to force the resignation of a Democratic prosecutor.

Read the story here.

From email

Read More

News from The Hill: Gov. Rick Perry indicted for abuse of power

By Jesse Byrnes

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) was indicted Friday by a grand jury in Austin for threatening to veto funding for the state's public integrity unit.

A complaint was filed last year claiming that Perry abused his official powers by threatening to veto $7.5 million for public corruption prosecutors in the state.

On Friday, a grand jury indicted Perry on two felony counts – coercion of public official and abuse of official capacity, according to The Associated Press.

Read the story here.

From my email inbox

Read More