President Joe Biden's principal telecom adviser has launched an inquiry into the impact of data collection, storage and use on the civil rights of marginalized communities.

As part of that inquiry, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on Wednesday (January 18) asked for public comment on how “the ways in which firms collect, share and use data” — including for targeted online advertising — “can exacerbate existing structural inequities.”

Those ways can include online job ads that target some groups but ignore others, the NTIA said in its Privacy, Equity, and Civil Rights Request for Comment, as well as the inequitable impact of data breaches on low-income communities and apps that could make users more subject to discrimination (for example, an LGBTQ dating app that reveals details about someone's movements).

The comments will inform a report on whether and how such data practices can negatively affect marginalized communities and how existing civil rights or privacy laws can be used to address those harms and what new privacy protection proposals could be adopted.

The inquiry follows Biden’s op-ed in The Wall Street Journal calling for “robust federal protections for Americans’ privacy” and an end to “discriminatory algorithmic decision-making," NTIA said.

“Everyone in America deserves strong privacy protections,” NTIA administrator Alan Davidson said in announcing the inquiry. “This is especially important for marginalized communities, where the consequences of privacy invasions can be more starkly felt. Data collection and sharing creates the risk of new digital discrimination replicating previous forms of profiling, redlining and exclusion.” ▪️

Paramount Plus has offered a first-look trailer at its documentary on the life of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, which debuts on the streaming service October 19.

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks, based on the Jeanne Theoharis biography and executive-produced by Soledad O'Brien, looks at Parks's often overlooked breadth of accomplishments and the impact of her fight to overcome racial injustice, according to Paramount Plus. The documentary will feature personal stories from her family as well as interviews from academics and activists such as Bryan Stevenson, Patrisse Cullors and Ericka Huggins.

"The Rosa Parks of American history — the quiet, demure and tired seamstress taking a seat on the bus — is simply a fable," O'Brien said in a statement. "The real Rosa Parks, whom we explore in the film, is a lifelong activist, outspoken strategist and freedom fighter."

Along with O'Brien, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks is executive produced by Jo Honig, Patrick Conway, Yoruba Richen and Johanna Hamilton. ■ 

A Washington State man has been sentenced to seven years in prison for plotting to threaten and intimidate journalists who were trying to expose anti-semitism.

Kaleb Cole, who lead the neo-Nazi Atomwaffen Division, was convicted by a Washington District Court of threatening communications and conspiring with other neo-Nazis to commit "interference with federally-protected activities because of religion, mailing threatening communications and cyberstalking."

Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of DOJ's Civil Rights Division, said that Cole had led a multistate plot to threaten and intimidate journalists who were Jewish or of color by mailing posters or gluing them to the homes of the journalists. The posters featured images of a hooded figure about to throw a molotov cocktail at a house and said “you have been visited by your local Nazis.”

The journalists targeted had told at trial how the intimidation had affected them, including moving out of their house for a while, or buying a security system, buying a gun and learning how to use it, and one even quit the journalism business.

“The defendant sought to intimidate journalists and advocates working to expose anti-Semitism, but that effort failed,” said Timothy Langan, assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “Cole’s intended victims fought back but not with threats of violence; they fought back in a court of law. The FBI will continue to do our part by aggressively investigating cases involving threats or acts of violence.” ■

HBO Max will team with Anonymous Content’s AC Studios to develop several new projects around the 1980's PBS Civil Rights-themed documentary Eyes On The Prize, the streaming service said Monday.

HBO Max on Aug. 19 will premiere an original documentary special, Eyes On The Prize: Hallowed Ground, which will honor the original documentary special that debuted on PBS in 1987, said the service. The documentary will be directed by Sophia Nahli Allison and executive produced by Patrisse Cullors, Mervyn Marcano, Melina Matsoukas, Joy Gorman Wettels, Bedonna Smith, Judi Hampton, Sandra Forman and Sophia Nahli Allison.

The first episode of the 14-episode documentary -- which tells the landmark story of the movement that changed the fabric of American life -- is currently available for streaming on HBO Max.

In addition, HBO is also in production on a new documentary series reflecting on the legacy of the movement covered in the original Eyes on The Prize, and its ties to the present day as history in the making unfolds in front of the cameras and behind the scenes, said HBO Max.  

“We are very proud to be partnering with this dynamic team of activists and storytellers to bring this important work to our viewers,” said HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys in a statement. “Across HBO and HBO Max, we are committed to providing a platform for authentic voices representing diverse, essential stories. We are honored to collaborate with our incredibly talented producing team to bring the legacy of Henry Hampton’s groundbreaking work to a new generation.”

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) is seeking comment on her bill, the Civil Rights Modernization Act, that would amend Sec. 230 of the Communications Act so that civil rights laws apply to targeted advertising and platforms hosting such ads are civilly liable for any civil rights law violation stemming from targeted ads.

Also Read: Rep. Clarke Seeks Payroll Protection for Digital Journalists

Clarke cites a history--not confined to online advertising--of excluding consumers from seeing certain ads--like real estate ad redlining--that limit the opportunities for communities of color and perpetuate inequities in housing, credit and employment.

Sec. 230 provides web sites with a shield against civil liability for most third-party content posted on their sites. 

"To comprehensively address these civil rights implications, Section 230 must be reformed," said Clarke. "This draft is a necessary step to addressing civil rights violations during these unprecedented times."

Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee, praised the bill. 

Also Read: Groups Push Digital Civil Rights

“I applaud Congresswoman Clarke’s efforts to tackle this difficult and important issue,” he said. “We know all too well how marketing efforts have been targeted to exclude marginalized groups from voting, housing, job opportunities, and other beneficial economic activity. Modern technology makes addressing this challenge even more essential. We have seen through the pandemic, the racial justice movement, and the events that led to the attack on the Capitol on January 6th — as well as so many more issues that we have discussed over the last several years — that online platforms need greater accountability."

Also Read: FCC's Starks Says Digital Disparities Must Not Stand

Doyle promised to work with his colleagues on more legislative proposals "that together will form a comprehensive package to help reform existing law and ensure that online platforms are working to benefit our democracy and not against it.” 

Some civil rights groups are using the first days of the new Administration as an "inflection point" to bend the arc of tech priorities toward justice and inclusion.

"The 117th Congress must take action to ensure that technology serves all people in the United States, rather than facilitating discrimination or reinforcing existing inequities," the groups said.

Also Read: High Tech Still Has Work to Do on Diversity

Their agenda includes privacy, content regulation, competition and broadband and their goal is a host of reforms made even more pressing by the current pandemic. "as the nation continues to navigate the COVID-19 crisis," they argue, "addressing these [issues] is vital in promoting a just, inclusive economic recovery."

They want Congress to take immediate action on tech-related issues including Internet access--Lifeline subsidy reform included--"hateful online content, immigration surveillance technology, and commercial data practices.

Among the things they want Congress to do is hold oversight hearings on "hold[ing] federal agencies accountable for prioritizing enforcement of existing civil rights laws on online platforms" and on "privacy harms, algorithmic accountability, and historically marginalized communities."

Also Read: Eshoo Says Country Suffers from Online Info-demic

Among those pushing that agenda are Public Knowledge, the NAACP, National Hispanic Media Coalition, and New America's Open Technology Institute.

The effort is being coordinated by digital rights group, the Civil Rights, Privacy and Technology Table.

CNN later this month will premiere a new documentary that will chronicle the life of Congressman and civil rights activist John Lewis. 

The documentary,  John Lewis: Good Trouble, debuts Sept. 27 and explores the life of the legendary civil rights activist and legislator who passed away this past July at the age of 80, said the news network. Filmmaker Dawn Porter directed the documentary along with  Laura Michalchyshyn of Trilogy Films and Erika Alexander and Ben Arnon of Color Farm Media. 

“Dawn’s work beautifully illuminates Congressman John Lewis’s exemplary life, his civil rights legacy, and how he continues to inspire,” said Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide in a statement.  “We are deeply appreciative to Rep. Lewis for trusting us to produce this film about his lifelong mission for human dignity for all.  It has been an honor."

Global tech trade association ITI has commended the Supreme Court for its landmark gay and transgender civil rights decision.  

That was among the many reactions from tech, communications and policy circles to the news.

“An inclusive and diverse workplace makes our communities and our companies stronger,” said ITI President Jason Oxman. “This historic decision ensures that employees across the United States are protected by law from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the workplace. Our industry stands with our LGBTQ employees and partners to celebrate this significant milestone and continue the ongoing fight for equality, including urging the U.S. Senate to pass the Equality Act. 

The High Court, in a 6-3 decision, has held that the 1964 Civil Rights Act prevents discrimination by an employer on the basis of sexual orientation, a huge victory for the civil rights of the LGBTQ community. 

The court reversed an 11th Circuit Court decision that an employer could fire someone for "simply being homosexual or transgender." 

Conservatives joining the liberals in overturning the 11th Circuit were Justice Neil Gorsuch, who penned the decision, and Chief Justice John Roberts.  

Dissenting from the decision were Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, who joined in a dissent written by Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote his own dissent.  

Also weighing in from Washington was FCC Commissioner Jessica Roswenworcel, who tweeted:

[embed]https://twitter.com/JRosenworcel/status/1272561124127449088[/embed]

Verizon said in a statement: "Today’s historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court is a victory for Verizon employees and millions of American workers. We fully support equality for LGBTQ+ individuals and have long advocated for these issues."

Earlier this month, Verizon was named one of the best places to work in terms of LGBTQ equality by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

“With this landmark court ruling the Supreme Court has recognized that discrimination against LGBTQ employees is not permissible under federal civil rights law," said Comcast CEO Brian Roberts. "We stand with the Human Rights Campaign and the hundreds of other companies that filed in support of LGBTQ inclusion and non-discrimination. This ruling is an important step towards equal treatment for the LGBTQ community and their families.”

“We are a proud ally of the LGBTQ+ community and have long supported efforts to ensure employees feel safe, valued and heard," said AT&T senior VP and chief diversity officer Corey Anthony. "Since 1975, we have implemented polices prohibiting discrimination against employees based on sexual orientation. AT&T also joined many companies in filing an amicus brief last summer in support of this outcome. We agree with today’s U.S. Supreme Court’s decision and look forward to continuing to champion an inclusive culture that encourages, supports, and celebrates the diverse background of our employees and society.”

"Diversity is our national special sauce which fosters innovation," said Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro. "Today's historic Supreme Court ruling protecting LGBTQ+ people is a landmark victory for freedom and diversity, which will continue to propel our country's entrepreneurial spirit forward. Our nation was created to be, and continues to serve as, a beacon for freedom, liberty and equal opportunity, and today's ruling ensures that we continue to be a country where anyone can invent, create and do business. This decision upholds these values and helps ensure all Americans can be their best selves."

Paramount Network will recognize the 50th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. with a new documentary, I Am MLK. Jr., which chronicles the life of the American icon and leader of the Civil Rights Movement.

The event, which will air simultaneously on both Paramount Network and BET on April 4 – the day King was assassinated in 1968 – is one of several cable specials commemorating King and the Civil Rights Movement, including History’s Rise Up: The Movement That Changed America; Reelz’s Martin Luther King: One Man and His Dream; and HBO’s King in the Wilderness.

I recently spoke to Paramount Network senior vice president of sports and specials Jon Slusser about I Am MLK. Jr, which features interviews from such civil rights-era activists as Rev. Jesse Jackson and Ambassador Andrew Young, as well as contemporary influencers in sports and entertainment like Carmelo Anthony, Nick Cannon and Van Jones.

Here’s what Slosser and Paramount Network want you to know about I Am MLK Jr.

The documentary is relevant to today’s social activist movements: “We’re excited about it. We’re airing it on April 4 because it’s such an important date in history, and the project is important to us because it’s so relevant to the moment we’re living in. When you look at what was happening 50 years ago and then you look at what’s happening today, there’s so much in common. We’ve made progress, but unfortunately not that much when you consider what’s happening around the world and here in the US with the rise of social activism – whether its gun violence, the women’s march or the Black Lives Matter movement. All these themes are still there, and I think this project reminds us that these issues, struggles and problems that we’ve been dealing with for a long time are still with us.”

Viewers will gain new and more in-depth insight on the life of Martin Luther King: “There are so many first-person accounts of everything from the big moments you thought that you’ve seen before, but also really intimate moments from people who spent a lot of time with him. There are little things about what he would say or what he liked to eat – a personal side to a man that most people never knew before. It was fascinating to see the interviews and first-person accounts from those who lived and worked with him on a daily basis.”

Millennial viewers will be able to relate to the documentary: What director Derik Murray tried to do is have a mix of the people that spent time with Dr. King and then have younger voices that can connect the two worlds together. When you can do that, I think it does have a greater relevance to today’s younger generation, who didn’t live and experience those things first hand. When you think of the marches that just occurred and the social activism we’re seeing today, I think we’re going to see a new generation that can identify with what happened in the past with Dr. King in a way that they never had before because of all these new, really important and relevant things that are happening around social activism. 

READ MORE: Complete Coverage Of The Multicultural TV Summit

He used his voice — a deep, mesmerizing, reverberating baritone — to rouse and compel and sometimes shock a nation into action. The impassioned, ardent and controversial speeches that were at the heart of Malcolm X’s call to action were unlike anything those in the 1960s had ever heard before.

Now, a program airing on the Smithsonian Channel as part of the channel’s TheLost Tapes series — titled The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X — will explore the myth and life dichotomy of this civil rights leader.

Most compelling is the way in which the program’s storytelling may impact your own impression of this mesmerizing, impassioned, controversial young man.

The story of Malcolm X is mostly likely refracted back to most of us through a heavy filter of history, controversy and the legacy of other civil rights leaders. But the Smithsonian documentary offers viewers a new take: an un-narrated, real-time accounting of his life as it unfolded. The documentary charts the path of Malcolm as he attempts to make sense — and alter the path of — one of the most turbulent times in our nation’s history.

Starting Jan. 31, the documentary will be screened at a series of co-hosted red-carpet premieres in 16 cities across the nation, beginning at the National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, D.C. On Feb. 21, a special screening will take place at the National Black Theatre in Harlem where Malcolm X’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabaaz, will offer remarks about her father on the 53rd anniversary of his death. Community leaders, government officials and public figures will be in attendance at these events, including MVPD partners Comcast, Charter and Altice.

Real-time Storytelling Offers New View

According to David Royle, executive vice president of programming and production for the Smithsonian Channel, the unique filmmaking style of The Lost Tapes highlights a storytelling style that is both dramatic and has contemporary relevance. “The unique filmmaking style of The Lost Tapes really plays to [our] hunger [for authenticity],” he said.

Filmmaker Tom Jennings pulls together rarely-seen video footage, newly discovered audio tapes, newspaper headlines and, for the first time, newly public footage of Nation of Islam rallies that recreates key moments in time. 

The documentary has neither talking heads nor any interviews, only short captions that explain the video and audio on screen. No one tells you how to think or what to believe.

It’s a modern way to explore history in the Internet age, Royle said. 

The program examines the pivotal years of Malcolm X’s life, touching on his work as a minister and his time as a spokesperson for the Nation of Islam. It looks at his years as a student of Elijah Muhammad, who lobbied for the separation of African Americans from white society, and Malcolm X’s eventual disillusionment with that path.

Take the shocking audio recordings taken from within the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem on Feb. 21, 1965, when Malcolm X was assassinated by three gunmen who rushed the stage as he was speaking.

That first report, from an off-duty freelance radio reporter named Gene Simpson, was described as pandemonium.

“Shots rang out all over the place,” Simpson says in the unnerving original recording. “He’s now laying on the stage. He’s alive, but feebly.” Malcolm X died soon after. 

For decades, those tapes had been locked away in a storage unit in Hawaii until they were unearthed and restored for the documentary.

Filmmaking that Charts a Difficult Path

Making the documentary in this way was not an easy process. But it was necessary for the filmmakers to depictthe way Malcolm X's ideas evolved over time — as opposed to letting the filter of history alter the view from 2018.

“The finished films are so enthused with drama that it looks easy, as if the stories just unfolded in some seamless outpouring,” Royle said. “But it’s difficult to accomplish this without using scripts or interviewees to explain what’s going on.”

“You can’t help but be impressed not only by his immense intellect but his charm and charisma, [and by] his humor and dazzling smile,” Royle said. “It's really fascinating to imagine what he would have accomplished if he had survived.”Footage within The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X, includes appearances of the activist that have never been broadcast before.

“The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X” will debut on Feb. 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on the Smithsonian Channel.

Smithsonian Channel will air a documentary on the life of civil rights icon Malcolm X in a new documentary, The Lost Tapes: Malcolm X. the network said Wednesday.

The documentary, which premieres Feb. 26, will relive the pivotal years of the activist using rarely seen footage and audio tapes, including never-before-seen video of the Nation Of Islam rallies, as well as recordings made at the Audubon Ballroom on the day of his assassination in 1965, the network said.

Like other Lost Tapes episodes, the program relies solely on media reports from the time -- with no interviews or re-enactments – allowing viewers to relive the power of Malcolm’s story as it unfolded.

Previous installments of The Lost Tapes have included Pearl Harbor, the L.A. Riots, the Son of Sam and Patty Hearst.

Fuse has teamed with the NAACP civil rights organization to raise awareness of the issues highlighted in the network’s documentary Show Me Democracy airing this Saturday, the network said Thursday.

As part of the partnership, the NAACP will provide additional information on the issues showcased in Fuse’s April 29 documentary, which centers on seven St. Louis college students as they evolve into advocates and activists, demanding change through policy and protest in the wake of the 2014 Ferguson uprising, said the network.

Information provided by the NAACP will appear during the broadcast, and the organization will support tune-in through a variety of strategic social media account activations, said the network. 

“We are proud to partner with the NAACP to present a viewing experience that goes beyond traditional and expands the level of engagement and awareness of crucial issues,” said Fuse Media President and CEO Michael Schwimmer in a statement. “As the inaugural project in our documentary series, our partnership with this legacy organization supports Fuse Media’s vision of creating a multiplatform conversation and providing key resources and additional content across all of our platforms.”