Sybil Wilkes ‘What You Need To Know:’ Judge Tries to Silence Communications, Harvard Must Change and More

1.  Conservative Judge Tries to Silence Communications Between Biden Administration and Social Media Companies

 Conservative Judge Tries to Silence Communications Between Biden Administration and Social Media Companies

What You Need to Know:

Key agencies and officials from the Biden administration have been barred from meeting or communicating with social media companies about content on their platforms. A Trump-appointed federal judge ruled in favor of Republican state Attorneys General in Louisiana and Missouri, in a lawsuit, alleging the government went too far in encouraging social media companies to address posts they felt could contribute to Covid-19 hesitancy as well as overturn some elections.

Reuters reported the ruling said government agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI could not talk to social media companies for “the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression or reduction of content containing protected free speech” under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. 

2. Harvard Must Change Its Legacy Student Policy

Harvard Must Change Its Legacy Student Policy

WRITTEN & CONTRIBUTED BY KHAMERON RILEY

What You Need to Know:

Lawyers petitioned the federal government Monday to force Harvard University to stop preferential treatment to children of alums in the admissions process, legacy students, another sign of the mounting pressure on prestigious schools to change their policies following last week’s Supreme Court ruling that rejected race-based affirmative action.

Chica Project, African Community Economic Development of New England, and the Greater Boston Latino Network filed the complaint. 

Harvard declined to comment. But it pointed to the university’s previous statement: “Last week, the University reaffirmed its commitment to the fundamental principle that deep and transformative teaching, learning, and research depend upon a community comprising people of many backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences.”

3. Best Cities for Black Women

Best Cities for Black Women

What You Need to Know: 

It’s as reliable as tax season: the annual healthiest cities in America ranking. The list’s arrival at the dawn of every year makes sense. A new year brings resolutions from many of us to eat less, move more and generally be better at this healthier lifestyle thing. In fact, a 2020 Inc. survey found 71 percent of Americans plan to change their eating habits, 65 percent want to be more physically active and 54 percent want to drop pounds. 

As usual, there’s very little diversity in the population of the top 50 cities on the list. Of metropolitan areas with a decent percentage of black folks, only Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; New York City; Los Angeles, and Oakland, California, made the cut, and none of these cities cracked the top 15 of Niche’s list.

4.  Privacy Concerns Arise for Mental Health Apps Including One Geared Toward People of Color 

 Privacy Concerns Arise for Mental Health Apps Including One Geared Toward People of Color 

WRITTEN & CONTRIBUTED BY APRYLETE RUSSELL

What You Need to Know: 

A recent investigation discovered that several of the most popular mental health services fail to protect the privacy and security of their users. 

Researchers at Mozilla, following up on last year’s Privacy Not Included guide, found that many apps designed for therapy and mental health conditions collect significant amounts of personal data while maintaining questionable or deceptive privacy policies.

Lawmakers have investigated the relationships between therapy apps and online advertisers. Their main concerns are that these apps may be profiting from customers’ sensitive data unjustly.