Justice Beat 23rd March - This week the Justice Beat focuses on Cambridge Analytica, corruption charges and the small island of Guernsey.
Cambridge Analytica scandal
1. The crisis ravaging Facebook started when a young researcher, regretful over his role in turning data on an estimated tens of millions of U.S. voters into a high-tech political persuasion machine, decided to come forward with his story, writes the Washington Post. Christopher Wylie has launched a CrowdJustice campaign to fund legal advice to for other whistleblowers who haven’t spoken out yet. Watch this space.
2. Meanwhile, for any job-hunters out there, the Register reports that Cambridge Analytica is advertising for a data protection assistant role. The right recruit should, according to the ad, have "an interest in and enthusiasm for data protection".
Investigation
3. Nicolas Sarkozy has learnt this week that some mistakes never stop haunting you. The former French president has been placed under formal investigation over claims that he received 50 million euros in election funding from late Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, reports the BBC. The corruption charges come after two days in police custody, and years of speculation.
4. Scotland Yard has admitted Special Branch officers passed information on trade union members to a controversial network that blacklisted construction workers, writes the BBC. The information, which also documented political activities, was used by dozens of construction firms to vet those applying to work on building sites. A public inquiry is due following the findings.
Remote but important
5. The discovery of oil in offshore waters has caused a gold, or should that be crude, rush, off the coast of Guyana. But three major oil companies preparing to drill are being challenged by a group of citizens who say their dash for oil is illegal, writes The Guardian. The campaigners are crowdfunding their David and Goliath battle for more environmental protection.
6. It’s not every day that the small island of Guernsey hits the headlines, but this week it made waves by announcing an assisted dying bill to be voted upon in May. Under the proposal, a terminally ill resident of the Channel island could ask their doctor for a prescription for pills to end their own life in a legal first for the British Isles.
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This week on CrowdJustice, a professor at Bath Spa crowdfunds to challenge the decision to stop his research into reverse gender assignment, and Stormy Daniels hits more than a quarter of a million dollars in her fight to speak out about her alleged affair with President Trump. The Sunday Times covered CrowdJustice’s role.