On June 27, 2018, CfA launched the BlackRock Transparency Project to investigate the influence of BlackRock – the world’s largest asset manager – on governments, public policy, and our everyday lives. As a part of the launch, CfA has released three new reports tracking BlackRock’s efforts to influence government.
On June 26, 2018, CfA released the results of a new poll showing voters support increased regulation of internet and technology companies. The poll also found that Americans believe internet and technology companies have a negative impact on many aspects of society, particularly privacy.
"The ruling, hailed by open government advocates, means that Campaign for Accountability, a Washington-based watchdog group, can obtain communications between Kennesaw State statistics and data science professor Jennifer Lewis Priestly and the Consumer Credit Research Foundation, which touts studies favorable to payday lending."
Today, the Supreme Court of Georgia unanimously sided with CfA in our open records lawsuit against the Consumer Credit Research Foundation (CCRF), a payday lending nonprofit that funded a favorable academic study by a professor at Kennesaw State University.
“Public officials need to be aware that this so-called startup advocacy group is really in bed with Silicon Valley’s foremost D.C. influence machine, whose interests are often in conflict with those of disruptive entrepreneurs,” said Daniel Stevens of the Campaign for Accountability, which released the report.
On May 30, 2018, CfA released a new report, “The Lobbyist in the Garage,” revealing that Engine, a San Francisco-based nonprofit claiming to represent the “voice of startups in government,” is little more than an apparent AstroTurf lobbying group created by current and former Google employees to advance Google’s interests.
On May 3, 2018, CfA asked the Senate Select Committee on Ethics and the Office of Congressional Ethics to investigate whether two senators and 12 representatives violated congressional rules and criminal law by accepting campaign contributions from the payday lending industry shortly before or after taking official actions in support of the industry’s priorities.
"In March, the attorney general of New Mexico filed a 17-count civil complaint against Vivint Solar that accused the company -- which sells and leases rooftop solar panels in California, New Mexico and other states – of fraud, racketeering and unfair business practices. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra would do well to follow New Mexico's lead."
On April 24, 2018, CfA called on attorneys general in Arizona, Nevada, and New York to investigate rooftop solar companies with an emphasis on Vivint Solar.
On March 22, 2018, CfA renewed its requests to attorneys general in California and Texas to investigate rooftop solar companies following a new lawsuit against Vivint Solar.