Demand Progress

Grassroots, nonpartisan organization with nearly one million affiliated activists fighting for the rights and freedoms needed for a modern democracy.

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Learn more from @RepGoodlatte: https://t.co/PmxMhrEN0L

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Today is Global Encryption Day.

Governments, law enforcement and private companies are working harder than ever to surveil us and invade our private lives. Congress must step up and stop efforts to weaken encryption, one of the most important tools protecting our privacy.

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Read DPEF’s letter here: https://t.co/lUILbrO9kk

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Yesterday, @SenWarren & @SenBooker called on the government to investigate Zillow’s anticompetitive practices.

Last month, Demand Progress Education Fund asked state AGs to do the same.

Zillow must be held accountable for abusing their market power to harm home buyers.

[Lance Lambert @NewsLambert]

Senate Democrats: Enough is enough, we're coming for Zillow

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (ranking member of the Senate Banking Committee) and Sen. Cory Booker (ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust) sent a letter to FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson asking the agency to investigate "anticompetitive and deceptive practices" in the online home-buying market.

The letter builds on the FTC’s August 24 stipulated order in its case against Zillow and Redfin, which requires Redfin to reenter the online rental listings market after Zillow paid it to exit. The senators now want the FTC to take that scrutiny from rentals into home buying, and they flag three practices:

1. “Contact agent” routing. Buyers who click “contact agent” on a listing may be sent to platform-affiliated agents who pay the platform a cut of their commission, and that arrangement often isn’t disclosed, the letter writes. The letter points to Zillow’s Flex program, where referral fees have been reported as high as 40%.

2. Steering to affiliated lenders. The senators say platform-affiliated agents are often required to send buyers to in-house mortgage lenders without disclosing it. The letter cites reporting on Zillow Home Loans and agents’ concerns about RESPA.

3. Private listings. Large brokerages are increasingly keeping inventory off public platforms. The senators argue this shrinks buyer access and can hurt sellers’ price discovery. The footnotes cite the Compass v. Zillow lawsuit and the Compass-Anywhere merger.

[Arthur Delaney 🇺🇸 @ArthurDelaneyHP]

Extracting money from politics has become the ultimate crypto use case.

American innovation!

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Crypto opportunists want to become too big to fail and they’re buying congressional staffers, members’ families and the White House to do it.

Learn more about the shocking crypto corruption happening right now from @WeisbergNate and @NYMag.

[Nate Weisberg @WeisbergNate]

I asked Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand if it bothers her that her staff trades crypto while she works on legislation that benefits the industry. “This is not a nanny state,” she said.

Profiled crypto’s favorite Democrat for @NYMag:

https://t.co/PqPTKL0ea1

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

The Oct 25 deadline is coming up!

Want to work in government? The Progressive Talent Pipeline Endorsement Application is LIVE! We'll help you navigate your job search and connect you with a network of people advancing progressive priorities.

Apply here: https://t.co/NmHxKpPdJ5

[Action Corps Iowa @ActionCorpsIA]

This 4th-generation Iowa farmer talks about the high costs of the war for farmers and calls for a return to diplomacy and a peaceful end to the war — including farmers in achieving peace.

https://t.co/q5NumINhs1

[Action Corps Indiana @ActionCorpsIND]

We agree with this Midwest farmer:

“My request is simple: Members of Congress should take a lesson from history, study the impact that ‘two farmers’ and diplomacy had on our lives, then get back to work and end this senseless war.”

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Sign the petition: Block the Trump-Hegseth abuse of power to take money from medical research and put it towards endless wars! https://t.co/uqpzWxdVmG

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

A secret ploy by the Trump administration could divert funds from research infectious diseases to Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon in order to pay for more war.

Sign the petition: Protect medical research funding from Trump and Hegseth.

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

And take action! Tell Congress to ban invasive Flock-style cameras: https://t.co/eOq3Pw4Jtn

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Today, @SenSanders, @AOC & @SenJeffMerkley introduced the Ban Flock Act, the most comprehensive federal proposal to ban Flock-style cameras and the vast amounts of data they capture. https://t.co/y2f6lWAHK8

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Learn more about the Ban Flock Act here: https://t.co/M7LPIJehe5

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

“Every single American should be pissed off about these cameras”

Watch Demand Progress Executive Director Sean Vitka explain what Flock and ALPR cameras are and why you should be so concerned.

[Sen. Bernie Sanders @SenSanders]

Going to the doctor? Flock knows.

Dropping your kid off at school? Flock is tracking you.

Big Tech oligarchs are funding over 100,000 AI–powered Flock surveillance cameras to track Americans’ every move. Ban Flock NOW.

[More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS]

BREAKING: Bernie Sanders, AOC, and Jeff Merkley are introducing the Ban Flock Act.

This bill would effectively put an end to AI surveillance cameras that track Americans.

The Ban Flock Act would prohibit federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) and block federal funding from state and local governments that use this technology, making it untenable for these AI surveillance cameras to continue proliferating across the country.

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Read Demand Progress’s statement here: https://t.co/y2f6lWAHK8

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Thank you @SenSanders @SenJeffMerkley & @AOC for introducing the most comprehensive federal Flock ban ever!

This is the gold standard of Flock bills because it not only bans the cameras on a federal level but it bans the use of the data, which can be used to AI to target anyone.

[Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez @RepAOC]

Big Tech companies like Flock Safety have built a mass surveillance system to harvest Americans’ private and personal data without their consent.

I’m proud to introduce the Ban Flock Act with @SenSanders to enforce our constitutional right to privacy.

[Julian Andreone @JulianAndreone]

BREAKING: John Fetterman is the lone Democratic senator to vote AGAINST Sen. Chris Van Hollen’s resolution to require the Department of State to report to Congress on Israel’s humanitarian abuses and killings of Americans in the West Bank.

Sen. Rand Paul is the only Republican who joined Democrats in voting Yes.

The motion thus failed 47-53, but this is a seismic shift in the Senate regarding U.S.-Israel relations.

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

And see Demand Progress Education Fund’s letter to the CFTC here: https://t.co/uQZsMqEFGg

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

The Trump administration is trying to help prediction market companies like Kalshi and Polymarket prey on vulnerable Americans. Learn more at @Sludge.

[Demand Progress @demandprogress]

Read the article from @ppolitics here: https://t.co/bUKfQM6h6a