Questions

Only in America: The top question on Google being asked around the world about the Orlando massacre Saturday night: “How did the shooter get the gun?”

This is civic tech: Marcia Pledger of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports on the launch of DigitalC, a new civic tech collaboration that aims to “bring together technology leaders to create regional digital strategies; harness the power of data to reshape priorities and solve problems; and develop inclusive programs in neighborhoods not normally considered as participants in the digital economy.” Congrats to longtime local digital pioneer Lev Gonick and his team!

Tech and politics: In a special issue of The New Republic devoted to all the reasons the Democratic party will remain divided after the primaries, technosociologist Zeynep Tufekci explains the digital factor, which has broken the party establishment’s monopoly on the tools needed to win the nomination.

With Ghana the latest country to threaten to cut off social media during its upcoming elections, AccessNow’s recently launched #KeepItOn campaign against internet shutdowns, endorsed by more than 70 international organizations, is gaining momentum.

Privacy wars: Cable industry lobbyists are working hard to block FCC proposals restricting how they share users’ personal data and opening the market for set-top boxes, Cecilia Kang reports for The New York Times.

“Virtual reality analytics could become the most pervasive form of mass surveillance ever, allowing advertisers to mine people’s very bodies for information that could be used to manipulate them,” Fusion’s Khari Johnson reports.

Trump watch: Katy Tur of NBC News notes that Donald Trump has a pattern of congratulating himself in tweets after tragedies like the Orlando massacre.

Trump announced that he was revoking the Washington Post’s press credentials, leading the paper’s executive editor Martin Baron to respond that his decision was “nothing less than a repudiation of the role of a free and independent press.”