A first-of-its-kind marketplace rolled out on Tuesday offering free and discounted privacy and security services to America’s 23 million current and former public servants. The marketplace is offered by Public Service Alliance (PSA), a private company that says it formed in response to an unprecedented rise in threats against government workers across the United States.
Open to anyone who is serving or has served in government—federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial—the platform debuts amid heightened concern over the safety of public officials and their families, especially in the wake of the June killing of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband and the attempted assassination of state senator John Hoffman and his wife.
“Threats to public servants and their families have surged over the past decade, with no scalable support for those at risk. This is a broken business model for effective government and undermines everything America stands for,” PSA founder and CEO Isabella Ulloa says in a statement.
The group says its marketplace is designed to connect public servants—from veterans and judges to first responders and lawmakers—with resources spanning four areas: privacy and security, legal and communications risk, career support, and personal well-being. The services, which anyone can browse for free, include online data removal, legal counsel, threat monitoring, job coaching, and stress management tools.
After creating a free account and attesting to their government service, users will receive codes that unlock reduced rates from vetted vendors: data-privacy firms like Optery and Atlas, which help remove personal information from the web and keep it from reappearing; Alethea, a security firm that monitors for online harassment and physical threats; and Lifemart, which offers discounted lifestyle and wellness products. Additionally, while it does not itself provide legal advice, PSA says it can connect users to a network of attorneys that provide low-cost legal consultations.
During a quiet launch last year, PSA tells WIRED, it amassed roughly 1,000 users by word of mouth alone, saying it so far touts a 100 percent retention rate. Users pay a 10 percent fee (based on the discounted rate of the services used) to help maintain the platform, but waivers are available for those for whom the added cost becomes prohibitive. Many of the discounts are steep, PSA says, noting that threat monitoring services, which can range from $5,000 to over $30,000 annually, can be obtained by its users for less than $1,000 per year.
PSA casts itself as strictly nonpartisan, pointing to an advisory board that spans both parties as well as members of law enforcement, including former Republican congresswoman Barbara Comstock, Massachusetts sheriff Peter Koutoujian, and David Sundberg, a retired FBI assistant director. Ulloa, the founder, recently worked for the Department of Homeland Security. PSA says the bipartisan structure underscores its view that protecting people’s lives should always transcend politics.
The group says it has plans to extend access to the discounts to other at-risk groups, including nonprofit workers, later this year.
A January report by the Brennan Center for Justice, a public policy nonprofit, underscored the widespread nature of the threats and harassment public officials are facing. Its researchers found that nearly half of state legislators and nearly one in five local officials reported being threatened, many saying the abuse has intensified in both frequency and tone. Women and officials of color bear the abuse at rates several times that of their peers.
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