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Daily Archives: May 17, 2015

Most Agencies Falling Short on Mandate for Online Records

“Nearly 20 years after Congress passed the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments (E-FOIA), only 40 percent of agencies have followed the law’s instruction for systematic posting of records released through FOIA in their electronic reading rooms, according to a new FOIA Audit released today by the National Security Archive at www.nsarchive.org to mark Sunshine Week. The Archive team audited all federal agencies with Chief FOIA Officers as well as agency components that handle more than 500 FOIA requests a year — 165 federal offices in all — and found only 67 with online libraries populated with significant numbers of released FOIA documents and regularly updated. Congress called on agencies to embrace disclosure and the digital era nearly two decades ago, with the passage of the 1996 “E-FOIA” amendments. The law mandated that agencies post key sets of records online, provide citizens with detailed guidance on making FOIA requests, and use new information technology to post online proactively records of significant public interest, including those already processed in response to FOIA requests and “likely to become the subject of subsequent requests.” Congress believed then, and openness advocates know now, that this kind of proactive disclosure, publishing online the results of FOIA requests as well as agency records that might be requested in the future, is the only tenable solution to FOIA backlogs and delays. Thus the National Security Archive chose to focus on the e-reading rooms of agencies in its latest audit. Even though the majority of federal agencies have not yet embraced proactive disclosure of their FOIA releases, the Archive E-FOIA Audit did find that some real “E-Stars” exist within the federal government, serving as examples to lagging agencies that technology can be harnessed to create state-of-the art FOIA platforms. Unfortunately, our audit also found “E-Delinquents” whose abysmal web performance recalls the teletype era. E-Stars include the Departments of Energy and State, the FBI, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the agencies that have embraced the government’s opt-in FOIA portal, FOIAonline, which posts digital copies of FOIA releases. E-Stars such as the Department of State have shown that even agencies wracked by FOIA delays and deplorable record keeping can have a positive FOIA impact by posting their releases proactively. The excellent search functionality of the Department of State’s agency-leading E-Reading Room will make State’s website a pleasurable platform to browse, search, and read portions of former Secretary Clinton’s emails — when they are released. E-Delinquents include the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House, which, despite being mandated to advise the President on technology policy, does not embrace 21st century practices by posting any frequently requested records online. Another E-Delinquent, the Drug Enforcement Administration, insults its website’s viewers by claiming that it “does not maintain records appropriate for FOIA Library at this time…”

Wham, Bam, Thank You Spam! Don’t Click on the Link!

Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation  – Posted by Paul A. Ferrillo, Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, May 17, 2015. “It seems that just like in old times (in cyberspace that means last year) the existence of “snake-oil” salesmen on the Internet is getting worse, not better. Rather than selling something… Continue Reading

Financial Assistance Measures in the Euro Area from 2008 to 2013

European Central Bank – Financial Assistance Measures in the Euro Area from 2008 to 2013: Statistical Framework and Fiscal Impact – April 2015. “This paper summarises the accounting principles and methodology used by statisticians within the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) to assess the impact on the government’s fiscal position of the assistance measures… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – IBM’s Watson is Now Data Mining TED Talks to Extract New Forms of Knowledge

Via LLRX.com – IBM’s Watson is Now Data Mining TED Talks to Extract New Forms of Knowledge – Alan Rothman’s commentary offers actionable information about a new technology from IBM called Watson that is a powerful tool for researchers whose work engages data mining, knowledge management and competitive intelligence. Rothman attended a recent presentation that… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – Book Review – “The Age of Cryptocurrency”

Via LLRX.com – Book Review – “The Age of Cryptocurrency”  – Alan Rothman highlights the increasing impact of an online payment system that is immersed in finance and economics around the world – the expanding use of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. With actionable links to expert professional topical sources on these subjects, Alan’s article will bring… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – Creating Information Literacy and a critical guide for using Wikipedia

Via LLRX Creating the Information Literate Warrior: Step 6 to Information Literacy – In his part of her ongoing series, Lorette Weldon concentrates on successful methods for developing needed tools for kids’ study through demonstrations to show them how to find the information on their own. Wikipedia and Information Literacy: Step 5 to Information Literacy… Continue Reading

UK government rewrites law to permit GCHQ hacking

Privacy International – May 15, 2015: The Government has quietly ushered through legislation amending the anti-hacking laws to exempt GCHQ from prosecution. Privacy International and other parties were notified of this just hours prior to a hearing of their claim against GCHQ’s illegal hacking operations in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. In its legal filings, sent… Continue Reading

DBpedia Wikidata

“DBpedia is one of the first and most prominent nodes of the Linked Open Data cloud. It provides structured data for more than 100 Wikipedia language editions as well as Wikimedia Commons, has a mature ontology and a stable and thorough Linked Data publishing lifecycle. Wikidata, on the other hand, has recently emerged as a… Continue Reading

Guardian – How we sold our souls – and more – to the internet giants

Bruce Schneier – Adapted from Data and Goliath by Bruce Schneier, published by Norton Book  – Last year, when my refrigerator broke, the repair man replaced the computer that controls it. I realised that I had been thinking about the refrigerator backwards: it’s not a refrigerator with a computer, it’s a computer that keeps food… Continue Reading