January 30, 2004
UK Issues Report on Death of Dr. David Kelly
Report of the Inquiry into the Circumstances Surrounding the Death of Dr. David Kelly C.M.G, by Lord Hutton, Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 28th January 2004. (pdf, 337 pages)
States and Internet Enforcement
States and Internet Enforcement, by Joel Reidenberg, Fordham University School of Law, Pub-Law Research Paper No. 41, University of Ottawa Law & Technology Journal, Vol. 1, 2004:
"This essay addresses the enforcement of decisions through Internet instruments....[and] maintains that states will increasingly try to use network intermediaries such as payment systems and Internet service providers as enforcement instruments. Finally and most importantly, the essay focuses on ways that states may harness the power of technological instruments such as worms, filters and packet interceptors to enforce decisions and sanction malfeasance."
The FCC and Regulating the Internet
FCC Authority to Regulate the Internet: Creating It and Limiting It, by James B. Speta, Northwestern University School of Law, Loyola University Chicago Law Journal, Vol. 35, No. 15, 2004.
"This short paper discusses the FCC's authority, under its so-called ancillary jurisdiction (under Title I of the Communications Act), to address competition problems that may arise in Internet markets. It is argued that the FCC likely does not have jurisdiction to address most Internet regulatory issues, because whatever expansive readings such ancillary jurisdiction has received in the past are no longer tenable. The paper proposes, instead, a new, limited statutory interconnection rule, which the FCC could enforce in limited ways in Internet markets."
Feds' Cyber Alert System Attracts Public Interest
The National Cyber Security Alert System, a joint venture between the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector launched on January 28, has already received over one million hits from citizens concerned about the escalating threat of worms and viruses.
There is also some controversy associated with this new service, as reported yesterday by ComputerWorld, Critics cite a lack of coordination between the agency and the private sector.
Audit of Maryland E-Voting Machines Reveals Significant Security Flaws
The Maryland Department of Legislative Services hired RABA Technologies to run their recently purchased Diebold touch screen e-voting system through an extensive testing program designed to simulate a range of possible attacks by hackers. The result is a 25 page audit, Trusted Agent Report, Diebold Accu-Vote TS Voting System.
The report determined that the e-voting machines and server software tested posed considerable security risks that could impact the outcome of the upcoming elections, thus requiring specific and immediate corrective action to be undertaken.
From the Washington Post, "The report clearly rattled lawmakers and others skeptical of the voting machines."
From Wired, this quote from a participant in the study, Prof. William Arbaugh, "I was really surprised with the totality of the problems we found. Just about everywhere we looked we found them."
The related press release from Diebold however presents a completely different conclusion: "Maryland Security Study Validates Diebold Election Systems Equipment for March Primary."
January 29, 2004
New Report Surveys Privacy Policies of California Banks
The Consumer Federation of California Education Foundation published a Financial Privacy Report Card which "surveys the privacy practices of the 55 largest financial institutions in California."
Microsoft Will Delay Browser Changes Related to Patent Dispute
An update on the Microsoft-Eolas patent dispute:
Microsoft Holds Off on Eolas-Related Changes To Windows and Internet Explorer - "Microsoft Corp. today announced that it will not, for now, implement modifications to its Windows® operating system or Microsoft® Internet Explorer as a result of the Eolas patent lawsuit. Given the present legal status as well as requests made by partners and customers, Microsoft will, for the time being, not move ahead with the modest steps it intended to take to modify Windows and Internet Explorer as a result of the August jury decision in the Eolas patent lawsuit."
FTC Seeks Approval for More Regs to Combat Spam
The FTC is seeking public comment on yet another effort to combat spam, as mandated by the CAN-SPAM Act.
Critical New IE Flaw Will Be Addressed by Microsoft
Microsoft announced that an update will be forthcoming (no date provided) to patch a recently revealed IE 6 browser flaw that leaves users vulnerable to unintentionally downloading malware through files from websites that appear legitimate. A description of this flaw, as well as a demonstration of its application, is provided by the security company Secunia.
Hackers Obtain Access to U. Georgia Student Data
Personal data, including social security numbers, birth dates, addresses and credit card numbers of 20,000 University of Georgia students and applicants may have been compromised by hackers who accessed the university's campus server. [Information Week]
Georgia Bureau of Investigation investigates breach of computer information at UGA
White House Threatens to Veto Limits to Patriot Act
The bipartisan SAFE Act (S. 1709 and H.R. 3352), "to amend the USA PATRIOT ACT to place reasonable limitations on the use of surveillance and the issuance of search warrants, and for other purposes," is the target of a veto threat by the White House, delivered by letter from Attorney General Ashcroft to Senate leaders, according to this AP article.
January 28, 2004
New FTC Alert on Spam
From the Federal Trade Commission, a new alert, Who's Spamming Who? Could it be You? details how your email address can be used to send unsolicited email without your knowledge, along with security measures you can use to secure your computer.
Ensuring Your Email is CAN-SPAM Compliant
Neil Squillante published a new article, Is Your Company CAN-SPAM Compliant?, that includes "Eight Not-So-Simple Rules for CAN-SPAM-Compliant Email."
beSpacific postings on CAN-SPAM Act
Success of IRS E-Filing Program Hindered by Several Factors
From Federal Computer Week, news that the rate of electronic filing of IRS returns, which currently is 40%, will not rise to the Congressional goal of 80% by 2007, according to the IRS Oversight Board. The recent Free-File sytem controversy, coupled with technical glitches and lack of consumer awareness and acceptance of the process are cited as reasons for the prediction.
Resources on E-Voting
From ElectionOnline.org, a press release and the link to a new report, Election Reform 2004 - What's Changed, What Hasn't and Why (pdf, 72 pages).
"A new report finds many of the election problems revealed in Florida and elsewhere during the 2000 presidential campaign have not yet been solved."
See also Votewatch, Your Eye on Elections, a non-partisan, non-profit volunteer-based organization that monitors elections throughout the country in an effort to ensure that "votes are counted as cast."
In addition, see my postings on the controversy involving e-voting machines and related technology.
Feds Launch New E-Mail Cybersecurity Alert Service
Press release: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Improves America's Cyber Security Preparedness--Unveils National Cyber Alert System:
"The National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today unveiled the National Cyber Alert System, an operational system delivering to Americans timely and actionable information to better secure their computer systems." The service is available to assist home PC users as well as tech professionals, and users opt-in to receive email updates on security tips, alerts and bulletins.
Harvard Law School's New Resource on Internet Law and Policy
From Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Law and Technology, the "Berkman Briefings is a reading series that provides background information about major questions related to Internet policy, technology, and law. Every month, the Briefing will cover a new topic." The RSS for this blog is here.
As Work of 9/11 Commission Gathers Momentum, a Request for More Time
The critical work of the 9/11 Commission cannot be completed by the May 27 deadline, so the panel yesterday requested an extension through July of this year. This extension is opposed by the President and Republicans including House Speaker Hastert.
New E-Mail Worm Has Global Impact
The Mydoom email worm's impact has been felt by most of us already, and threatens to continue its relentless pace around the world for another couple of days. The apparent target of the worm, the UNIX software solutions provider The SCO Group, has offered a $250,000 reward to locate the worm's creator.
See also Symantec Security Response - W32.Novarg.A@mm, which indicates the threat assessment from the virus as high, with it spreading rapidly.
From PCWorld, Mydoom Sets Speed Records
New worm avoids feds for now
January 27, 2004
DOJ OIG Report on Patriot Act
Report to Congress on Implementation of Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act, January 27, 2004 [ResourceShelf]:
"Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act (Patriot Act), Public Law 107-56, directs the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ or Department) to undertake a series of actions related to claims of civil rights or civil liberties violations allegedly committed by DOJ employees. It also requires the OIG to provide semiannual reports to Congress on the implementation of the OIG's responsibilities under Section 1001. This report - the fourth since enactment of the legislation - summarizes the OIG's Section 1001-related activities from June 16, 2003, through December 15, 2003."
Blog on Martha Stewart Trial
Martha Watch, from Newsweek Business on MSNBC.com [link from New Media Musings via I Want Media], has updates on the trial, along with lots of commentary.
Final Order by Copyright Office on Cable Royalties
From the Copyright Office, January 26, 2004:
"Upon the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, the Librarian of Congress is accepting in full the determination of the Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP) in the Phase I distribution of the 1998 and 1999 cable royalty funds and is announcing the final Phase I distribution of those funds. The full text of the Librarian's order and the Register's recommendation is available here."
The Design of International Agreements
The Design of International Agreements, by Andrew T. Guzman, University of California, Berkeley - School of Law (Boalt Hall) [Legal Theory Blog]:
From the abstract - "This Article explains why rational states sometimes prefer to design their agreements in such a way as to make them less credible and, therefore, more easily violated. In contrast to domestic law, where contractual violations are sanctioned through zero-sum payments from the breaching party to the breached-against party, sanctions for violations of international agreements are not zero-sum."
New UN Report on Freedom of Information Laws
Freedom of Information, A Comparative Legal Study (pdf, 162 pages), by Toby Mendel, published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):
this report describes "the international standards which have been established in this area and some of the key features of effective freedom of information legislation...it illustrates the way in which ten countries have dealt with these difficult issues."
CBO Projects Huge Deficit
From the Congressional Budget Office: The Budget and Economic Outlook: Fiscal Years 2005 to 2014, January 2004 and a second report, Paying for Iraq's Reconstruction, January 2004 [Link, requires readers to choose download format - pdf or WP]
CBO Projects Record Deficit - Figure Could Reach $3.5 Trillion in the Next Decade if Tax Cuts Are Made Permanent
January 26, 2004
Patent Assignments on the Web
Patent Assignments on the Web was scheduled to be deployed on January 26, 2004 and indeed, here it is.
FindLaw Acquires Glasser LegalWorks
FindLaw, owned by Thomson, announced today it has acquired Glasser LegalWorks.
Campaign 2004 News
From LexisNexis, Campaign 2004 News. Free access to content that includes headline news about the major candidates and their campaigns, as well as articles on platforms and issues.
Judge Rules Patriot Act Provision on Expert Advise Unconstitutional
Judge Audrey B. Collins, United States District Court for the Central District of California, ruled a section of the Patriot Act unconstitutional on January 25.
>li>"The USA Patriot Act places no limitation on the type of expert advice and assistance which is prohibited and instead bans the provision of all expert advice and assistance regardless of its nature.." [
Link]
DOJ press release on the decision.
Amazon Now Taking Campaign Contributions
"Presidential Candidates: Amazon.com takes the friction out of grass roots contributions to presidential candidates. A 1-Click payment is the easiest way to make a contribution -- from $5 to $200." [Link via Declan McCullagh]
See the FAQ here.
Controversy Over Congressional Computer Security Grows
On January 23, I posted on how GOP Staffers Improperly Accessed Democratic Files. See this related commentary today, from ZDNet, Security breach on Capitol Hill: It's criminal and from KnoxNews, Computer reportedly seized from Frist's office.
Another Perspective on Knowledge Management in Law Firms
Capturing tacit knowledge: Do you know more than you think? "An examination of the challenges involved in capturing tacit knowledge, by Bina Shah, Allen & Overy." [via excited utterances]
"Tacit knowledge is a mixture of deliberations, subjective insight, intuition and judgment that lawyers acquire by virtue of their experience and expertise."
Guidance on Record Retention
From the January 2004 issue of Law Practice Today: Electronic Document Retention Policies (And Why Your Clients Need Them).
Copyright Law Critics Pursue Fair Use
From the Sunday, January 25 New York Times Magazine, The Tyranny of Copyright? reviews the impact of the Internet in the context of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Copyright Term Extension Act, the Copy Left movement, and the Creative Commons.
January 23, 2004
People Finder Resources
Finding People Resources and Sites on the Net: a pdf bibliography of free and fee-based sites.
House Resolution Calls for Release of Docs on White House Leak
H. RES. 499, introduced January 21, 2004 by Congressman Rush Holt (see his press release here).
From the text of the resolutuon: "(1) the President is requested to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than the date that is 14 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution, all documents, including telephone and electronic mail records, logs and calendars, personnel records, and records of internal discussions in the possession of the President relating to the disclosure of the identity of Ms. Valerie Plame as an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency during the period beginning on May 6, 2003, and ending on July 31, 2003; and
(2) the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General are each directed to transmit to the House of Representatives not later than such date, all documents, including telephone and electronic mail records, logs and calendars, and records of internal discussions in the possession of the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General, respectively, relating to such disclosure during such period."
See also this related report, Grand jury probes CIA leak
Fact or Ficton: Two New Websites Gauge Accuracy of Campaign Info
New sites fact check politicians, journalists.
From the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, FactCheck.org has postings beginning on December 2, 2003 and "monitors the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases."
On January 11, 2004 the Columbia Journalism Review launched a blog called the CJR Campaign Desk that scrutinizes the accuracy of reports by the networks, newspapers, magazines, blogs and Internet sources, written by a non-partisan staff.
FTC Releases Annual Report of Consumer Complaints on ID Theft and Fraud
From the FTC's Identity Theft Data Clearing House, a new report, National and State Trends in Fraud & Identity Theft, January - December 2003.
From the January 22 press release: "For the fourth year in a row, identity theft topped the list, accounting for 42 percent of the complaints lodged in the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database. The FTC received more than half a million complaints in 2003, up from 404,000 in 2002, and Internet-related complaints accounted for 55 percent of all fraud reports, up from 45 percent in 2002."
GOP Staffers Improperly Accessed Democratic Files
The Boston Globe yesterday reported on a significant security breach involving the House Judiciary Committee server, access to which is shared by both Democrats and Republicans. Passwords meant to provide security for each parties' respective documents failed due to a security glitch, allowing Republicans unrestricted access to a voluminous amount of Democratic communications. The article states that "members of the GOP committee staff" were "trolling through hundreds of memos, they were able to read talking points and accounts of private meetings discussing which judicial nominees Democrats would fight -- and with what tactics." As a result of this intrusion, excerpts from documents on the server were published in "conservative leaning newspapers" and in the columns of Robert Novak, already at the center of the controversy over previous disclosure of sensitive government documents. An investigation into this matter is underway.
January 22, 2004
Report: E-Voting System Vulnerable to Cyberattack
A Security Analysis of the Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment (SERVE), January 20, 2004:
"This report is a review and critique of computer and communication security issues in the SERVE voting system (Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment), an Internet-based voting system being built for the U.S. Department of Defense's FVAP (Federal Voting Assistance Program). The program's web site is http://www.serveusa.gov/. While the system is called an experiment, it is going to be used to count real votes in the upcoming general elections... because SERVE is an Internet- and PC-based system, it has numerous other fundamental security problems that leave it vulnerable to a variety of well-known cyber attacks (insider attacks, denial of service attacks, spoofing, automated vote buying, viral attacks on voter PCs, etc.), any one of which could be catastrophic."
Related beSpacific postings on e-voting
Security Experts Urge U.S. To Abandon Internet Voting Plan
Wireless e-voting machines raise concern
9/11 Commission May Request Extension to Complete Work
The 9/11 Commission has worked diligently to obtain the requisite government documents to fulfill its work by the May 27 deadline, but may seek an extension, which will be opposed by the President and House Speaker Hastert.
IRS Reverses Decision to Track E-Filers
Earlier this month the IRS caused a controversy with the requirement that the tax software industry assist the agency in tracking filers who used the IRS Free File system. Yesterday brought an announcement that compliance with this requirement had been postponed "until the end of the current filing season."
Research on New Tools to Manage Web Info Overload
Now Where Was I? New Ways to Revisit Web Sites: "Researchers are finding that despite the early promise of Internet bookmarks, people seem to be abandoning them."
See Keeping Found Things Found, A Research Project of the Information School at the University of Washington.
California Legislative Website Celebrates Milestone
The pioneering California legislative information website celebrates its tenth anniversary this week. Statistics from last year record that the site averaged almost 12 million requests per month.
Use of Portal for Federal Job Seekers Increases Dramatically
OPM reports that usage of the USAJobs portal has increased tenfold, to 31 million users, since its redesign this past summer.
January 21, 2004
House Passes Database Protection Bill
Today the House Judiciary Committee passed the Database and Collections of Information Misappropriation Act, H.R. 3261. The bill has the backing of global publishers Reed Elsevier and Thomson Corp.
The Committee's press release
See my previous postings on the legislation here.
House Panel Sparks Database Controversy
Another Round of Lawsuits by RIAA
From the EFF advisory, Recording Industry Announces Lawsuits Against Music Sharers:
"Continuing a crusade against its own customers, the recording industry today announced lawsuits against more than five hundred individuals accused of illegal filesharing. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced it would seek the identity of "John Does" known by the addresses of the computers they use to access the Internet. The RIAA will have to seek permission from judges before they can issue subpoenas to ISPs seeking the identities of the John Does. The process offers more due process and privacy protections than the automatic subpoenas the D.C. Circuit court rejected in the RIAA v. Verizon case."
See the RIAA press release here.
Can Spam Be Tamed?
Going Upstream to Fight Spam. Creative proposals continue to percolate, but a workable solution to truly quelling the tide of spam is proving elusive, with significant costs to ISPs and consumers.
Outsourcing Legal Services Generates Listserv Traffic
By way of another update to my recent postings on outsourcing, the following information was shared today on the Law-Lib listserv:
The New Wave of Outsourcing by Ashok Deo Bardhan and Cynthia A. Kroll, Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Fall 2003 (via Saundra Kae Rubel, Privacy Law Analyst, Privacy Knowledge Base.
The Race to the Bottom: Why a Worldwide Worker Surplus and Uncontrolled Free Trade are Sinking American Living Standards (via Liz Doyle, Librarian, ASRC, Office of Regional Counsel, U.S. EPA Region 10).
January 19, 2004
PCWorld Chooses Best of the Web Applications
In PCWorld's February 2004 issue, the articleWeb Stars: Best of the Web includes search engines (winners are Google, Dogpile and AllTheWeb), Blog Sites & Aggregator Tools (winners include Feedster, Memigo, and SharpReader).
US-Visit Program and Privacy Impact
From the January 16, 2004 Federal Register, a notice from Homeland Security on the US-VISIT Program; Privacy Impact Assessment and Privacy Policy. See the DHS Privacy Impact Assessment of US-VISIT, which was published on January 4, 2004.
January 16, 2004
Legal Publisher Exploring Outsourcing Database Work
On December 10, 2003, I posted Are Paralegal Work and Legal Research Next to Go Offshore? As a follow-up, today's Minneapolis Star Tribune published a more detailed article on this issue. It specifically focuses on how Thomson West, the legal publishing unit of Thomson Corporation, has established a test project for offshore work in India. According to the article, "just a few months into the quiet Indian pilot-office experience, the half-dozen or so Indian lawyers have been doing online interpretation and legal-classification of "unpublished decisions" of U.S. state and lower courts that are not considered big deals -- or "precedential" in legal parlance."
The Internet, Privacy and Gov't Data Mining Programs
Via usnews.com, a reference to an excellent essay, e-Privacy? by Mary J. Cronin, adapted from the book Public Policy and the Internet: Privacy, Taxes, and Contract, edited by Nicholas Imparato and Mary J. Cronin.
"The everyday activities of most Americans are now routinely recorded and analyzed by a variety of governmental and commercial organizations. From telephone calls to ATM withdrawals and credit card purchases, from supermarket discount cards to doctors’ visits and drivers’ licenses, we generate data with almost every move we make. Collection and analysis of that data trigger a variety of incursions on our "right to be let alone," from piles of advertising in our mailboxes to phone solicitations at the dinner hour to audit flags on our income tax returns."
Advocacy Groups Seek State Support for Victims of ID Theft
EPIC Urges Support for ID Theft Victims:
"EPIC and over a dozen consumer protection groups sent a letter to the State Attorneys General urging them to accept identity theft affidavits. Acceptance of the affidavits allows identity theft victims to exercise important rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. For more information, see the EPIC FCRA Page.
Wesley Clarks Issues Agenda on ADA and Access to Gov't Docs
While campaigning in New Hampshire, General Wesley Clark issued press releases on two topics recently making the news, disability rights and open access to government documents.
For reference, see High Court Weighs State Liability Over Lack of Access for Disabled and Wesley Clark Releases Financial Data.
House Democrats Issue Report Appraising Status of Homeland Security
From the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, Democratic Office:
Press Release
America at Risk: The State of Homeland Security
Survey of Digital Library Aggregation Services
A Survey of Digital Library Aggregation Services by Martha L. Brogan, Digital Library Federation, Council on Library and Information Resources, Washington DC, December 2003.
From the Executive Summary: "This reports provides an overview of a diverse set of more than thirty digital library aggregation services, organizes them into functional clusters and then evaluates them more fully from the perspective of an informed user."
January 15, 2004
Microsoft to Appeal Browser Patent Decision
Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler is quoted in this Internet.com article in response to yesterday's patent infringement decision (1:99-cv-626), "We feel very good about our prospects on appeal. We remain steadfast in our belief that the Eolas patent is not valid. While the judge did not grant all our post trial motions, the court did accept some of our arguments and decided to stay the injunction pending our appeal."
See also this November 2003 article from CNet: Patent office to re-examine Eolas patent
GAO Report on Federal Public Key Infrastructure Initiatives
Information Security: Status of Federal Public Key Infrastructure Activities at Major Departments and Agencies. GAO-04-157, December 15. From the Highlights: "PKI implementation continues to pose major challenges for agencies..."
"Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is IT infrastructure that enables users of a basically unsecure public network (such as the Internet) to securely and privately exchange data through the use of a public and a private cryptographic key pair that is obtained and shared through a trusted authority." [Link]
See also the Federal Public Key Infrastructure Steering Committee
Terror Alert System Under Seige
From Newsweek: "U.S. Homeland Security officials are coming under increasing political pressure to overhaul, if not eliminate, their color-coded terror alerts as concern mounts that the current system has become so dysfunctional that it may actually be increasing the country's vulnerability to attack."
See also Lawmaker Wants Terror Alert System Refined
E-Voting Manufacturer Used Uncertified Software in California
More news on problems with Diebold's e-voting technology, this time in California, where an audit by the California Voter Foundation (CVF) ascertained that the company "had installed uncertified versions of software or firmware in all 17 counties it services" in the state.
Rep. Waxman Requests Investigation into Release of "Sensitive" Gov't Docs
In a January 14 letter to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Rep. Henry Waxman, Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Government Reform requested "information regarding apparent inconsistencies in how the Administration handles allegations regarding the release of sensitive information." References and context:
Treasury Dept. Urges Probe Over O'Neill Paper in response to former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's 60 Minutes interview.
Disclosure of identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame by Robert Novak.
"Robert Woodward's statements that he had access to classified information for his book, Bush at War." The Publishers Weekly review of the book via Amazon, states that it "Quot[es] liberally from transcripts of National Security Council meetings..."
January 14, 2004
U.S. Still Lacks Consolidated Terror Watch List
Federal Computer Week reports that the FBI's Terrorist Screening Center has yet to create a single, unified database comprising the dozen terror watch lists created by various government agencies, missing the December 1, 2003 deadline to complete the task.
See also Terror Watch List Buried in Bureaucratic Mess, which states that according to Rep. Jim Turner, a member of the Select Committee on Homeland Security, that "...without a comprehensive list of terror suspects, a whole raft of other anti-terror initiatives - - like the border screening program called U.S.-VISIT and the passenger threat rating system known as CAPPS II - would be greatly limited in their effectiveness."
Browser Patent Claim Upheld Against Microsoft
This afternoon, Judge James B. Zagel, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago), refused to overturn a $521 million verdict against Microsoft, ruling in favor of Eolas Technologies Inc. in their web patent infringment dispute. The patent at issue is number 5,838,906, and is titled "Distributed hypermedia method for automatically invoking external application providing interaction and display of embedded objects within a hypermedia document."
See my previous posts on this case here.
Court Rules NYC Fire Dept. Must Release 9/11 Oral Histories
From AP, news about a recent New York State State Supreme Courts Appellate Division decision in response to a freedom of information request for access to the uncensored text of oral histories provided by members of the New York City Fire Department in respect to their experiences during, and responses to, 9/11.
Author of Controversial Book on Administration Will Make Docs Public on Web
According to an AP report, Ron Suskind, the author of the controversial new book, The Price of Loyalty, stated he plans to publish many of the documents provided to him by former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, on the Web "in coming weeks."
Presentation on the Future of GPO
From Judith C. Russell, Superintendent of Documents, the text of her presentation from the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting, in which she addresses the following topics:
The GPO Reorganization
Fact Gathering and Planning for the Future of GPO and the FDLP
A New Economic Model for the GPO Sales Program
Managing Legacy Federal Documents Collections
January 13, 2004
US-Visit Program Stirs Controversy, and Seems to Lack Exit Strategy
"EPIC has filed comments (pdf) in response to the Department of Homeland Security's announcement that it will collect biometric and biographic information in the Arrival Departure Information System (ADIS) [Note - the ADIS System is mandated by Public Law 106-396, the Visa Waiver Program Act.] ADIS is one of at least twenty existing information systems used by US-VISIT, the vast new program that tracks the travel of foreign nationals to and from the United States. EPIC argued that ADIS should not be exempt from Privacy Act requirements, and urged DHS to reduce a proposed 100-year data retention period and comply with international privacy standards."
Also from EPIC, the Department of Homeland Security has released a Privacy Impact Assessment for the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology.
And from Federal Computer Week, US-VISIT entry system begins, but exit strategy uncertain: "The exit procedure has not been finalized, and Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Miami Seaport cruise line terminals are testing one option, self service kiosks. Officials will also be testing other exit solutions, such as handheld devices, throughout the year."
Patent Office Lists Top 10 Private Sector Recipients
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a press release January 12 with the names of the ten corporations that received the most patents for 2003. Topping the list was IBM, for the 11th straight year, with Canon Kabushiki Kaisha a distant second, and Sony at number 10.
Proposed Guidelines for Installing Library Web Filtering
The Center for Democracy and Technology issued "Proposed Guidelines for Libraries Installing Filtering under Federal Law" during the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting, underway in San Diego.
Version 1.0 of Principles for CIPA-Mandated Filtering in Public Libraries "are intended to help libraries that are required to install Internet filtering software under the Childrens Internet Protection Act do so in a manner that promotes free speech and robust access to information. CDT invites public comment on the principles."
See also CDT's resource on CIPA and the Court Challenge and previous beSpacific postings on library filtering.
Tax Software Industry Concerned Over Free E-Filing and Privacy
Federal Computer Week reports on a privacy controversy associated with the highly touted IRS Free File system, which last year was predominently used by low income taxpayers. For 2003 filings, the IRS requested that members of the Free File Alliance ("a Public-Private Partnership between the Internal Revenue Service and software companies in the tax software industry") include an electronic ID code with all free filings.
Sen. Clinton Proposes Standardized Medical Reporting System
From Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's press release of January 12 on upcoming legislation to implement technology solutions to address the efficient delivery of health care, the proposal includes five major goals: Increasing research on quality of care; providing the public with a standardized reporting system that allows consumers to reliably compare performance; building an information technology infrastructure that enables information sharing; giving patients and providers information in real time; and pay for performance.
New Law Review Article on Legislative History in France
Claire M. Germain's article, Approaches to Statutory Interpretation and Legislative History in France, from the Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law, Vol. 13, No. 3, Summer 2003, is now available online.
Google Expands Search Features
Google's new search features include: airline tracking by flight numbers and Search by Number, and includes UPS tracking numbers, FedEx tracking numbers, USPS tracking numbers, Vehicle ID (VIN) numbers, UPC codes, Telephone area codes, Patent numbers, FAA airplane registration numbers and FCC equipment IDs. Via Google Blogoscoped.
January 12, 2004
IRS To Phase-In Encrypted E-Filing for 2005
From the December 29, 2003, Federal Register, this IRS notice:
Addition of New Transmitter Encryption Options and Pending - Discontinuance of Non-Encrypted Options for IRS e-file - SUMMARY: Internal Revenue Service will provide the ability for IRS e- file program participants to use approved encryption methods for the 2005 and later filing seasons, beginning with the Acceptance Testing System (ATS) in late 2004. For the 2005 filing season, IRS intends to begin discontinuing support of non-encrypted transmissions whether by dedicated or dial-up links on the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Air Force Enacts IG Exemptions from FOIA
From the January 6, 2004 Federal Register, Department of Defense, Department of the Air Force, Final rule:
SUMMARY: The Department of the Air Force is revising a (j)(2) exemption to an existing exemption rule for the Privacy Act system of records notice F090 AF IG B, Inspector General Records. The (j)(2) exemption will increase the value of the system of records for law enforcement purposes."
2004 Begins With Spam Overload
Inbox trauma: New junk-fighting tools falter
Anti-spam applications abound, and the CAN SPAM Act promised to lighten the load on your email in-box, but initial reports for this year are far less than reassuring.
See also CAN-SPAM means we can spam
Statistical Resource on 100 Largest U.S. Cities
From the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, the Living Cities Databook Series "permits users to display and download data and rankings for the 100 largest cities in the U.S. on the full complement of indicators displayed in the printed databooks." Categories include: Population, Race and Ethnicity, Immigration, Age, Households and Families, Education, Work, Commuting, Income and Poverty, and Housing.
Net Gains Status As Source for Campaign News
From the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, January 11, 2004:
Cable and Internet Loom Large in Fragmented Political News Universe - Perceptions of Partisan Bias Seen as Growing, Especially by Democrats
From the Summary of Findings: "The 2004 presidential campaign is continuing the long-term shift in how the public gets its election news. Television news remains dominant, but there has been further erosion in the audience for broadcast TV news. The Internet, a relatively minor source for campaign news in 2000, is now on par with such traditional outlets as public television broadcasts, Sunday morning news programs and the weekly news magazines. And young people, by far the hardest to reach segment of the political news audience, are abandoning mainstream sources of election news and increasingly citing alternative outlets, including comedy shows such as the Daily Show and Saturday Night Live, as their source for election news."
About the Survey
Questionnaire
Detailed Demographic Tables
January 09, 2004
UK's Top 100 Corporate Websites
The Third Annual Report on The Home Pages of the UK's Top 100 Companies' Corporate Web Sites ($$) [Link]:
"...around a third of Britain's top companies have been consistently poor performers, over a number of years, and appear "not to get it" when it comes to their corporate Web sites." The
Reed Elsevier site ranking went from 48th in 2001 to 95th in 2003.
Expansion of Electronic Court Filing System
"The U.S. District Court in New Jersey yesterday joined the growing ranks of federal courts that require lawyers to file all civil case pleadings in electronic format, making it easier for the public and press to obtain copies of them...According to the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts, the District of New Jersey becomes the 36th of the nation's 94 federal district courts to have adopted the electronic filing system, known as Case Management/Electronic Case Files. The CM/ECF system is almost universally used in the nation's bankruptcy courts, and its implementation is scheduled to begin at the federal appeals court level at some point this year." [Link]
From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, report on Online Access to Court Records, and a A state-by-state look at electronic court access.
See also, Court Rules, Forms and Dockets, free searchable database, from LLRX.com.
Thumbnail Size Preview Screenshots Now Available on Open Directory Project
The Open Thumbshots Project is a free resource used by a number of sites, now including the Open Directory Project (DMOZ), that uses the application to provide screen shot previews of over 3 million sites prior to visiting them.
Example: Open Directory News - scroll down the screen to see the thumbnail screen shots.
GSA IG Audit Reveals Abuses in IT Procurement
GSA audit confirms misuse of funds:
"Employees at General Services Administration offices in three regions of the country misused 8(a) sole-source contracting authority, authorized work outside the scope of contracts and spent more than $133 million in funding earmarked for information technology inappropriately, according to a report released [January 8] from GSA's inspector general."
Audit of the Federal Technology Services's Client Support Centers, January 8, 2004(61 pages, pdf)
Lieberman's ID Theft Proposals
Lieberman Unveils Plan To Protect Privacy, Break Down Bush's Wall Of Secrecy:
"Joe Lieberman became the first candidate to release a comprehensive plan for protecting people's personal privacy and breaking down George Bush's wall of secrecy around his Administration. Among other steps, Lieberman would double the penalties for identity theft, get tough on credit reporting companies that don't quickly fix errors, abolish secret government task forces, and create a fully searchable public database on government contracts."
IRS To Track E-Filers
IRS will track Free File taxpayers:
Even as the IRS encourages taxpayers to take advantage of the ease and efficiency of e-filing, news that information gathered from these services will be monitored by the agency has resulted in negative responses from industry representatives and privacy advocates.
PC Users Experience Problems Due to VeriSign Certificate Revocation
VeriSign to implement change to .com and .net:
"Some networking experts fear the change could cause Internet traffic problems. VeriSign Inc. is planning a change to a Domain Name System component responsible for coordinating updates to the .com and .net domains throughout the DNS, according to a company spokesman."
VeriSign's dead certificates 'knocked out Norton'
From Symantec: "After January 7, 2004, your computer slows down and Microsoft Word and Excel will not start. Symantec is currently investigating reported computer slow-downs and instability. This issue appears to be related to VeriSign receiving an unusual number of requests by Windows-based clients to download a certificate revocation list (CRL) on January 7-8, 2004." [
Link]
VeriSign Update on Certificate Revocation List Expiration
January 08, 2004
Bipartisan Group of Senators Urges Greater Access to Legislation Via Thomas
Senators Lieberman and Corzine called for the Library of Congress to expand content and provide enhanced search features on Thomas, the free, searchable database of federal legislation. [Link]
CRS Maintains Need for Restrictions on Access to Reports, Secretly
From Secrecy News, a copy of a Congressional Research Service internal memo from December 2003 that addresses the escalating controversy on restrictions to public dissemination of CRS reports.
Personal Data of Respondents to Proposed Reg. Subject to Privacy Breach
Treasury breaks word on e-mail anonymity:
"The Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) plans to publish nearly 10,000 e-mail addresses on the Web, violating its privacy promise to Americans who used e-mail to comment on a government proceeding."
Copyright Office to Determine Reasonable Rates and Terms for Digital Performances
Copyright Office Announces Voluntary Negotiation Period for Rates and Terms for Digital Performance Right in Sound Records and Ephemeral Recordings. [Link]:
"The Copyright Office announces the initiation of the voluntary negotiation period for determining reasonable rates and terms for two compulsory licenses for the period beginning January 1, 2005, and ending on December 31, 2006. One compulsory license allows public performances of sound recordings by means of certain digital transmissions in accordance with section 114(a). The other allows the making of an ephemeral recording of a sound recording by certain transmitting organizations in accordance with section 112(a)."
For further details, see the Federal Register announcement here.
Dozens of IDs of Deceased Used in Net Fraud
Net Aids Identity Theft of Deceased:
A woman at the center of an identity theft scam used the Web to retrieve
Social Security numbers and credit information on 80 deceased people in
at least five U.S. states, authorities say."
January 07, 2004
New Restrictions on Public Access to Docs Through DoD IG Website
A U.S. Newswire release dated January 6 states that National Press Club President Tammy Lytle, (who is also the bureau chief for the Orlando Sentinel) sent a letter to Sec. of Defense Rumsfeld expressing opposition to a new policy concerning website content issued by Defense Department Inspector General Joseph Schmitz. In a December 5 memo, Schmitz restricted the publication of "not just classified and 'official-use' data, but also new and indefensible categories," to the Inspector General's public website.
New California Healthcare Blog
The California Health Consensus Project launched a weblog today. See this US Newswire release for more details.
IRS Launches New Web Tax Filing Service
"1040 Central: Find what you need, fast. No matter which form you use, 1040 Central has the links you’ll need to file your 2003 tax return. Get the latest news and forms, plus information about special tax credits. Check out e-File. Track your refund. It’s all at 1040 Central." [Link]
More Music Downloaders Settle Suits
Ten music downloaders in Colorado have settled copyright infringement lawsuits by the RIAA by agreeing to pay fines of up to $4,000 each. [Link]
New PA Website Blocking Law Challenged
From the Center on Democracy and Technology:
"On Tuesday, January 6, CDT and the ACLU begin presenting evidence in federal court in Philadelphia in their challenge to a Pennsylvania law that has resulted in the blocking of hundreds of thousands of legitimate websites. The hearing is expected to run for several days. Extensive briefs filed by both sides in December are available online.
Plaintiffs' Brief [pdf] (Dec. 12, 2003)
Government's Brief [pdf] (Dec. 24, 2003)
Plaintiffs' Reply Brief [pdf] (Dec. 31, 2003)
From AP via USA Today: Lawsuit claims Net filters overcensor, wants reversal
See my other postings on this controversial law here and here.
See also this AP article, Technology can block p**n but costs high, fix temporary
January 06, 2004
Yahoo to Part Ways With Google
Yahoo Gets Set to Give Google Run for Money. The search engine competition is prepared to heat-up in 2004 with the hyping of a Google IPO, and rival Yahoo is reportedly planning their own enhancements in the arenas of paid inclusion and search features.
Text of the FBI Intelligence Bulletin on Almanacs and Terrorists
As a follow-up to the much ballyhooed news about the December 24 FBI warning about terrorists and almanacs, the full-text of the Intelligence Bulletin is now available, courtesy of Cryptome.
How Libraries Can Benefit From Using Web Conferencing Technology
Web Conferencing for Libraries: "Can You Hear Me Now?":
"With Web Conferencing Technology (WCT), library users can get quick research consultations, enjoy tech support hand-holding, make and complete information requests and transactions, and receive bulky information content packages. Best of all, they can do it without taking the trouble to physically transport themselves over to the library or information center."
Web Directory of Tech Lingo, Applications, and Facts
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing:
"FOLDOC is a searchable dictionary of acronyms, jargon, programming languages, tools, architecture, operating systems, networking, theory, conventions, standards, mathematics, telecoms, electronics, institutions, companies, projects, products, history, in fact anything to do with computing."
Web Resource Guide for Researchers
From blogger, author, speaker Marcus P. Zillman, this well-vetted subject oriented resource guide to portals, websites and blogs on topics that include economics and business, government and statistics, law, medicine, news and engineering.
WorldWatch Institute's New State of the World Report