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From the Practical Nomad: What’s wrong with CAPPS-II? (and what should be done about it?) by Edward Hasbrouck. This articles provides a wealth of links to primary and secondary documents on CAPPS I and II and the significant privacy issues inherent in the mining of personal travel data by the federal government.
A new Business Software Alliance (BSA) state-by-state study indicates a slight decline in software piracy in the United States, with overall national loses to be approximately $1.9 billion. The study provides data that includes: state piracy rate, state dollar retail losses, state employment losses, total wage and salary losses, total tax losses, as well as …
From a press release dated August 6, 2003: “The Competitive Enterprise Institute today filed suit in federal court against the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for refusing to implement the Federal Data Quality Act in regard to two major global warming reports. The law, signed by President Clinton, requires that data disseminated …
From Research Buzz: “Google is finally offering news alerts, which may finally fill the giant hole left in my life by the demise of Northern Light News and THEIR alerts. You can get to ’em at http://www.google.com/newsalerts. Apparently you will not have to have an account for this. All the site offers is a space …
From the Federal Register, July 28, 2003: Statute: The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act FERPA provides that an agency or institution may not have a policy or practice of disclosing personally identifiable information from education records without the “written consent” of the parent or eligible student, subject to specified exceptions. 20 U.S.C. 1232g(b)(1). Current …
On the Federal Side: The administrator of OMB’s Office of E-Government and Information Technology, Mark Forman, has announced plans to join the private sector, according to FCW.com. “Forman was the driving force behind the 24 e-gov initiatives and the enterprise architecture effort.” For related information, see P.L. 107-347, the E-Government Act of 2002, and my …
“The Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions (AFFECT), the national coalition opposing the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (UCITA), applauds the decision of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) not to spend any additional resources in promoting state adoptions of UCITA. The proposed legislation has been the subject of considerable controversy …
Copywrongs.org is a new website launched August 5 by a non-profit group comprised of techno-experts who have been affiliated with projects at MIT. From the Mission Statement: “copywrongs.org is a clearinghouse and connection point for individuals who are the subjects of P2P-related copyright enforcement actions. We will do our best to provide services that help …
Mother Jones: From FBI and CIA headquarters to small-town police departments, the government is building a massive intelligence network designed to spy on terrorists — and on everyday Americans. Washington Post: U.S. Backs Florida’s New Counterterrorism Database – ‘Matrix’ Offers Law Agencies Faster Access to Americans’ Personal Records. Washington Post: Crossing Lines to Fight Terrorism …
From PBS NewsHour: Terence Smith examines Howard Dean’s success at building grassroots support in cyberspace, and how other presidential candidates are using the Internet and other technologies to their advantage. Sen. John Kerry launches Internet-based petition: John Kerry To Petition Against Overtime Bill.
Airline Security’s False Hope?: An expert on aviation safety statistics says a new computer system to screen out terrorists may actually make things easier for them, by Arnold Barnett (reg. req’d). “The latest incarnation of security screening for our airports has many friends in high places. U.S. secretary of transportation Norman Mineta described it as …
From ZDNet: “A judge has ruled in favor of holding company NTP in its patent-infringement case against BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, awarding monetary damages and fees. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Richmond, Va., ruled late Tuesday in the case brought against Waterloo, Ontario-based RIM. It awarded NTP $53.7 million.”
