Author archives

New Tech Gadgets Compromise Privacy

The Death Of Privacy–Again: “The world around you is being flooded with intrusive technologies, with camera phones as the tip of the iceberg, and the very concept of privacy, especially in public spaces, is going to be radically overhauled as a result.”

Subjects: Privacy

Copyright of RSS Blogging Tool Transfered to Harvard

News.com reports that the “Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School is the new keeper of the specification for a popular Web log tool. The Berkman Center took over ownership of the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) 2.0 specification this week after UserLand, a company owned by RSS 2.0 author David Winer, transferred …

Subjects: Blogs

Dept. of Labor Launches New Employment Law Websites

From the Seattle Times: “U.S. Department of Labor officials have created two new Web sites aimed at helping small employers learn how to comply with federal law. The FirstStep Employment Law Advisor – available at http://www.dol.gov/elaws – helps employers determine which laws apply to their business and provides information on how to comply. The Employment …

Subjects: E-Government

New DOJ IG Report on Patriot Act Documents Civil Rights Abuses

Accusations of Abuse in Report on USA Patriot Act: “A report by internal investigators at the Justice Department has identified dozens of recent cases in which department employees have been accused of serious civil rights and civil liberties violations involving enforcement of the sweeping federal antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act.” Report to …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Patriot Act

Judicial Council of California Adopts plain English Jury Instructions

New Plain-English Jury Instructions Adopted to Assist Jurors in California Courts: “In another jury reform, the Judicial Council of California today officially adopted new civil jury instructions that emphasize plain, straightforward language, to provide an alternative to often confusing legal terminology that has been used in California trial courts for the past 70 years.”

Subjects: Courts

Closure of GPO Bookstores Heralds End of Era for Print Gov Docs

GPO Holds a Clearance Sale as It Closes Bookstores Because of Web’s Growth: “It’s the Internet,” explained GPO spokesman Andrew M. Sherman. “Our online operation has just killed the retail end of this business. The mainstay of sales at our stores was principally regulatory information — tax rules, international trade, the Code of Federal Regulations. …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Internet, Libraries

Essays, Resources and Links from EPIC Privacy Program

On June 2, EPIC sponsored a conference, Privacy and Technology Looking Back, Looking Ahead. They only recently provided online access to resources associated with the presentations, which took themes from George Orwell’s writings in honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth: Selections from EPIC Advisory Board and Essays by EPIC Staff.

Subjects: Privacy

Senate Votes Against Total Information Awareness Program

From Reuters: “The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to cut off funding for a widely criticized computer-surveillance program that would comb travel records, credit-card bills and other private records to sniff out suspected terrorists. In a military spending bill it passed unanimously, the Senate forbade the Defense Department to spend any portion of its $369 …

Subjects: Congress, Legislation, Privacy

Airline Plans to Use Digital Video to Monitor Passengers

According to an article in today’s Wired: “Southeast Airlines said it plans to install digital video cameras throughout the cabins of its planes to record the faces and activities of its passengers at all times, as a precaution against terrorism and other safety threats. In addition, the charter airline, based in Largo, Florida, will store …

Subjects: Privacy