Author archives

Anniversary of Freedom of Information Act

“George Washington University’s National Security Archive, the leading non-profit user of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, today released its annual Freedom of Information Act birthday posting, 37 years to the day after President Johnson grudgingly signed the U.S. FOIA into law on July 4, 1966. The Archive reported that documents released under federal, state …

Subjects: Freedom of Information

Dept. of Interior Loses Net Connection Again

From Government Computer News: “The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia again has ordered the Interior Department to disconnect most of its systems from the Internet to protect American Indian trust data. The department has disconnected at least 3,000 computers from the Internet as a result of the order..” See my previous posting …

Subjects: E-Government

New on LLRX.com

A Guide to Russian Legal Research Tech Trenches: Searching about Search Engines Co-Founder Tim Stanley Leaves FindLaw The Collapse of Enron: A Bibliography of Online Legal, Government and Legislative Resources Tech Trenches Update: Top Web Sites for Summer Associates Burney’s Legal Tech Reviews: Visioneer Strobe XP 100 Scanner and FutureDial Mobile Phone Software

Subjects: Legal Research, Libraries, Search Engines

Courts, Public Records and Privacy

Are Public Court Records Too Public in Cyberspace?: “As state court officials across the nation ponder whether and how to make courthouses Internet-friendly, policymakers from California to New York are shielding many otherwise readily available records from cyberspace.” Resources referenced in the article include: New York State Commission on Public Access to Court Records Reporters …

Subjects: Courts, E-Government, Privacy

Profits Prevail as Web Privacy Declines

From a July 1, 2003 Washington Post article: “…marketers and an array of service providers expanding their collection and use of consumers’ e-mail addresses and other personal information, despite broad assurances to protect individual privacy and honor consumers’ choices about how much marketing they want to receive.”

Subjects: E-Commerce, E-Mail, Privacy

USPTO Announces Transition to All Electronic Filings

From the press release: “The U.S. Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced today that effective June 30, 2003, all newly filed patent applications will be converted to electronic applications and processed electronically. Additionally, over the next 15 months, the USPTO will scan more than a half million pending applications into …

Subjects: E-Government, E-Records, Patent and Trademark

Pentagon’s New Urban Surveillance Project

A new Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project involves the deployment of innovative data collection software that would provide law enforcement with the ability to track, monitor and “identify vehicles by size, color, shape and license tag, or drivers and passengers by face,” according to this AP article. The DARPA contracting document for Combat …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Privacy