Author archives

Advocacy Group Seeks to Block Transfer of European Passenger Data

European Digital Rights (EDRi), a non-profit coalition of privacy/advocacy groups based in Brussels, launched a campaign against the transfer of European travellers’ Passenger Name Records (PNR) to U.S. Customs. See the following related documents: EDRi campaign press release. Full text of Article 29 Data Protection Working Party: Opinion 6/2002 on transmission of Passenger Manifest Information …

Subjects: EU Data Protection

Canadian Privacy Law Impacts E-Commerce

Canadian Privacy Law Deadline Approaching: “Beginning Jan. 1, 2004, all companies that collect, use or disclose personal information about Canadian citizens during the course of commercial activities will have to comply with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.”

Subjects: E-Commerce, Privacy

FOIA Lawsuit on Intelligence Spending

From Steven Aftergood, May 6 Secrecy News (from the FAS Project on Government Secrecy): “The total amount of intelligence spending for 2002 should be declassified over the objections of the Central Intelligence Agency, a federal court was told May 5 in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit sponsored by the Federation of American Scientists.” See …

Subjects: Freedom of Information

Free and Low Cost Legal Services for Texans

“TexasLawHelp.org is a project of the Texas Access to Justice Commission and the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, in partnership with participating legal aid organizations.” Users may locate information according to county or zip code, and services are provided on issues that include: civil rights, disability, health, immigration, employment and housing. From the site’s …

Subjects: Legal Research

FOI Exemption for NSA

From the National Security Archive: “The proposed FY 2004 Defense Authorization Act (S. 747) would throw a cloak of secrecy over valuable National Security Agency (“NSA”) records now released under the Freedom of Information Act, including important historical records on the use of signals intelligence and cryptology in U.S. defense history.” For related information, see …

Subjects: Freedom of Information

Internet2 and File Sharing

According to this article, Bradley University has joined over 200 other universities participating in the ultra-high speed broadband Internet2 consortium. This project is a collaboration between academia, government and industry, and not available to the public. According to Jeff Huberman, dean of Bradley’s communications school, “Boundaries become irrelevant with Internet2. It’s an entirely different playing …

Subjects: Copyright, Internet

Bibliography on Electronic Sources of Information

The May 1, 2003 edition of the Subject Index to Literature on Electronic Sources of Information, by Marian Dworaczek, is now available. It “deals with all aspects of electronic publishing and include print and non-print materials, periodical articles, monographs and individual chapters in collected works. This edition includes over 1,500 indexed titles and is updated …

Subjects: Internet, Legal Research

Entertainment Industry Anti-Piracy Campaign Goes Covert

The entertainment industry is working with software developers, such as Overpeer Inc., to create applications that will thwart P2P filing services and networks. Although such efforts pre-date the recent decision in favor of filing sharing companies Grokster and Morpheus, the focus on a software solution appears to have a renewed purpose and impetus. According to …

Subjects: Copyright