Author archives

Presidential Records Case Continues

Press release today from The National Archive Archives: “A federal judge’s dismissal last month of a landmark open government case was based on two factual misconceptions and deserves re-opening, according to court filings last week. The lawsuit challenges President Bush’s Executive Order 13,233 that gave former Presidents and their heirs (as well as former Vice-Presidents …

Subjects: Courts, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

New on LLRX.com

Could you be sued for turning over an Internet user’s sign-up information to law enforcement? Business Filings Databases — Updated Notes from the Technology Trenches: Bloomberg for Law Firms Metaforix@Health – Medicare Resources Online FOIA Facts – FOIA Fees Burney’s Gadgets for Legal Pros – The Fabulous Life of a Pivoting Monitor Wisdom From the …

Subjects: Freedom of Information, Legal Research, Libraries, Patriot Act, Privacy

The Wait is Over – Google IPO Announced

Links to the SEC filings here and here. From the Financial Times, the full-text of an “unconventional” letter from Google’s founders that accompanied their IPO application. See also Unusual Google Language Might Prompt Closer Look By SEC. From the New York Times, Google’s Sale of Its Shares Will Defy Wall St. Tradition

Subjects: Search Engines

First Criminal Cases Filed Under CAN-SPAM Act

FTC press release: “The FTC has cracked down on two spam operations that have clogged the Internet with millions of deceptive messages and violated federal laws…Both operations have been identified by the anti-spam organization Spamhaus as among the largest spammers in the world.” Complaint: Federal Trade Commission, plaintiff, v. Phoenix Avatar, LLC doing business as …

Subjects: E-Mail

Are Resources on Women’s Issues Disappearing from Gov’t Websites?

The National Council for Research on Women issued a report today on the organization’s documentation of how specific information and resources on women’s issues is no longer available to the public through government sponsored channels. [Link to the press release] From the Executive Summary: “The report concentrates on missing information that directly affects women’s lives. …

Subjects: E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

New Regs on Privacy of Medical Records and Financial Transactions

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (2003) implementation; fair credit reporting medical information regulations: notice of proposed rulemaking, April 28, 2004: “The OCC, Board, FDIC, OTS, and NCUA…are required to prescribe regulations that permit creditors to obtain or use medical information for eligibility purposes where necessary and appropriate to protect legitimate operational, transactional, risk, consumer, …

Subjects: Government Documents, Privacy

University Consortium Sponsors Global Project on Web Filtering and Surveillance

“The OpenNet Initiative is a University-based policy research project documenting filtering and surveillance practices worldwide. Our aim is to excavate, expose and analyze these practices in a credible and non-partisan fashion to uncover the potential pitfalls of present policies to explore the possibility of unintended and unexpected consequences and thus to help inform better public …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Libraries, Privacy