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Health & Safety Information on Household Products Portal: this new database service from the National Library of Medicine is a portal to information on over 4,000 products arranged in seven categories (auto, home inside, pesticides, landscape/yard, personal care, home maintenance, hobbies & crafts). Users are provided with data on brands, manufacturers, health effects, handling/disposal, and …
From the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Alert, File-Sharing: A Fair Share? Maybe Not: “…file-sharing can have a number of risks. For example, when you are connected to file-sharing programs, you may unknowingly allow others to copy private files you never intended to share. You may download material that is protected by the copyright laws and …
“Google introduced a new advanced search feature that enables users to search not only for a particular keyword, but also for its synonyms. This is accomplished by placing a ~ character directly in front of the keyword in the search box. For example, to search for browser help as well as browser guides and tutorials …
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth last week held the Environmental Protection Agency in contempt for destroying electronic documents in violation of a court order issued as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request. [Link] Landmark Legal Foundation v. EPA, Civil Action No. 00-2338, Opinions issued July 24, 2003 by Judge Royce C. …
ID Theft Continues to Increase: “The number of Americans who fell victim to identity theft in 2002 grew 81 percent over the year before. And incidents reported so far in 2003 suggest a major rise over last year…More than 13 million Americans have fallen victim to identity theft or fraud since January 2001,” according to …
Google targeted by search engine rivals: “The steady growth has turned Google into one of the Internet’s biggest success stories, and made the still relatively small company of 1,000 employees a target for some formidable foes. Both Yahoo! and Microsoft are searching for ways to steal Google’s thunder in a showdown that could reshape the …
On July 31, Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) introduced the 9-11 Memorial Intelligence Reform Act, “aimed at overhauling the Intelligence Community to prevent another successful terrorist attack like the tragedy of September 11, 2001.” “Graham said a top priority is the creation of a Cabinet-level Director of National Intelligence, who would be appointed by the President …
“The Vanderbilt Television News Archive, the worlds most comprehensive collection of television network news programs, marks its 35th anniversary this week by going digital.” [Link] “Since Aug. 5, 1968, archivists at Vanderbilt University have preserved on videotape and indexed nearly 40,000 hours of network news just as they aired on television sets throughout the nation….the …
The Inbox Defense Task Force is “a non-profit legal research organization dedicated to tracking down the true identities of spammers.” The organization lists the following goals on its website: Find the Spammers; Create Courtroom-Quality Documentation; Enable Prosecution and Private Legal Action. A lengthy review of this organization’s work, by Keith H. Hammonds, a Fast Company …
Unpatriotic Acts: The FBI’s Power to Rifle Through Your Records and Personal Belongings Without Telling You, July 2003, from the ACLU. The focus of this 26 page report (pdf) is an examination of, along with related resources and legal documents on, Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, “which gives the FBI unprecedented access to …
CIPA Decision Response: A statement from ALA President Carla D. Hayden and the ALA Executive Board, July 25, 2003.
Defamation Immunity On The Internet, by John W. Dean: “Recently, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unwisely held, in Batzel v. Cremers, that a federal statute immunizes certain statements on the Internet from defamation liability. But Judge Ronald M. Gould dissented, urging a closer look at the consequences of the ruling.”
