Category «Civil Liberties»

Women in National Governments Around the Globe: Fact Sheet

CRS Report – Women in National Governments Around the Globe: Fact Sheet, Updated February 8, 2021: ‘Women and girls make up half of the world’s population; however, in most countries, women are under represented in the political process at the national level. As this report shows, women currently hold 25.4% of legislative seats around the …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Federal Statutes Protecting Domesticated and Captive Animals

CRS Report – Federal Statutes Protecting Domesticated and Captive Animals, February 5, 2021 – “A number of federal laws aim to protect the health, safety, and well-being of animals under human control. These laws extend to pets, domesticated livestock, service animals, test subjects, and wild animals kept for exhibition, scientific, or educational purposes, among others. …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Accountability 2021 – Restoring accountability in the federal government

Open the Government  – 40 Advocacy Organizations & Experts Release Accountability 2021 Reform Agenda for Biden Administration – “The Accountability 2021 effort recognizes that the President has the power to create a government that is both responsive to and representative of the public—and demands that whoever sits in the Oval Office take steps to do …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied: Judges Fail To Rule in a Timely Manner on FOIA Cases

The FOIA Project at the Newhouse School TRAC/Syracuse University Report – “The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was passed to ensure the public’s right to know what their government was doing. Response delays have become a perennial problem. Federal officials increasingly ignore FOIA deadlines for responding, forcing FOIA requesters to take them to court. As …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

Police in Libraries: What the Cop-Free Library Movement Wants

Teen Vogue: “In cities like Los Angeles, activists are working to end contracts between local police forces and public libraries…Cop-free library movements in St. Louis, New York City, and at Ivy League University libraries are similarly calling for police divestment. Libraries for All STL activists pressured the St. Louis County Library to terminate its contract …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Health Care, Internet, Libraries

As U.S. Capitol investigators use facial recognition, it begs the question: Who owns our faces?

Via LLRX – As U.S. Capitol investigators use facial recognition, it begs the question: Who owns our faces? – In the age of Big Tech, we need to grapple with what expectations we can and should have about who has access to our faces. The recent riot at the U.S. Capitol has put the question …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Records, Legal Research, Privacy

ABA celebrates Black History Month with monthlong webinar series

“The American Bar Association Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice will celebrate Black History Month with a webinar series for various days in February, The Challenges that African Americans Face in the 21st Century, begins Wednesday, Feb. 3 and will run on Feb. 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 23, 25 and 26. The series …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Climate Change, Courts, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

Here’s a Way to Learn if Facial Recognition Systems Used Your Photos

The New York Times – “An online tool targets only a small slice of what’s out there, but may open some eyes to how widely artificial intelligence research fed on personal images. When tech companies created the facial recognition systems that are rapidly remaking government surveillance and chipping away at personal privacy, they may have …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation, Search Engines, Social Media

The Women of Wikipedia Are Writing Themselves Into History

Glamour:  “Wikipedia, which turned 20 this month, is big. Really big. It’s read 8,000 times per second and visited more times per month than Netflix or Instagram. We’re so used to seeing it at the top of Google when we go to settle arguments, check facts, or educate ourselves on an unfamiliar topic that it’s easy …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Internet, Knowledge Management

Democracy cannot be defended by force; it is enforced through accountability

The Center for Systemic Peace: “The USA has dropped below the “democracy threshold” (+6) on the POLITY scale in 2020 and and is now considered an anocracy (+5). It has also lost its designation as the world’s oldest, continuous democracy; that designation now belongs to Switzerland (171 years), followed by New Zealand (142) and the …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Legal Research

Online Holocaust Denial Report Card

An Investigation of Online Platforms’ Policies and Enforcement – “The Holocaust, the systematic murder of approximately six million Jews and several million others by the Nazis, is one of history’s most painstakingly examined and well-documented genocides. Nevertheless, in the decades since World War II, a small group of antisemites has repeatedly attempted to cast doubt …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Education, Internet, Legal Research, Social Media