Category «Civil Liberties»

Information Security Oversight Office’s Report for Fiscal Year 2014

“The Information Security Oversight Office’s (ISOO) Report for Fiscal Year 2014, as required by Executive Order 13526, “Classified National Security Information” (the Order). This report provides statistics and analysis of the system of classification and declassification based on ISOO’s review of Departments’ and Agencies’ programs. It also contains the status of agency self-assessment reporting, the …

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

Data Collection From Consumers Continues Without Transparency

National Journal – “Don’t be fooled: Congress may have finally passed the bill reining in the National Security Agency’s bulk-surveillance programs  [USA Freedom Act of 2015], but your data is still being collected on the Internet. Lost in the debate over the NSA is the fact that companies like Google and Facebook continue to vacuum …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Commerce, E-Mail, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legislation, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

Google releases latest report on diversity

Google news release: “Last month, we shared our long term strategy for improving diversity at Google and across the industry (http://goo.gl/0vQ5lX). We’re encouraged that this important issue is now being discussed openly – including at events and conferences like the recent Code Conference and our own Google I/O conference (http://goo.gl/Csw9Fr). But it’s fair to ask: …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Search Engines

Canarywatch.org Reaches 50 Canaries

EFF – “We’re excited to announce that Canarywatch has added its 50th canary: First Look Media, the parent company for The Intercept—the news site created by journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill.EFF-  “Warrant canary” is a colloquial term for a regularly published statement that an internet service provider (ISP) has not received legal …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

CRS – The Violence Against Women Act

The Violence Against Women Act: Overview, Legislation, and Federal Funding, Lisa N. Sacco, Analyst in Illicit Drugs and Crime Policy. May 26, 2015. “In February 2013, Congress passed legislation (Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013; P.L. 113-4) that reauthorized most of the programs under VAWA, among other things. The VAWA reauthorization also amended and …

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

Overview of Constitutional Challenges to NSA Collection Activities

CRS – Overview of Constitutional Challenges to NSA Collection Activities, Edward C. Liu, Legislative Attorney; Andrew Nolan, Legislative Attorney, Richard M. Thompson II, Legislative Attorney. May 21, 2015. “Beginning in summer 2013, media reports of foreign intelligence activities conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA) have been widely published. The reports have focused on two …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Defense, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Patriot Act, Privacy

2015 Update: Can I Bring My Gun? A Fifty State Survey of Firearm Laws Impacting Policies Prohibiting Handguns in Public Libraries

Gleason, Diana, 2015 Update: Can I Bring My Gun? A Fifty State Survey of Firearm Laws Impacting Policies Prohibiting Handguns in Public Libraries (May 13, 2015). Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2605937 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2605937 “In Capital Area District Library v. Michigan Open Carry, 826 N.W. 2d 736 (2012), the Michigan Court of Appeals concluded that …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Legal Research, Libraries

Assessing Unconventional Applications of the ‘Terrorism’ Label

Setty, Sudha, Assessing Unconventional Applications of the ‘Terrorism’ Label (2015). Forthcoming in The War on Terror & Beyond: Moving from Military Action to Civil Rights, Satvinder Juss and Clive Walker, eds. (Univ. of Penn. Press, 2015); Western New England University School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 15-3. Available for download at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2608623 …

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

UN Report Champions Encryption and Anonymity

EPIC – “The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression released a report today supporting strong encryption and anonymity tools. The Rapporteur finds that, “States should not restrict encryption and anonymity, which facilitate and often enable the rights to freedom of opinion and expression.” EPIC previously urged the UN to support secure, anonymous communications, stating, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Government Documents, Internet, PC Security, Privacy

The biggest hurdle for lawyers with disabilities are preconceptions

Thank you to Terry Carter for another spot on article, this one focused on the many faceted, significant, and valuable expertise of the differently abled in the legal profession: “Many lawyers with disabilities still end up where they always were: channeled toward government work, advocacy organizations or solo and small-firm employment, often with disability-related practices. …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Marketing

Federal Judge Blocks Release of CIA Torture Report to ACLU

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. AMERICAN  CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, et al. , Defendants. Civil Action No. 13 – 1870 (JEB) – May 20, 2015 MEMORANDUM OPINION [snipped]: “A lightning rod for controversy, the Central Intelligence Agency’s former detention and interrogation program has spawned a …

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

Sunlight Foundation – Opening Criminal Justice Data

“As part of a new initiative, the Sunlight Foundation has begun amassing an inventory of public and privately-produced criminal justice data. The spreadsheet on this page is a work in progress but we’re publishing it now with hopes that people can use it for research or reporting and even contribute to it. Please go through …

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