Category «Civil Liberties»

EFF – Encrypt the Web Report: Who’s Doing What

EFF: “We’ve asked the companies in our Who Has Your Back Program what they are doing to bolster encryption in light of the NSA’s unlawful surveillance of your communications. We’re pleased to see that four companies—Dropbox, Google, SpiderOak and Sonic.net—are implementing five out of five of our best practices for encryption. In addition, we appreciate that Yahoo! just announced several measures …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Mail, E-Records, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

NYT – N.S.A. Report Outlined Goals for More Power

N.S.A. Report Outlined Goals for More Power By JAMES RISEN and LAURA POITRAS “Officials at the National Security Agency, intent on maintaining its dominance in intelligence collection, pledged last year to push to expand its surveillance powers, according to a top-secret strategy document. In a February 2012 paper laying out the four-year strategy for the N.S.A.’s …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Patriot Act, Privacy

Civil Society Groups and Tech Companies Call for Significant Reform to U.S. Surveillance Practices

“On November 21, 2013, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), on behalf of a broad coalition of civil society groups, trade associations, companies and investors, delivered this letter to Congressional leadership that called on Congress to reform U.S. intelligence surveillance practices. Signatories urged Congress to limit the scope of surveillance practices, reject bulk collection, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, Patriot Act, Privacy

BBC – Tim Berners-Lee says ‘surveillance threatens web’

“The warning came as he launched his World Wide Web Foundation’s annual web index report, tracking global censorship. It suggests that 94% of the countries in the index do not adequately monitor government internet interception. Thirty per cent of countries block or filter political content, it indicates. The report concludes that the current legal framework on government snooping …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Privacy

New Proposal: Reforming Funding to Reduce Mass Incarceration

“A leading law and policy institute unveiled a new proposal to reform the federal government’s largest criminal justice funding program. The Brennan Center for Justice’s new proposal, Reforming Funding to Reduce Mass Incarceration, sets out a plan to link federal grant money to modern criminal justice goals – as a tool to promote innovative crime-reduction policies …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Legal Research

Paper – The New Speech

The New Speech – Andrew Tutt, Yale University – Information Society Project, Yale University – Law School. July 17, 2013. 41 Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, 2014 “Could the government prevent Facebook from deleting an individual’s Facebook account without first following government-prescribed procedures? Intervene to require Google to conduct its search engine rankings in a certain manner, or subject Google …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Commerce, Legal Research, Search Engines

Advocacy Groups – General Assembly Should Pass Strong Resolution on Right to Privacy in the Digital Age

Human Rights Watch: “The United Nations General Assembly should approve a new resolution and make clear that indiscriminate surveillance is never consistent with the right to privacy, five human rights organizations said in a November 20, 2013 letter to members of the United Nations General Assembly. After heated negotiations, the draft resolution on digital privacy initiated by Brazil and Germany  emerged on …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Free Speech, Government Documents, Privacy

New GAO Reports – Civil Support, Federal Autism Activities, Immigration Detention, Personnel Security Clearances

CIVIL SUPPORT – Actions Are Needed to Improve DOD’s Planning for a Complex Catastrophe, GAO-13-763, Sep 30, 2013 FEDERAL AUTISM ACTIVITIES – Better Data and More Coordination Needed to Help Avoid the Potential for Unnecessary Duplication, GAO-14-16, Nov 20, 2013 IMMIGRATION DETENTION – Additional Actions Could Strengthen DHS Efforts to Address Sexual Abuse, GAO-14-38, Nov 20, 2013 PERSONNEL SECURITY CLEARANCES – Actions …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Defense, Education, Government Documents, Health Care

Precision Weapons, Civilian Casualties, and Support for the Use of Force

Precision Weapons, Civilian Casualties, and Support for the Use of Force, James Igoe Walsh – University of North Carolina at Charlotte. November 19, 2013. Political Psychology, Forthcoming “Precision weapons such as drones have become increasingly important elements of the military strategies of the United States and other countries. How does the use of precision weapons influence public support for …

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

Recently declassified Section 501 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act documents

“The recently declassified Section 501 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) documents have been posted on the Office of the Director of National Intelligence site (ODNI).  These documents include: orders and opinions of the Foreign Surveillance Court; reports to Congress; other reports; training slides and other internal documents. More information about this as well as links to …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Patriot Act, Privacy