Category «Civil Liberties»

Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans

The New York Times [no paywall] – “The Trump administration has expanded Palantir’s work with the government, spreading the company’s technology — which could easily merge data on Americans — In March, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the federal government to share data across agencies, raising questions over whether he might compile …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Records, Economy, Education, Financial System, Free Speech, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research

State Department set to launch ‘Office of Remigration’

Marisa Kabas – The Handbasket: “Secretary Marco Rubio’s State Department published a reorganization chart Thursday morning showing massive cuts to diplomatic offices and functions, plus a few new additions. Rubio’s department also reportedly sent the plan to Congress concurrently. What hasn’t been previously reported is the extensive 136-page document Congress received that includes the more …

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

The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database

Wired – no paywall: “The United States government has collected DNA samples from upwards of 133,000 migrant children and teenagers—including at least one 4-year-old—and uploaded their genetic data into a national criminal database used by local, state, and federal law enforcement, according to documents reviewed by WIRED. The records, quietly released by the US Customs …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Medicine, Privacy

U.S. Spy Agencies Are Getting a One-Stop Shop to Buy Your Most Sensitive Personal Data

The Intercept: “The ever-growing market for personal data has been a boon for American spy agencies. The U.S. intelligence community is now buying up vast volumes of sensitive information that would have previously required a court order, essentially bypassing the Fourth Amendment. But the surveillance state has encountered a problem: There’s simply too much data …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Why AI May Be Listening In on Your Next Doctor’s Appointment

WSJ no paywall: “Even the hospital walls may soon have ears. A fast-growing technology known as ambient listening is taking over an onerous but necessary task in healthcare: documenting what happens in the doctor-patient encounter. Already gaining traction for outpatient medical visits, the AI-powered systems are also moving into hospital rooms and emergency departments to …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine, Privacy

Harvard Is Not Launching Free Online Courses About Recognizing Dictatorship In Response To Recent Events

Fact Check: “Is Harvard launching free college courses on basic U.S. government understanding and “how to recognize a dictatorship” or a “dictatorship takeover” in response to recent actions from the Trump administration? No, that’s not true: According to a Harvard spokesperson the “edX” program has existed since 2012 and it takes about 12 to 18 …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

Harvard Defeats Trump Administration’s Attempt to Expel International Students

Via Legal AF: “Harvard just successfully blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to get it out of the international students business, trying to destroy what makes “Harvard Harvard.” Read the Motion they filed that was successful, and Judge Burrows TRO against Trump, here – and the Harvard TRO here.” See also The New York Times – “The …

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

Deleting History Under the Guise of Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History

SO 3431 – Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. May 20, 2025 – Sec. 1. Purpose. This Order implements provisions of President Trump’s March 27, 2025, Executive Order (EO) 14253, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” EO 14253 directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to provide sufficient funding, as available, to improve …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Government Documents, Legal Research

The Tracking Gov Info Project

The Tracking Gov Info Project is a crowdsourcing effort to track removed and modified government information and resources. Although the news media have widely reported the current U.S. administration’s removal and modification of federal websites and information, it can be challenging to understand and analyze the scope of the problem without a central list tracking …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Climate Change, E-Records, Economy, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Food and Nutrition, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Health Care, HIV/AIDS, Housing, Legal Research, Medicine

The hidden provision in the Big Ugly Bill that makes Trump king

Robert Reich: H.R.1 – One Big Beautiful Bill Act – This text has been loaded in plain text format due to the large size of the XML/HTML file. Loading the XML/HTML in a new window (2MB) may take several minutes or possibly cause your browser to become unresponsive. “…But I want to alert you to one …

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

Cultivating obedience: Using the Justice Department to attack former officials consolidates power and deters dissent

Via LLRX – Cultivating obedience: Using the Justice Department to attack former officials consolidates power and deters dissent – Political science scholars who study the origins of elected strongmen, Professors  Joe Wright and Erica Frantz discuss how President Donald Trump’s first three months in office has been distinguished by how his administration has targeted dozens of former …

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

How safe is your browser? Run a Test Using Cover Your Tracks

EFF: “Cover Your Tracks is two things: a tool for users to understand how unique and identifiable their browser makes them online, and a research project to uncover the tools and techniques of online trackers and test the efficacy of privacy add-ons. Running tests on Cover Your Tracks gives you information about your own browser’s …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines