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According to this AP report, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made some interesting statements at John Carroll University yesterday. In particular, after his speech and during a question and answer exchange he said that when the nation is at war, citizens can expect that civil liberties “…will be ratcheted right down to the constitutional minimum. …
A new White Paper from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, released March 14: How the War on Terrorism Affects Access to Information and the Public’s Right to Know Covering the war. Topics covered include: Military tribunals, Access to terrorism & immigration proceedings, Domestic coverage, The USA PATRIOT Act, The reporter’s privilege, Freedom …
Representive Max Coll introduced House Joint Memorial 40 to the New Mexico Legislature, “Affirming Civil Rights and Liberties; Declaring Opposition to Federal Measures that Infringe on Civil Liberties.” The House subsequently issued this substitute bill that includes the following statement: The bill seeks to “direct public libraries to post in a prominent place within the …
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) announced yesterday that the Senate Commerce Committee approved an amendment that would put into place Congressional oversight of the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) controversial Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II). The CAPPS II system is at the center of a contentious battle between advocates of the privacy and civil liberties …
From the Lawyer’s Committee on Human Rights, a new report, Imbalance of Powers, How Changes to U.S. Law and Policy since 9/11 Erode Human Rights and Civil Liberties (PDF), focuses on the following areas: (1) Open Government; (2) Right to Privacy; (3) Treatment of Immigrants, Refugees and Minorities; and (4) Security Detainees and the Criminal …
On March 12, Senator Patrick Leahy(D-VT), joined by Senators Levin (D-MI), Jeffords (I-VT), Lieberman (D-CT) and Byrd (D-WV), introduced new legislation, S. 609, the Restoration of Freedom of Information Act (“Restore FOIA”). See Leahy’s statement here. See Levin’s statement here. See also this Letter to Senate leaders on the Restoration of Freedom of Information Act …
From the New York Times article, Measuring Lost Freedom vs. Security in Dollars, this statement, “In a notice published last month, the budget office asked experts from around the country for ideas on how to measure “indirect costs” like lost time, lost privacy and even lost liberty that might stem from tougher security regulations.” The …
The Federal Communications Commission issued a press release on February 14 authorizing the deployment of ultra-wide band technology (UWB). See this San Diego Union Tribune article, Federal regulators ease restrictions on technology that can see through walls, for more details.
In a post on January 6, 2003 I noted a proposed rule from DOJ that would subject transportation manifests to electronic monitoring. On February 3, EPIC filed comments on the privacy implications of this rule with the INS. For the first time, data would be collected electronically on all U.S. and non-U.S. residents.
Privacy and Security, A librarian’s dilemma, addresses the challenges faced by public librarians post 9/11 who are committed both to the country’s safety and security, as well as to their patron’s right to privacy. Law professor and library law expert Mary Minow states the issue succinctly: “How do we make sure we protect the privacy …
President Bush announced during his State of the Union address the implementation of a new government data-mining program called the Terrorist Threat Integration Center. From his speech, “Tonight, I am instructing the leaders of the FBI, the CIA, the Homeland Security and the Department of Defense to develop a Terrorist Threat Integration Center, to merge …
Only a partial text is available to non-subscribers, but here is a link to a new Salon article, Total Information Awareness: Down, but not out, that contends Congressional efforts to limit the program may be a case of too little too late. “The federal government is unlikely to stop doing research into how to glean …
