Category «Civil Liberties»

Documenting the Damage 100 Harmful Policies from the First 100 Days of the Second Trump Administration

Brett Heinz. April 30, 2025 – “The United States of America is a different nation than it was 100 days ago. The opening months of the second Trump administration shattered the post-World War II record for the most executive orders issued by a new President. Within the first two weeks of his second term, President …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Climate Change, Congress, Copyright, Courts, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Defense, Economy, Education, Energy, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Libraries

Airlines Are Collecting Your Data And Selling It To ICE

The Lever [no paywall] – “A massive aviation industry clearinghouse that processes data for 12 billion passenger flights per year is selling that information to the Trump administration amid the White House’s new immigration crackdown, according to documents reviewed by The Lever. The data — including “full flight itineraries, passenger name records, and financial details, …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Records, Economy, Privacy, Transportation

The Littler Annual Employer Survey Report

The Littler Annual Employer Survey Report, May 25, 2025 – “It has been a turbulent start to 2025 as U.S. employers scramble to adapt to new executive orders, sweeping changes at federal agencies and a growing patchwork of workplace regulations at the state and local levels. To understand how businesses are navigating these disruptions, Littler …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Economy, Education, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Trump fires Librarian of Congress

The Hill: “President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to The Hill.  Hayden was the first woman and the first African American to be Librarian of Congress. A spokesperson for the library told The Hill in an email that “Tonight, the White House informed …

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

DOGE aims to pool federal data, putting personal information at risk

Washington Post [no paywall]: “The goal — a centralized system with unprecedented access to data about Social Security, taxes, medical diagnoses and other private information — would create a multitude of vulnerabilities, experts say. The U.S. DOGE Service is racing to build a single centralized database with vast troves of personal information about millions of …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine

Chief Justice John Roberts stresses judicial independence amid tensions with Trump

CNN: “Chief Justice John Roberts stressed the importance of judicial independence during public remarks Wednesday, noting that the judiciary’s role as a co-equal branch of government is central to the nation’s political system. “The judiciary is a coequal branch of government, separate from the others with the authority to interpret the Constitution as law, and …

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

Dramatic rise in publicly downloadable deepfake image generators

New Oxford study uncovers explosion of accessible deepfake AI image generation models intended for the creation of non-consensual, sexualised images of women. “Researchers from the Oxford Internet Institute (OII) at the University of Oxford have uncovered a dramatic rise in easily accessible AI tools specifically designed to create deepfake images of identifiable people, finding nearly …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

End of Separation of Church and State?

Executive Order Establishment of the Religious Liberty Commission – May 1, 2025 – “…The Commission shall produce a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty in America, the impact of religious liberty on American society, current threats to domestic religious liberty, strategies to preserve and enhance religious liberty protections for future generations, and programs …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Libraries

Postal Service Data Sharing to Deport Immigrants

EFF: “The law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) recently joined a U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) task force geared towards finding and deporting immigrants, according to a report from the Washington Post. Now, immigration officials want two sets of data from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). First, they want access …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

100 Days of Corruption

100 Days In, Trump is Blocking At Least $430 Billion Dollars in Funding Owed to American People ***VIEW NEW TRACKER HERE*** Inside Climate News – In His First 100 Days, Trump Launched an ‘All-Out Assault’ on the Environment. Compared to his first term, the threat posed by Trump’s second administration is on a “new level,” …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Climate Change, Congress, Cryptocurrency, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Education, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

DOGE Is in Its AI Era In its push for “efficiency”

Wired [no paywall] – “In its push for “efficiency,” DOGE has leaned increasingly on AI—regardless of whether it makes any sense. And it’s using it as an imperfect means to destructive ends…Wherever DOGE has gone, AI has been in tow. Given the opacity of the organization, a lot remains unknown about how exactly it’s being …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research

CRS – Organizing Executive Branch Agencies: Structure and Delegations of Authority

Organizing Executive Branch Agencies: Structure and Delegations of Authority 05/02/2025. Cole, Jared P.; Shedd, Daniel T. “In early 2025, the Trump Administration issued executive orders that indicated that the White House may consider reorganizing certain executive branch agencies. In the ensuing months, the Trump Administration has embarked on efforts to restructure and downsize numerous agencies …

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