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As a follow-up to my May 7, 2004 posting, Copyright Regulation and Access to Web Document Archives, a link via LISNews.com to a copy of the United States District Court For the Northern District of California decision (26 pages, PDF), November 19, 2004, BREWSTER KAHLE, et al., Plaintiffs, JOHN ASHCROFT, in his official capacity as …
Wired reports on how free access to information and privacy rights are clashing in the arena of public web availability to court documents, which often contain personal data which could mined for use in acts involving ID theft, harassment, and the determination of home loans and employment.
Social Security Numbers: Governments Could Do More to Reduce Display in Public Records and on Identity Cards GAO-05-59, November 9, 2004. Highlights. “Social Security numbers appear in any number of records exposed to public view almost everywhere in the nation, primarily at the state and local levels of government. State agencies in 41 states and …
“Beginning November 1, 2004, all criminal case file documents available to the public at a courthouse also will be available remotely through the court’s electronic access system.” [Link]
Federal Court Web Sites Feature Vote-Related Information: “The web sites of federal courts in two closely contested states, Ohio and Florida, prominently displayed election-related matters in their respective district courts. See Ohio and Florida web sites.”
Appeals Court Re-Opens E-Mail Snooping Case: “Privacy advocates and the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) will get their day in court, again, to appeal a three-judge panel ruling that allows e-mail providers to store and copy their customers’ e-mails.” Via EPIC, Order, U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit, United States v. Councilman, October 5, 2004. …
EFF press release: “In a landmark case, a California district court has determined that Diebold, Inc., a manufacturer of electronic voting machines, knowingly misrepresented that online commentators, including IndyMedia and two Swarthmore college students, had infringed the company’s copyrights. This makes the company the first to be held liable for violating section 512(f) of the …
In a 120 page decision today, Doe and ACLU v. Ashcroft et al., No. 04-CIV-2614, Judge Victor Marreo, Southern District of New York, “struck down an entire Patriot Act provision that gives the government unchecked authority to issue “National Security Letters” to obtain sensitive customer records from Internet Service Providers and other businesses without judicial …
From the EFF press release: “The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected the government’s attempt to bar the press and the public from a trial where plaintiff John Gilmore is challenging the constitutionality of requiring airline passengers to show ID.” Gilmore v. Ashcroft: Requirement to Show ID for Ground and Air Transport EFF friend-of-the-court …
From the Center for Democracy and Technology: “A Pennsylvania federal court today struck down a state Internet censorship law as a violation of the First Amendment. CDT had challenged the law because it had resulted in the blocking of more than a million innocent web sites.” Memorandum Decision in Pennsylvania Internet Blocking Law Case (11 …
Government wants ID arguments secret. Related posting on the case is here.
Anatomy Of Trial Technology: “Trial technologies are all the buzz for legal technologists, early adopters, vendors, and consultants – but have they made it to the main stream practice of law? This article traces availability and use of trial preparation and presentation software, court technology, and more through the most recent ABA Legal Technology Survey …
