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News release: “Last week we wrote about initial news reports that Microsoft had searched and disclosed the contents of a blogger’s Hotmail account as part of an internal investigation into the alleged theft of Microsoft source code and other trade secrets. Since then, EFF has been in touch with Microsoft to discuss our objections to the company’s …
John F. Kerry – Secretary of State: “As we mark the 65th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights this year, the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices highlight the continued pursuit of “free and equal dignity in human rights” in every corner of the world. Based on factual reporting from our embassies and …
CRS – Who’s Overseeing Whom? The CIA, SSCI, and the Speech or Debate Clause “In a Tuesday floor speech, Senator Dianne Feinstein accused the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of monitoring a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) computer network that was used by Committee staff while conducting an investigation into CIA interrogation techniques. Many facts remain in dispute, and indeed, …
“There is widespread opposition to internet censorship in emerging and developing nations. Majorities in 22 of 24 countries surveyed say it is important that people have access to the internet without government censorship. In 12 nations, at least seven-in-ten hold this view. Support for internet freedom is especially strong in countries where a large percentage of …
Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board – “Committed to the protection of civil liberties and privacy in the nation’s efforts against terrorism” 19 March Hearing – Agenda, Witness Testimony Now Available See also ComputerWorld: “A U.S. National Security Agency surveillance program focused on overseas telephone and email communications is targeted and narrow, and not the bulk collection …
WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION PROGRAM: Opportunities Exist for OSHA and DOT to Strengthen Collaborative Mechanisms, GAO-14-286: Published: Mar 19, 2014. Publicly Released: Mar 19, 2014: ” The number of transportation-related whistleblower claims filed with OSHA has increased in the last 6 years—from 508 in fiscal year 2008 to 821 in fiscal year 2013—and GAO’s interviews with transportation industry stakeholders identified …
2014 SXSW conference in Austin, Texas via the Guardian: Eric Schmidt to dictators: ‘You don’t turn off the internet: you infiltrate it’: “Google’s executive chairman concerned by manipulative new approach of governments spooked by popular uprisings…Schmidt was pressed on the last year’s revelations of surveillance by agencies including the National Security Agency (NSA) in the US, …
CRS – Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests. Jim Nichol, Coordinator, Specialist in Russian and Eurasian Affairs. March 5, 2014. “Russia made uneven progress in democratization during the 1990s, but this limited progress was reversed after Vladimir Putin rose to power in 1999-2000, according to many observers. During this period, the State Duma (lower legislative chamber) became dominated by …
Is Data Speech? January 2014 66 Stan. L. Rev. 57. Jane Bambauer, Associate Professor of Law, University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law; J.D., Yale Law School; B.S., Yale College. “Privacy laws rely on the unexamined assumption that the collection of data is not speech. That assumption is incorrect. Privacy scholars, recognizing an imminent clash between …
[snipped – article includes charts and graphics] – “Democracy is going through a difficult time. Where autocrats have been driven out of office, their opponents have mostly failed to create viable democratic regimes. Even in established democracies, flaws in the system have become worryingly visible and disillusion with politics is rife. Yet just a few …
UN Commission on Human Rights – “A wide array of crimes against humanity, arising from “policies established at the highest level of State,” have been committed and continue to take place in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, according to a UN report released Monday, which also calls for urgent action by the international community …
“Reporters Without Borders today released its 2014 World Press Freedom Index, spotlighting major declines in media freedom in such varied countries as the United States, Central African Republic, and Guatemala while noting marked improvements in Ecuador, Bolivia, and South Africa. The same trio of Finland, Netherlands, and Norway heads the index again, while Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea …
