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Rep. Chris Cox (R-Calif.) issued a press release on October 2 announcing the introduction of H.R. 5524, cited as the Global Internet Freedom Act, to defeat Internet jamming and censorship around the world. Specific reference is made in the bill to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Cuba and other countries that actively prevent citizens from freely accessing …
The GAO today issued a report, Information Management: Update on Implementation of the 1996 Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments. The GAO’s study indicates a significant backlog in the response of federal agencies to freedom of information requests. Due no doubt in no small measure to the Patriot Act, agencies have not kept pace with …
A new GAO report, Information Management: Update on Implementation of the Freedom of Information Act Amendments, indicates that agencies throughout the government are experiencing significant backlogs in the responding to requests. In addition, the GAO noted that part of the problem stems from the fact that government sites have not kept pace with the publication …
This is a complicated story, an important chronicle of which is published by two recommended sources for which I provide the direct links as follows: journalist Declan McCullagh and the weblog LawMeme (from Yale Law School). The short version is that the Internet Archive has removed all its links to a personal site called Operation …
OMB issued their Final Infomation Quality Guidelines, setting the standards for all federal agencies in terms of the “quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information disseminated to the public.” It is notable that the guidelines impact the both the availability and extent of data posted to government web sites.
OMB Watch is a non-profit advocacy group that has been shining a bright light on the activities of the Office of Management and Budget since 1983. Post 9/11, their work has become more prominent as they track new government guidelines and regulations that restrict public access to data.
A U.S. District Judge ruled that the California Department of Corrections must allow prisoners, who have no Internet access, to receive printed copies of documents and materials obtained through the Web.
After a rather long wait, the Public Papers of President George Bush, 1992-1993, Vol. I, were just released on September 11, via this link to the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO). The Clinton public papers have been available for some time via this same link.
It is estimated that China has 46 million Web users, and the recent flareup concerning the government’s censorship of both the Google and AltaVista search engines has raised concerns. According to a September 12 article , 80% of all Chinese internet traffic goes through one ISP, so it is very easy for the government to …
Since 9-11, there have been documented instances of information having been removed from government sponsored web sites, as well as indications that data that otherwise would be made public has simply not been published on the Web. A September 11 article in PCWorld addresses this issue, albeit well after its discussion in other venues. It …
