UAE Minister Criticizes Internet Censorship
This story via Reuters offers insight into the role that the Internet is playing in countries where censorship is commonplace.
Category «Freedom of Information»
Office of Science and Technology Policy
The Office of Science and Technology Policy, was established in 1976, to….”provide a comprehensive survey of ways and means for improving the Federal effort in scientific research and information handling.” On October 1, the office issued Final Guidelines for Ensuring the Quality of Disseminated Information, pursuant to OMB guidelines.
Internet Filtering Around the World
Professor Jonathan Zittrain and law student/Technology Analyst Ben Edelman are conducting research on Internet filtering in countries worldwide. July 15 marked the release of the first study in the series, reporting some 2,000+ web pages blocked in Saudi Arabia. Zittrain and Edelman have also posted another article, Real-Time Testing of Internet Filtering in China, which …
Global Internet Censorship
There is a growing concern in the U.S. about state sponsored Internet censorship in countries throughout the world. Jonathan Zittrain and Benjamin Edelman at Harvard are skillfully documenting this activity. Now Congress is responding to Web filtering with a bi-partisan legislative initiative, H.R. 5524. This bill seeks to “develop and deploy technologies to defeat Internet …
Global Internet Freedom
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 …
Electronic Freedom of Information
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 …
GAO Report on Freedom of Infomation Requests
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 …
The Battle Between the Internet Archive and Scientology
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 Final Information Quality Guidelines
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.
Public Access to Government Information
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.
California State Prisoners and the Internet
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.
Bush Papers from 1992-93 Now Available
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.
