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“As I mentioned a while back, I’ve started a new project to bring much-needed transparency to the process whereby agencies get permission to destroy their records at fixed intervals (chosen by the agencies and okayed by the National Archives). I’m obtaining and posting every such request, which have never appeared online before. This project is …
DataKind…use data to not only make better decisions about what kind of movie we want to see, but what kind of world we want to see: “This is, without hyperbole, a historic time for humanity. Mobile phones, sensors, and new software have created an abundance of data that can be mined, understood, and harnessed to …
Quartz: “Internal FBI documents released last week provide an intriguing peek at its private intranet for agents and other personnel. The system—called BU|NET, an apparent portmanteau of “bureau” and “network”—includes FBI.tv, a homegrown YouTube channel of sorts that includes live commercial programming (Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, and the Department of Justice’s in-house legal training network, …
Washington Post: “Two years ago, the Agriculture Department issued 192 written warnings to breeders, exhibitors and research labs that allegedly violated animal welfare laws, and the agency filed official complaints against 23, according to agency data. This year, those figures plummeted: The department had issued 39 warnings in the first three-quarters of fiscal 2018, and …
“Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) suits filed by nonprofit and advocacy organizations seeking access to federal government records have more than doubled since President Trump assumed office. This sudden burst in FOIA activity is a marked departure from the slower rise that had prevailed during much of the previous two presidential administrations. In FY 2001, …
“EPIC has obtained records concerning “Media Monitoring Services,” a controversial DHS project to track journalists, news outlets, and social media accounts. The records, released in EPIC’s FOIA lawsuit against the federal agency, reveal that the DHS bypassed the agency’s own privacy officials and ignored the privacy and First Amendment implications of monitoring the coverage by …
The Verge: “A leaked research presentation [note – the Verge includes a link to the entire presentation posted on Scribd] put together by employees of Google shows the extent to which the search giant is grappling with decisions around freedom of speech and censorship. The presentation, leaked to Breitbart News this week and published in …
Politico.com: “The term “fake news” has become a cudgel for political leaders trying to discredit reporting, but disinformation – false content created explicitly to deceive or misinform – runs rampant online. Just last week, a study out of George Washington University found that a vast majority of Twitter accounts that spread disinformation in 2016 remained …
Tim Berners-Lee – via his company, inrupt: “I’ve always believed the web is for everyone. That’s why I and others fight fiercely to protect it. The changes we’ve managed to bring have created a better and more connected world. But for all the good we’ve achieved, the web has evolved into an engine of inequity …
POGO: “The Justice Department’s little-known but powerful Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) has published the titles and text of four previously withheld opinions as part of a larger release of opinions on its website. The release, which occurred on July 5 and has not been reported until now, came after a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) appeal from the …
Library Journal: “The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) has requested that National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Records Management sign off on a records retention schedule that would potentially destroy detainee records in 11 item categories, including accounts of solitary confinement, assault, sexual abuse, and investigations into deaths in ICE custody. Proposed …
Follow up to previous posting – LC Launches Portal for Public Access to Official CRS Reports – with additional pertinent information for researchers Via Steven Aftergood – Secrecy News/FAS: “The Congressional Research Service launched its new public portal this morning, with an initial installment of 628 reports dating back to January of this year. The back …
