Category «Legislation»

Everyone Likes Reading. Why Are We So Afraid of It?

The New York Times: Book bans, chatbots, pedagogical warfare: What it means to read has become a minefield. “Everyone loves reading. In principle, anyway. Nobody is against it, right? Surely, in the midst of our many quarrels, we can agree that people should learn to read, should learn to enjoy it and should do a …

Subjects: AI, Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries, Privacy

The Presidential Records Act, Clinton’s Socks, and Trump’s Boxes

Lawfare: “…In 1950, Congress passed the Federal Records Act, which requires federal agencies—but not the president—to preserve their records. Five years later, Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act, which encouraged (but did not require) former presidents to donate their records to private, federally maintained libraries.  Then came Richard Nixon. Four months after Nixon resigned in …

Subjects: Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

New York Passes Bill to Shield Abortion Providers Sending Pills Into States With Bans

The New York Times: “The New York State Legislature gave final approval on Tuesday to legislation that provides legal protection for New York doctors to prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states that have outlawed abortion. The measure, along with similar new laws in several other states controlled by Democrats, could significantly expand …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Legislation

Climate Policy Radar

Global Stocktake Explorer – “Analysing, organising, and democratising data about climate change policies and laws. Climate Policy Radar is a not-for-profit climate startup on a mission to organise, analyse and democratise data on climate law and policy using augmented intelligence – a human-centered partnership model of people and AI. We build open and free tools …

Subjects: AI, Climate Change, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation

Illinois first US state to prohibit banning books in public libraries

Quartz: “Illinois has become the first US state to prohibit banning books in public libraries. Governor J.B. Pritzker signed HB 2789 into law in a public library in Chicago, amid a dramatic nationwide increase in book bans. The governor, a Democrat, called them an affront to free speech. “Young people shouldn’t be kept from learning …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Libraries

Generative Artificial Intelligence and Data Privacy: A Primer

Congressional Research Service (CRS) – Generative Artificial Intelligence and Data Privacy. A Primer May 23, 2023: “Since the public release of Open AI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and other similar systems, some Members of Congress have expressed interest in the risks associated with “generative artificial intelligence (AI).” Although exact definitions vary, generative AI is a type …

Subjects: AI, Congress, Copyright, Economy, Education, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy

Frequently Asked Questions Concerning Presidential Records and the Presidential Records Act

NARA – “Recent media reports have generated a large number of queries about Presidential records and the Presidential Records Act (PRA), 44 U.S.C. 2201-2209. The PRA requires that all records created by Presidents (and Vice-Presidents) be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at the end of their administrations. Below is additional …

Subjects: Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

A Democracy Crisis In The Making: June 2023 Edition

States United Democracy Center, Democracy Foward, Law Forward report – A Democracy Crisis In The Making: June 2023 Edition: Key Takeaways: 38 states are considering 185 bills that would make it easier to overturn the will of the voters — and harder for trusted election officials to do their jobs. At least eight states have …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

GPO NOAA

“U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Central Library is working to add more than 47,000 unique items published by NOAA authors and grantees to the National Collection of U.S. Government Public Information. GPO shares NOAA’s goal of providing additional avenues to access Government research and making …

Subjects: Climate Change, E-Government, Energy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation

Florida Higher Ed Faces an Ideologically Driven Assault Unparalleled in US History

American Association of University Professors: “Earlier this year, the AAUP established a special committee to review the apparent pattern of politically, racially, and ideologically motivated attacks on public higher education in Florida. Today, after interviewing dozens of faculty members at multiple public colleges and universities in the state, the committee has released a preliminary report …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Education, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Office of Civil Rights Issues Guidance on HIPAA Compliant Use of Meta Pixels

ABA: “A Meta Pixel is a code embedded in websites that tracks users’ online activities and sends such activities as discrete packets of user data to Meta, the parent company of Facebook. The Meta Pixel can track “users as they navigate through a website, logging which pages they visit, which buttons they click, and certain …

Subjects: E-Records, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation, Medicine, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

Former Gun Company Executive Explains Roots of America’s Gun Violence Epidemic

ProPublica: “From the movie theater to the shopping mall, inside a church and a synagogue, through the grocery aisle and into the classroom, gun violence has invaded every corner of American life. It is a social epidemic no vaccine can stem, a crisis with no apparent end. Visual evidence of the carnage spills with numbing …

Subjects: Copyright, Government Documents, Health Care, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation, Social Media