Category «Legislation»

Privacy Act Lawsuits and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

CRS Legal Sidebar – Privacy Act Lawsuits and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) September 17, 2025. On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order reorganizing and renaming the U.S. Digital Service as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Executive Order tasked DOGE with “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental …

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

Database tracks global regulatory readiness

World Bank Blogs: “In an increasingly connected world, digital trade is transforming how goods, services, and data move across borders. From online marketplaces and virtual professional services to cloud computing and digital payments, the digital economy represents a vital engine for growth and inclusion. Digital trade refers to trade in goods and services that are …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Economy, Education, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation

Homeland Security deploys white nationalist, anti-immigrant graphics to recruit

HateWatch – “The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using white nationalist imagery and language to recruit new employees and arrest immigrants. A Hatewatch review of DHS social media posts and web content found that the federal agency utilizes white nationalist and anti-immigrant images and slogans in recruitment materials. In addition, while recruitment images feature …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation, Social Media

How the Richest People in America Avoid Paying Taxes

The Atlantic – gift article: “According to the Joint Committee on Taxation, the richest of rich Americans pay an average tax rate of 34 percent, higher than any other cohort’s. In reality, as everyone has long known, they pay less than that. A new study by some of the country’s most preeminent economists has finally …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Amid Deregulatory Blitz, Trump Quietly Deletes Key Public Comment Tool

Common Dreams: “It’s clear that Trump doesn’t want the public weighing in on these dangerous deregulatory initiatives,” said Katie Tracy of Public Citizen. On Friday, the General Services Administration—an independent agency that supports the functioning of the government bureaucracy—quietly eliminated a tool known as the POST Application Programming Interface (API) from the Regulations.gov website. Last …

Subjects: Censorship, E-Records, Economy, Environmental Law, Financial System, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

The 25 pieces of culture that explain the last 25 years

Vox – no paywall: “Here’s a picture of what life looked like at the turn of the millennium: We couldn’t stop gossiping about the extramarital affairs of the scandal-ridden president of the United States; we rented movies from Blockbuster and showed off our vast CD collections; we waited patiently for modems to connect us to …

Subjects: Education, Financial System, Food and Nutrition, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legislation, Social Media

America Is Watching the Rise of a Dual State

The Atlantic – no paywall – “This article appears in the May 2025 print edition with the headline “A Warning Out of Time.” It has been updated to clarify that Ernst Fraenkel deployed with the German army in World War I to Poland and the Western Front. As Fraenkel explained it, a lawless dictatorship does …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Economy, Education, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Climate of Suppression: Environmental Information Under the Second Trump Administration

“The report Climate of Suppression: Environmental Information Under the Second Trump Administration [see full text PDF] examines management of federal websites related to environmental regulation in the first six months of the second Trump administration. In this time, the Trump administration has significantly altered the federal environmental information landscape as information about environmental justice and climate …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, Education, Environmental Law, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Surveillance at the Border

The American Prospect – It’s only a matter of time before the drones, spy blimps, license plate readers, and motion-activated cameras come to the rest of America. Walls are but one ingredient in the borderlands’ mix of barriers. In recent years, autonomous surveillance towers, drones, spy blimps, license plate readers, and motion-activated cameras have also …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

When does the One Big Beautiful Bill take effect?

USAFacts: “The One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law on July 4, is set to introduce a host of changes to everything from tax reform to government assistance programs to immigration and border policy. It introduces some brand-new policies and expands, restricts, or ends others. A number of these changes took effect the moment President …

Subjects: Climate Change, Congress, Economy, Energy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Artificial Intelligence and the Law: a discussion paper

UK. Law Commission: “The paper aims to raise awareness of legal issues regarding AI, prompting wider discussion of the topic, and to act as a step towards identifying those areas most in need of law reform. ” July 31, 2025.”…With the rapid development and improved performance of AI has come increased investment and wider and more …

Subjects: AI, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Legislation, Marketing, Search Engines