Category «Privacy»

Comments Sought on Internet Access to Some Criminal Case File Documents

Press release: “The federal Judiciary is seeking comment on the privacy and security implications related to public Internet access to certain documents in criminal case files. The Court Administration and Case Management Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States is studying these issues so the Conference can develop policy guidance for the federal …

Subjects: Courts, E-Government, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

Senate Hearing: Confronting the Terrorist Threat to the Homeland: Six Years After 9/11

Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Confronting the Terrorist Threat to the Homeland: Six Years After 9/11, September 10, 2007. Witnesses Testimony Michael Chertoff [View PDF], Secretary of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Homeland Security J. Michael McConnell [View PDF], Director of National Intelligence: “If we lose FISA, we will lose, in my …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Government, Government Documents, Privacy

Thompson, Harman, Carney Call for Moratorium on Spy Satellite Program

House Committee on Homeland Security, Turning Spy Satellites on the Homeland: the Privacy and Civil Liberties Implications of the National Applications Office [Links to Witness Statements] Thursday, September 06, 2007 Press release, September 6, 2007: “Committee on Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing, and Terrorism Risk Assessment Chair …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Government, Government Documents, Privacy

DOJ OIG Follow-Up Audit of the Terrorist Screening Center

Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Audit Division: Follow-Up Audit of the Terrorist Screening Center, Audit Report 07-41, September 2007, Redacated for Public Release, (106 pages, PDF) Washington Post: “The government’s terrorist screening database, the master watch list used to scrutinize 270 million people each month, continues to be marred by errors and …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Government Documents, Privacy

Federal Court Strikes Down National Security Letter Provision of Patriot Act

ACLU press release: “A federal court today struck down the amended Patriot Act’s National Security Letter (NSL) provision. The law has permitted the FBI to issue NSLs demanding private information about people within the United States without court approval, and to gag those who receive NSLs from discussing them. The court found that the gag …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Patriot Act, Privacy

Consumer Reports Poll: 89 Percent of Americans Want Lawmakers to Restrict the Use of Social Security Numbers

“As Congress and federal regulators consider proposals aimed at reducing the risk of identity theft, a national poll by the Consumer Reports National Research Center reveals that an overwhelming majority of Americans want lawmakers to restrict the use and availability of Social Security numbers by businesses and government agencies. According to the poll, 89 percent …

Subjects: Congress, E-Commerce, E-Government, Government Documents, Legislation, Privacy

DOT OIG Analysis of Loss of Control Over Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information

Analysis of Loss of Control Over Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information and Follow-up Actions to Strengthen its Protection, August 28, 2007. Correspondence (23 pages, PDF) Summary: “On August, 28, 2007 we issued a memorandum on our analysis of the circumstances surrounding the July 27, 2006 theft of an OIG laptop from a government vehicle in Doral, …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, PC Security, Privacy

National Security Archive Announces Decisions in Two FOIA Cases

Court Permits CIA to Withhold Historic President’s Daily Briefs, But Denies Categorical Exemption for PDBs: “The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this week held that the disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act of two Presidential Daily Briefs written for President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s could “reveal protected intelligence sources and methods.” The …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy

Government Maintained Terrorist Screening Database Privacy Controversy

Washington Post: Terror Suspect List Yields Few Arrests – 20,000 Detentions in ’06 Rile Critics: “The government’s terrorist screening database flagged Americans and foreigners as suspected terrorists almost 20,000 times last year. But only a small fraction of those questioned were arrested or denied entry into the United States, raising concerns among critics about privacy …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Government Documents, Privacy

DHS Satellite Surveillance Plan Under Close Scrutiny by House Homeland Security Cmte.

The Wall Street Journal today reported that House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff stating the intention to conduct careful oversight over the fall 2007 launch of the National Applications Office (NAO). This program’s use of “spy satellites for domestic homeland security and law enforcement purposes” …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Patriot Act, Privacy

DoD to Implement Interim Threat Reporting Procedures

Press release: “DoD’s Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) will close the TALON Reporting System effective Sept. 17, 2007, and maintain a record copy of the collected data in accordance with intelligence oversight requirements. To ensure there is a mechanism in place to document and assess potential threats to DoD resources, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Government Documents, Patriot Act, Privacy

Congressional Requests for White House Documents on Domestic Surveillance Rebuffed

Follow up to August 20, 2007 posting, White House Fails to Comply With Subpoenas on Domestic Surveillance Program – additional related government documents and news: Letter from Fred Fielding, Counsel to the President, to Chairman Leahy, August 20, 2007 Letter from Shannen W. Coffin, Counsel to the Vice President, to Chairman Leahy, August 20, 2007 …

Subjects: Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research, Patriot Act, Privacy