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According to this press release, on June 11 EPIC filed suit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the Department of Defense (DOD), under the Freedom of Information Act. The complaint seeks “the release of agency records concerning airline passenger screening procedures” (from the CAPPS II airline passenger profiling …
Today the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing on Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Reauthorization. Testimony was presented on the agency’s work in the areas of competition and consumer protection, and future plans for programs that respond to the challenges from the wide range of consumer fraud conducted via the Internet, along …
Privacy vs. Internet piracy: “Verizon and Earthlink have informed five Internet service customers that they can expect to be hearing from the record industry very, very soon. But the Recording Industry Association of America says it hasn’t decided what to do with the names it won last week in a bitter court battle over Internet …
New Jersey’s Privacy Commission (established under the state’s Right to Know law, the Open Records Act (OPRA), that took effect on July 8, 2002, with 13 members appointed by the Governor), is holding hearings this week to solicit public opinion about posting a range of personal data on government websites. For additional information see NJ …
From PBS OnlineNewsHour: Is downloading copyrighted music tantamount to stealing? Lawrence Lessig, an expert on Internet law from Stanford University’s Law School, and Matt Oppenheim, Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for the Recording Industry Association of America, answer your questions about the debate over digital copyrights.
From the ACLU: Interested Persons Memo on Congressional oversight of the USA PATRIOT Act and Department of Justice anti-terrorism policies dismissive response on civil liberties. In related news, see this Wired article: “The Justice Department’s statements — and what it did not say — in a congressional inquiry on the use of broadened surveillance powers …
According to an article in FCW: “Attorney General John Ashcroft defended the Justice Department’s search of library records under the USA Patriot Act, telling lawmakers the process safeguards individual privacy,” when he testified yesterday before the Judiciary Committee. In related news: Ashcroft Wants Broader Anti-Terror Powers: “Ashcroft told the House Judiciary Committee that the 2001 …
Declaration on freedom of communication on the Internet, Strasbourg, May 28, 2003, Adopted by the Committee of Ministers at the 840th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies. “The member states of the Council of Europe…should not subject content on the Internet to restrictions which go further than those applied to other means of content delivery.”
The USA PATRIOT Act, and What You Can Do, by Mairi McFall and Karen G. Schneider, CLA Intellectual Freedom Committee Sample Search Warrant Procedures for Libraries by Mary Minow The Library’s Legal Answer Book
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that ISP Verizon Communications must provide the RIAA with the names of four customers accused of using the service to pirate copyrighted music using file sharing sofware. For a history of this case, please see this link. The RIAA press release is here.
According to an article in today’s New York Times, the industry sponsored National Cyber Security Alliance will release a study later today focused on the security and privacy risks associated with broadband internet connections. The study, Clear and Present Danger, In-Home Study on Broadband Security Among American Consumers, is now available here (37 page pdf).
The GAO released this report on June 2: Information Security: Although Progress Made, Weaknesses at the Internal Revenue Service Continue to Pose Risks. The Highlights document states: “…weaknesses continue to threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive systems and taxpayer data.
