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The Memory Hole reports that the government’s Total Information Awareness website has undergone significant changes to the design with which the site was originally launched. Initially, the site looked like this, and included a very prominent graphic of a single eye shining its light onto a globe below. The metaphor was obvious….we are watching the …
This USA Today article quotes several librarians on their views with regard to the issue of compliance with potential FBI demands for information on patron use of public library Internet access, as required by the Patriot Act.
This Federal Computer Week article provides commentary and illuminating details on the Total Information Awareness program’s technology, objectives, data collection criteria, and funding. Far from being a small blip on the budget radar, the TIA project actually has at its disposal some $240 million in tax payer funds through 2003.
This New York Times article, New Tools for Domestic Spying, and Qualms, provides important perspective on the increasingly contentious issues associated with domestic surveillance and civil liberties in the post 9/11 world. Data on citizens who use public services such as libraries, and a range of commercial services, such as flight training schools and scuba …
This article by Matt Smith was published on November 27, but took some time before generating what has resulted in continually escalating interest in the activities of the TIA program by the mainstream press, privacy advocacy groups, and alternative web sites. Mr. Smith obtained and posted personal information on TIA program director John Poindexter, including …
Patient’s increasingly indicate that they want to communicate with their physicians via e-mail. However, there are major impediments to this process, including medical liability issues, patient privacy concerns, and billing considerations. However, according to this press release from the eRisk Working Group for Healthcare, new unified guidelines for physician-patient e-mail are now available that have …
Although primarily a symbolic action, the Eugene City Council passed a resolution, with impetus from 2,000 citizen signatures on a petition, stating the city’s opposition to the USA Patriot Act. See also my other posting on a growing movement by municipalities to oppose the Patriot Act.
This Forbes article addresses the changing landscape of ISP liability in regard to providing the government with access to personal data on subscribers, as well as to their IT infrastructures, to facilitate surveillance of customers. The legal issues inherent in such actions have shifted significantly with the passage of the Homeland Security Bill (H.R 5005), …
This FTC site on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act – Financial Privacy and Pretexting, is an excellent resource on the topic. It provides links to the code, rules and regs, press releases, business guidance documents, and official state documents.
In 1997, then Senator Ashcroft of Missouri published a statement called, Keep Big Brother’s Hands Off the Internet. Fast forward to the Patriot Act.
The Privacy Journal conducted a survey of state legislation related to privacy issues, and ranked California at the top of the list due to its pro-active institution of protections for its citizens, via legislation, but also through the courts and in its constitution. This information comes from the organization’s Compilation of State and Federal Privacy …
Here is a link to the text of the Homeland Security Act from the November 22, 2002 Federal Register.
