US Court Report on Wiretaps
From the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, 2003 Wiretap Report (For the Period January 1 Through December 31, 2003) [EPIC]
Google Gawkers Flood SEC Website
The SEC website was deluged with traffic after the announcement of Google’s IPO filing. Kudos to the administrators of the site, which despite a period of slow throughput remained active and available despite the unprecedented volume of requests. This is an example of the reliability of e-gov sites, and their increasing importance to the business …
Reports on GPO’s Transition to Digital Only Environment
Government Printing Office: Technological Changes Create Transformation Opportunities, by Linda D. Koontz, director, information management, before the Committee on House Administration. GAO-04-729T, April 28, 2004. Highlights – “The changing technological environment is creating challenges for GPO. Specifically, the agency has seen declines in its printing volumes, printing revenues, and document sales. At the same time, …
Congressional Hearing on Spyware
Spyware: What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You, Hearing by the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection, April 29, 2004 [Link to Witness List & Prepared Testimony, Related Documents and Bills.] See also Congress Eager to Ban Spyware and related postings on the subject.
Proposed EU Data Retention Laws
From the French Republic, Ireland, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom, date of receipt, 28 April 2004: “Draft Framework Decision on the retention of data processed and stored in connection with the provision of publicly available electronic communications services or data on public communications networks for the purpose of prevention investigation detection and …
Presidential Records Case Continues
Press release today from The National Archive Archives: “A federal judge’s dismissal last month of a landmark open government case was based on two factual misconceptions and deserves re-opening, according to court filings last week. The lawsuit challenges President Bush’s Executive Order 13,233 that gave former Presidents and their heirs (as well as former Vice-Presidents …
New on LLRX.com
Could you be sued for turning over an Internet user’s sign-up information to law enforcement? Business Filings Databases — Updated Notes from the Technology Trenches: Bloomberg for Law Firms Metaforix@Health – Medicare Resources Online FOIA Facts – FOIA Fees Burney’s Gadgets for Legal Pros – The Fabulous Life of a Pivoting Monitor Wisdom From the …
The Wait is Over – Google IPO Announced
Links to the SEC filings here and here. From the Financial Times, the full-text of an “unconventional” letter from Google’s founders that accompanied their IPO application. See also Unusual Google Language Might Prompt Closer Look By SEC. From the New York Times, Google’s Sale of Its Shares Will Defy Wall St. Tradition
First Criminal Cases Filed Under CAN-SPAM Act
FTC press release: “The FTC has cracked down on two spam operations that have clogged the Internet with millions of deceptive messages and violated federal laws…Both operations have been identified by the anti-spam organization Spamhaus as among the largest spammers in the world.” Complaint: Federal Trade Commission, plaintiff, v. Phoenix Avatar, LLC doing business as …
Are Resources on Women’s Issues Disappearing from Gov’t Websites?
The National Council for Research on Women issued a report today on the organization’s documentation of how specific information and resources on women’s issues is no longer available to the public through government sponsored channels. [Link to the press release] From the Executive Summary: “The report concentrates on missing information that directly affects women’s lives. …
ALA’s Report on Library Funding in the U.S.
“ALA has found that libraries in at least 41 states (82 percent) report funding cuts of as much as 50 percent. Most of the data accumulated from published reports reflects deep cuts to library budgets on the federal, state, and local levels.” [Link]
New Regs on Privacy of Medical Records and Financial Transactions
Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (2003) implementation; fair credit reporting medical information regulations: notice of proposed rulemaking, April 28, 2004: “The OCC, Board, FDIC, OTS, and NCUA…are required to prescribe regulations that permit creditors to obtain or use medical information for eligibility purposes where necessary and appropriate to protect legitimate operational, transactional, risk, consumer, …