Libraries, Localities, Legislation: Reponses to the Patriot Act
ACLU Report, 23 pages in pdf: Independence Day 2003: Main Street America Fights the Federal Government’s Insatiable Appetite for New Powers in the Post 9/11 Era.
Blogging Catches on With Gov’t, Corporations, Academics
Blogs in the Workplace: a “…growing number of businesses, government organizations and educational institutions are using Web logs to manage and improve the flow of information among employees. These blogs, not accessible to the public, typically allow many people to contribute entries that can be read by others in the organization.” Blogging as a Course …
Anniversary of Freedom of Information Act
“George Washington University’s National Security Archive, the leading non-profit user of the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, today released its annual Freedom of Information Act birthday posting, 37 years to the day after President Johnson grudgingly signed the U.S. FOIA into law on July 4, 1966. The Archive reported that documents released under federal, state …
EFF Resource On USA Patriot Act
This Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) webpage presents a synopisis of the privacy and civil liberties issues associated with the organization’s opposition to the Patriot Act. In addition, it enumerates EFF efforts, both collaborative and direct, to maintain the public’s focus on the ramifications of the law.
Dept. of Interior Loses Net Connection Again
From Government Computer News: “The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia again has ordered the Interior Department to disconnect most of its systems from the Internet to protect American Indian trust data. The department has disconnected at least 3,000 computers from the Internet as a result of the order..” See my previous posting …
Library Association to Meet On Library Filters
From the New York Times: “Officials of the American Library Association will call a meeting with the makers of Internet filtering software next month to voice concern over a federal law that requires libraries and schools to use Internet filters or risk losing federal money.” See also: American Library Assoc. Wants More Info On Net …
New on LLRX.com
A Guide to Russian Legal Research Tech Trenches: Searching about Search Engines Co-Founder Tim Stanley Leaves FindLaw The Collapse of Enron: A Bibliography of Online Legal, Government and Legislative Resources Tech Trenches Update: Top Web Sites for Summer Associates Burney’s Legal Tech Reviews: Visioneer Strobe XP 100 Scanner and FutureDial Mobile Phone Software
DOJ Reports Recent FOIA Decisions
The following Freedom of Information Act decisions were received by the Office of Information and Privacy (DOJ) during the months of April through June 2003: New FOIA Decisions, April-June 2003
Senator Urges FTC to Action on Website Privacy
In a July 1 press release, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) asked the “Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a consumer advisory alert warning Internet users to carefully read the privacy policies of websites asking for personal information and to develop guidelines to ensure that these privacy policies fully disclose how that data will be used.” …
Courts, Public Records and Privacy
Are Public Court Records Too Public in Cyberspace?: “As state court officials across the nation ponder whether and how to make courthouses Internet-friendly, policymakers from California to New York are shielding many otherwise readily available records from cyberspace.” Resources referenced in the article include: New York State Commission on Public Access to Court Records Reporters …
Profits Prevail as Web Privacy Declines
From a July 1, 2003 Washington Post article: “…marketers and an array of service providers expanding their collection and use of consumers e-mail addresses and other personal information, despite broad assurances to protect individual privacy and honor consumers choices about how much marketing they want to receive.”
New Focus on E-Filing and the Courts
Two new articles on e-filing that address issues of technology standards, e-courts (there are currently 20 accepting such filings), security, and contracting with service providers: E-Filing – Coming to a Court Near You e-Filing and Issues Relating to Electronic Filing Service Providers