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Officials Who Failed to Put Hijackers on Watch List Not Named. “Seven months after telling Congress he would do so, George J. Tenet, the director of central intelligence, has yet to provide the names of agency officials responsible for one of the most glaring intelligence mistakes leading up to the attacks of Sept. 11, according …
The ACLU published a report on May 16, Total Information Compliance: The TIA’s Burden Under the Wyden Amendment, in anticipation of the required release to Congress tomorrow of a DARPA report detailing the the program’s data mining technology applications, the impact on citizen privacy, and overall project spending.
Ideological foes agree: Privacy rights in danger Surveillance State: “Since September 11, a flood of federal legislation has reduced American freedom without increasing our security.” Calif. Town To ‘Defy’ Patriot Act . “A new city (Arcata) ordinance would impose a fine of $57 on any city department head who voluntarily complies with investigations or arrests …
From the New York Times, Big Brother Is Tracking You. Without a Warrant. “But as cameras (from commercial imaging satellites) take ever-closer aim at domestic targets, the legal, political and ethical issues remain unresolved.” This article also references, Body of Secrets: Anatomy of the Ultra-Secret National Security Agency.
From Seth Finkelstein’s Infothought blog, this informative posting on Internet software filtering company N2H2’s current 10Q filing which includes the following language: “Free speech and privacy concerns could adversely affect the demand for our Internet filtering solutions.” On a related issue, see my April 10 posting: U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns (MA) dismissed a …
Tara Calishain of Research Buzz fame authored a new book, Google Hacks: 100 Industrial-Strength Tips & Tools.
Penn State President Graham Spanier has assumed a high-profile role in attempting to broker an agreement in the escalating battle over student use of networked file sharing applications and the increasingly aggressive entertainment industry response to pursue, identify and punish individuals who they believe are engaged in digital piracy. Mr. Spainer has apparently suggested that …
From Microdac News, several recommendations for directories and glossaries of search engine terms, including Search Engine Directory (free) and the Search Engine Yearbook ($$).
From the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), this new survey (abstract only available free), Use of the Internet and E-mail for Health Care Information concludes that “Although many people use the Internet for health information, use is not as common as is sometimes reported.”
On May 15, the Committee on Government Reform held a hearing titled “Overexposed: The Threats to Privacy and Security on File Sharing Networks.” Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) Associate Director Alan Davidson’s testimony presented a two-pronged position – privacy and digital rights: “A broad public education effort and better software practices are needed in …
From this month’s InfoToday 2003, a pdf handout, “Knowledge Management at the Library,” from the Northern Suburban Library System, a “consortium of over 650 academic, public, school, and special libraries” in Illinois.
From Privacy International’s Know Your Data Campaign: “Many of the companies that supply Britains communications services the landline services, cable companies, mobile operators and Internet Service Providers are accumulating a vast amount of personal information about their customers. This “communications data”, which is currently stored for up to seven years, may relate to …