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GPS technology in cell phones from a growing number of providers facilitate the real-time tracking of individuals, be it for emergency situations, or simply to play “big brother.” See this Mercury News article for more information.
More homeland security related legislation is in the spotlight, with the passage of H.R.3394 , the Cyber Security Research and Development Act. The focus of the programs included in the legislation are grants by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NTIS to support research to protect government and corporate computer systems from terrorist attacks. See …
The 8th Circuit is considering an appeal in United States v. Dale Robert Bach, No. 02-1238). D.C. based Steptoe & Johnson posted a copy of the Memorandum and Order, United States v. Dale Robert Bach, Crim. File No. 01-221 (PAM/ESS), United States District Court for the District of Minnesota on their site.
Publicly Available Personal Information and Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act was commissioned by the government agency Industry Canada. This 59 page PDF documents the controversy over expanding efforts by the private sector to collect and disseminate personal data via the Web, as well as the availability of such data from court records …
The USA Today reports that the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) has not been properly implemented on two important fronts: the U.S. borders where the installation of scanners is overdue and in terms of training personnel at the institutions tasked with monitoring non-immigrant students.
The Department of Energy’s CIO issued this report, E-Government Strategic Action Plan, A Roadmap for Delivering Services, which was digitally signed by Spencer Abraham, Sec. of Energy. The DOE is pioneering the use of digital signatures to facilitate the dissemination of official documents electronically, saving printing costs. The technology used is from Adobe Systems and …
This statement by Laura W. Murphy, Director, ACLU Washington Legislative Office, details the organization’s new $3.5 million “Safe and Free Campaign” to keep attention focused on post 9/11 privacy and security measures that threaten individual freedoms.
See the ICANN annnouncement indicating the choice of theInternet Society to operate the huge .org top level domain (TLD). The decision has stirred controversy according to an internet.com article, Will Big Business Dictate Public Interest?
Declan McCullagh reports that the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, James E. Rogan, stated in an October 15 lecture at the Heritage Foundation that the tide has turned on the high acceptance rate for patent applications. Previously, 65-70% of applications were granted, and now that same percentage are rejected. The lecture …
OMB Watch is reporting on government web site scrubbing in a follow-up on this issue that was highlighted in a 9/18/02 article by Education Week.
Federal government web sites are updated regularly, but the sites of Senators running for re-election cannot be updated within 60 days of a primary or the election according to U.S. Senate Internet Services Usage Rules and Policies. Consequently, a tool acknowledged to be a key asset in maintaining effective communication with consitutents is off-limits. See …
“The State of eCommerce 2002: Beyond the Bubble, Beware the Barriers” is a new report by Netchoice.org, a coalition of businesses that promote e-commerce. The organization also issued an accompanying fact sheet summarizing the report’s conclusions. Although online retail sales continue to grow, and high profile companies such as eBay and Amazon are generating profits, …