From InformationWeek: “In its effort to uphold the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA), the U.S. Department of Justice is leaving no stone unturned. Its widely reported issuance of subpoenas to Internet search companies AOL, MSN, Google, and Yahoo is just the tip of the iceberg: The government has demanded information from at least 34 [...]
Archive of entries posted on March 2006
Sunshine in Government Initiative
“The Sunshine in Government Initiative is a coalition of media groups committed to promoting policies that ensure the government is accessible, accountable and open. Public oversight is the ultimate safeguard of democracy. This is not an issue just for the media. It is the inalienable right of citizens to examine and judge their government; and [...]
Bipartisan Group of Senators Call for GAO Inquiry of EPA Changes to Toxic Release Inventory Program
In a letter sent March 27, 2006 to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a bipartisan group of Senators called for an investigation into the proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) to weaken regulations that require polluters to inform the public about toxic releases.
http://lautenberg.senate.gov/~lautenberg/press/2003/01/2006327A41.html
Berners-Lee Speaks Out in Favor of Net Neutrality
From the Toronto Star: “Tim Berners-Lee, chief architect of the World Wide Web, says his world-changing invention would no longer be an “open information space” if broadband providers abandoned the principle of Net neutrality.”
NSA Wiretapping May Monitor Calls to Doctors and Lawyers
From Wired News:
National Security Agency could have legally monitored ordinarily confidential communications between doctors and patients or attorneys and their clients, the Justice Department said Friday of its controversial warrantless surveillance program.
Responding to questions from Congress, the department also said that it sees no prohibition to using information collected under the NSA’s program in court. [...]
EPA Librarians’ Union Demands to Bargain Over Proposed Closings
Library Juice has posted a letter from the American Federation of Government Employees regarding the impending closure of the EPA libraries. Among many notable aspects in the letter is fact #4. In addition to EPA Region 5’s immediate plans for the library closure, the letter notes:
On March 9, 2006, Lynda F. Carroll, Assistant Administrator [...]
CQ Press Enhances Congressional Staff Directory
From InfoToday: “Congressional Quarterly’s CQ Press Professional Division is enhancing its Congressional Staff Directory. The print/Web directory lists nearly 20,000 contacts along with in-depth biographies and committee assignments. However, now added to the free searchable Web access that all subscribers receive will be complete votes and bill information and complete Congressional Record information for each [...]
New GAO Report Sees Need for Improvement in DOE and DOD Sensitive, but Unclassified Designations
Managing Sensitive Information: DOE and DOD Could Improve Their Policies and Oversight
“In the interest of national security and personal privacy and for other reasons, federal agencies place dissemination restrictions on information that is unclassified yet still sensitive. The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD) have both issued policy guidance on how [...]
UVM librarian fights USA Patriot Act
In fall 2001, before the ink had dried on the nation’s new anti-terrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, University of Vermont librarian Trina Magi was analyzing how the federal measure would affect the civil liberties of library patrons. The news, Magi concluded, was not good. . . Since then, the UVM librarian has [...]
FCC Chair Offers Support for Tiered Internet
From Networking Pipeline: FCC Chair Kevin Martin told a Las Vegas conference “that he supports network operators’ desires to offer different levels of broadband service at different speeds, and at different pricing — a so-called “tiered” Internet service structure that opponents say could give a market advantage to deep-pocket companies who can afford to pay [...]