From Google’s Public Policy Blog:
At the beginning of 2005, I was Google’s lone public policy guy. Today, there’s a bigger – and growing – team of us scattered around the world, working on issues like privacy, child online safety, copyright and trademark protection, content regulation, reform of the patent system, and broadband policy. These issues [...]
Archive of entries posted on June 2007
Taking the Wraps Off Google’s Public Policy Blog
Presidential library donations legislation blocked
The Sunlight Foundation reports:
Sen. Ted Stevens has
blocked the markup of legislation that would provide transparency for presidential library donations, which currently have no official disclosure requirements. . .
. . . Sen. Stevens has apparently objected that the new law would be prospective, e.g. it would capture what is going on now and in the future, [...]
Hold That Bill
From the Austin American-Statesman:
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., has placed a hold on a measure that would undo President Bush’s 2001 executive order that gave presidents and former presidents increased authority to block the release of White House records.
Coburn’s move came a day after a Senate committee advanced the measure, which had won overwhelming House approval [...]
From the UK – Open the gates of information
From the Guardian:
Imagine Government 2.0. Wisdom no longer flows from officialdom to the population, but is co-created with citizens. Civil servants contribute openly to Facebook groups on controversies of the day. Government websites have wiki areas where people can exchange tips about filing tax returns or claiming benefits. Databases of restaurant inspections, tide tables and [...]
Judge Orders FBI to Release NSL Abuse Records
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
A judge ordered the FBI today to finally release agency records about its abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) to collect Americans’ personal information. The ruling came just a day after the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the judge to immediately respond in its lawsuit over agency delays.
EFF sued the FBI [...]
UK: Government commits to finding a solution to preserving its digital information
From The National Archives (UK):
Vital government information is becoming increasingly fragile and could be lost forever unless something is done to keep up with the rapid pace of technological change. That was the stark warning as the government announced plans this week to address the need for digital preservation – making sure that information remains [...]
Appeals Court Vacates Greenberg Decision
From Photo District News:
After years of litigation, Jerry Greenberg’s $400,000 judgment for willful copyright infringement against National Geographic Society has been vacated.
The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed its own infringement verdict and vacated the jury award on June 13, explaining that the Supreme Court’s 2001 ruling in Tasini v. New York [...]
Bush administration attacks ’shield’ for bloggers
From News.com:
The Bush administration on Thursday blasted a congressional proposal that would shield a broad swath of news gatherers, including some bloggers, from revealing their confidential sources.
The latest draft of the Free Flow of Information Act would pose a grave threat to national security and federal criminal investigations by protecting far too large a segment [...]
Sunlight Foundation Introduces LOUIS
Introducing LOUIS:
Welcome to the first phase of LOUIS – the Library Of Unified Information Sources, a project of the Sunlight Foundation, and an effort, to paraphrase Justice Louis Brandeis, to illuminate the workings of the federal government. Our ultimate goal is to create a comprehensive, completely indexed and cross-referenced depository of federal documents from the [...]
Records bill clears hurdle in the Senate
From the Kansas City Star:
A Senate committee on Wednesday approved a bill to override President Bush’s executive order granting presidents and former presidents more power to block the release of White House records.
The White House has promised to veto the bill, but the House approved it in March by a veto-proof 333-93 margin, and similar [...]