From OMB Watch:
On Nov. 5, the House Judiciary Committee began markups on a bill that would codify standards for when and how the executive branch may apply the state secrets privilege in civil litigation. Although the Obama administration has promised certain limitations on its own use of the privilege, civil liberties and open government groups [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Freedom of Information category.
House Committee Marks Up State Secrets Bill, Sends It to the Floor
Recap: cracking open US courtrooms
From The Guardian:
The legal system is often accused of lagging behind the technological curve – indeed, it is only a couple of years since a high court judge made headlines by saying: “I don’t really understand what a website is.” He later said that the remarks were taken out of context.
Once in a while, however, [...]
Federal Reserve Says Judge Erred in Requiring Bank Disclosure
From Bloomberg:
The Federal Reserve said a U.S. judge erred in ruling that the central bank should identify companies that received emergency loans last year, according to court papers filed to overturn the decision.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska improperly used the standard of “imminent harm” to a borrower’s competitive position rather than a lesser standard of [...]
Organizations Write President Obama Regarding ACTA
From SLA’s Public Policy blog:
Several organizations, including SLA, sent a letter on 5 November 2009 to President Obama expressing concerns about the lack of transparency and openness surrounding the negotiations on a new Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (“ACTA”).
Groups Urge Transparency in Health Care Reform Implementation
From OMB Watch:
Twenty groups, including OMB Watch, have sent a letter calling on Congress to include accountability and transparency provisions in any health care reform legislation. Specifically, the groups focused on federal advisory committees – panels that will provide critical advice on health care issues if legislation is passed. The groups represent a wide variety [...]
Groups Call for Recovery.gov Overhaul Before Major Data Release on October 30
From OMB Watch:
Three nonprofit organizations that have been tracking the Recovery Act today called for the Obama administration to overhaul its jobs data system before releasing its first large set of data on Oct. 30.
Based on what they called very disappointing data quality and presentation in the release of a very small amount of federal [...]
California County Hoarding Map Data Ordered to Pay $500,000
From Wired:
A California county’s three-year battle to prevent a nonprofit group from obtaining public mapping data has ended disastrously for the county after it was ordered by a court to pay the group $500,000 in legal costs.
Last February, Santa Clara County, the heart of California’s Silicon Valley, was ordered to hand over the public records [...]
Federal Court Denies Government Attempt to Delay Release of Telecom Records. Again.
From the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Today a federal district court denied the government’s latest emergency motion asking for a 30-day stay in last Friday’s deadline to release records relating to telecom lobbying over last year’s debate over immunity for corporate participation in government spying. The new deadline is October 16, at 4 p.m. Pacific time. We [...]
TNR Debate: Too Much Transparency? (Part II)
From The New Republic:
Lawrence Lessig’s essay warns that the unintended consequence of the success of what he calls the “naked transparency movement” will be to “simply push any faith in our political system over the cliff.” His implication is that the movement’s proponents are insufficiently interested in appropriate analysis of all political data they are [...]
Against Transparency – The perils of openness in government by Lawrence Lessig
From The New Republic:
How could anyone be against transparency? Its virtues and its utilities seem so crushingly obvious. But I have increasingly come to worry that there is an error at the core of this unquestioned goodness. We are not thinking critically enough about where and when transparency works, and where and when it may [...]