Via LLRX – Unlocking History: How a Small Group of Researchers Dominates the Declassification Appeals Process – Attorney and FOIA expert Michael Ravnitzky shines a spotlight on people, process and procedural challenges with his illuminating article. A small core group of researchers and historians have filed most of the declassification appeals being reviewed by the… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Freedom of Information
Access to Justice as Access to Data
Rostain, Tanina, Access to Justice as Access to Data (July 25, 2024). Forthcoming in the Northwestern Law Review, Volume 119, 2024., Georgetown University Law Center Research Paper Forthcoming, (2024). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 2619., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4905900 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4905900 This Keynote Address, delivered in celebration of the launch of SCALES, discusses… Continue Reading
The FOIA.gov Search Tool Updated
“FOIA.gov, the government’s central resource for information about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) now includes additional functionality to help users locate commonly requested law enforcement and related records. The FOIA.gov Search Tool was updated to add a “Law Enforcement records” pre-defined user journey that helps the public more quickly locate commonly requested information. This user journey… Continue Reading
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Visits Had Dozens of Potential Threats, Secret Service Docs Show
Bloomberg: Jason Leopold July 17, 2024 [also read via Twitter Thread] “Long before the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on Saturday, I spent years looking into the way the Secret Service responded to threats against its protectees. In 2022, I filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the agency for records of… Continue Reading
Answers – What’s Project 2025?
Unpacking the Pro-Trump Plan to Overhaul US Government “…The Forces Behind Project 2025 – Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts launched Project 2025 in April 2022, a few months before Trump officially announced his reelection campaign. Since then, the number of groups backing the initiative has grown. As of now, Project 2025’s advisory board and so-called… Continue Reading
The End of Libraries as We Know Them? with Brewster Kahle and Kyle Courtney
The End of Libraries as We Know Them? with Brewster Kahle and Kyle Courtney Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast– Could the future of libraries as we’ve known them be completely different? Our guests this week say so. Megapublishers are suing the Internet Archive, perhaps best known for its Wayback Machine, to redefine… Continue Reading
National Information Standards Controlled Digital Lending Working Group Stalls
Library Futures: “…I am stepping down because I believe that publishers and their affiliated trade associations are more interested in undermining that mission and the NISO process than they are in finding a solution for CDL that respects the rights of libraries, authors, publishers, and readers. The Working Group’s proposed standard, which offers best practice… Continue Reading
South Carolina poised to impose draconian censorship regime on school libraries
Popular Information: “On Tuesday, the South Carolina State Board of Education will impose a centralized and expansive censorship regime on every K-12 school library in the state. The new regulations could result in the banning of most classic works of literature from South Carolina schools — from The Canterbury Tales to Romeo and Juliet to… Continue Reading
Durbin Reveals Omissions of Gifted Private Travel to Justice Clarence Thomas from Harlan Crow
“In exclusively obtained information from Harlan Crow as a result of Durbin and the Senate Judiciary Committee Majority’s Supreme Court ethics investigation and subpoena authorization, Durbin releases details of gifted private travel to Justice Thomas that Thomas has failed to disclose. WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary… Continue Reading
The Federal Reserve Banks’ New Transparency and Accountability Policy
Via LLRX – The Federal Reserve Banks’ New Transparency and Accountability Policy – Michael Ravnitzky is an attorney and former journalist who has more than 25 years of experience in using the Freedom of Information Act and state public records laws. On December 21, 2023, the Federal Reserve Banks each announced the adoption of a uniform… Continue Reading
Louisiana Bill Would Criminalize Librarians, Libraries Who Join American Library Association
Bookriot: “Despite the fact that librarians are among the most trusted professionals, per data acquired in several studies of parents on the perceptions of the profession, lawmakers across the country continue to infantilize and criminalize library workers. The 2024 legislative session has been particularly eager to capitalize on the rhetoric from the far right on… Continue Reading
Age Verification Laws Drag Us Back to the Dark Ages of the Internet
404 Media: “The fundamental flaw with the age verification bills and laws passing rapidly across the country is the delusional, unfounded belief that putting hurdles between people and pornography is going to actually prevent them from viewing porn. What will happen, and is already happening, is that people–including minors–will go to unmoderated, actively harmful alternatives… Continue Reading
