Although primarily a symbolic action, the Eugene City Council passed a resolution, with impetus from 2,000 citizen signatures on a petition, stating the city’s opposition to the USA Patriot Act. See also my other posting on a growing movement by municipalities to oppose the Patriot Act.
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Monthly Archives: November 2002
ISPs Provide User Data to Gov't
This Forbes article addresses the changing landscape of ISP liability in regard to providing the government with access to personal data on subscribers, as well as to their IT infrastructures, to facilitate surveillance of customers. The legal issues inherent in such actions have shifted significantly with the passage of the Homeland Security Bill (H.R 5005),… Continue Reading
Overview of OPM's E-Gov Initiatives
If you are interested in the President’s e-government plan, this OPM site provides an overview of the E-Clearance, E-Payroll, Enterprise Human Resources Initiative, E-Training and Recruitment One-Stop projects, including objectives, current status and future milestones. Continue Reading
ACLU and Gov't Docs on Patriot Act
The ACLU and EPIC have secured an order from Judge Huvelle, U.S. District Court, D.C., in response to their FOIA complaint for Patriot Act related documents. A list of those documents the DOJ will release must be provided to the groups by January 15, 2003, however, the agency has indicated that documents will be withheld… Continue Reading
FTC Resource on Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
This FTC site on the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act – Financial Privacy and Pretexting, is an excellent resource on the topic. It provides links to the code, rules and regs, press releases, business guidance documents, and official state documents. Continue Reading
How to Obtain a DMCA Exemption
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) published a paper by Seth Finkelstein titled How To Win (DMCA) Exemptions And Influence Policy, which includes key links concerning the act and carefully documents specific directions and references essential to apply for an exemption. Continue Reading
Disappearing Health Data From Gov't Websites
Data on health issues including abortions and contraception have been removed from government web sites, and complaints are escalating that such actions are motivated by the President’s political agenda. See my previous posting on this topic here, which includes references to Congressional concerns over this specific pattern of censoring health related data. Continue Reading
Ashcroft and the Internet – A Perspective
In 1997, then Senator Ashcroft of Missouri published a statement called, Keep Big Brother’s Hands Off the Internet. Fast forward to the Patriot Act. Continue Reading
E-Gov Handbook Published by CDT
The Center for Democracy and Technology has published an E-Government Handbook, conceived as a global resource on how to implement technology applications to best serve the needs of citizens by making information easily and readily available online. Continue Reading
California and Privacy Legislation
The Privacy Journal conducted a survey of state legislation related to privacy issues, and ranked California at the top of the list due to its pro-active institution of protections for its citizens, via legislation, but also through the courts and in its constitution. This information comes from the organization’s Compilation of State and Federal Privacy… Continue Reading
Text of Homeland Security Act
Here is a link to the text of the Homeland Security Act from the November 22, 2002 Federal Register. Continue Reading
Resistance to E-Signatures From Federal Agencies
The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (“ESIGN”) went into effect on October 1, 2000. It provides that digital signatures are legally valid for use in commercial and government documents. However, compliance with the law has been slow at best, as courts and agencies such as the EPA continue to seek exemptions from… Continue Reading
