Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Monthly Archives: April 2007

FCC Strengthens Privacy Rules to Prevent Pretexting

Press release: “The Federal Communications Commission has strengthened its privacy rules by requiring telephone and wireless carriers to adopt additional safeguards to protect the personal telephone records of consumers from unauthorized disclosure. These new safeguards will help prevent unauthorized access to customer proprietary network information, or CPNI.” Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed… Continue Reading

DOI OIG's Audit of 2005 Hurricane Relief Expenditures

U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General, 2005 Hurricane Relief Expenditures: “This report presents the results of our audit of the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) expenditures for response and recovery efforts related to the 2005 hurricane season. Our objective was to determine whether DOI and its bureaus ensured that expenditures for hurricane… Continue Reading

How Company Codes of Conduct Regulate Political Spending and a Model Code to Protect Company Interests and Shareholder Value

News release: “Faulting S&P 100 companies for weak regulation of their political spending, a Center for Political Accountability report urges the adoption of a strong model code of conduct to protect companies and their shareholders. The report, entitled Open Windows: How Company Codes of Conduct Regulate Political Spending and a Model Code to Protect Company… Continue Reading

Canadian Policy and Public Interest Clinic Releases Working Papers on ID Theft

“CIPPIC has issued the first batch of a series of working papers on identity theft. The papers released today include Introduction and Background, Techniques of Identity Theft, and Legislative Approaches to Identity Theft (all PDF). Additional papers examining identity theft caselaw, law enforcement, and policy approaches, as well as a Bibliography on identity theft, will… Continue Reading

Rapid Response Was Crucial to Containing 1918 Flu Pandemic

National Institute of Allergy andInfectious Diseases (NIAID) – Rapid Response was Crucial to Containing the 1918 Flu Pandemic – Historical Analyses Help Plan for Future Pandemics. NIAID Expands Capability for Influenza Research and Surveillance: “The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced it is… Continue Reading

DOT April Air Travel Consumer Report

Press release: “According to information filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), the 20 airlines reporting on-time performance with DOT recorded an on-time arrival rate of 67.3 percent in February, down from both February 2006’s 75.3 percent and January 2007’s 73.1 percent. The monthly… Continue Reading

GAO Report on First Responders

First Responders: Much Work Remains to Improve Communications Interoperability GAO-07-301, April 2, 2007. “As the first to respond to natural disasters, domestic terrorism, and other emergencies, public safety agencies rely on timely communications across multiple disciplines and jurisdictions. It is vital to the safety and effectiveness of first responders that their electronic communications systems enable… Continue Reading

Canadian Privacy Commissioner Concludes Investigation of SWIFT

Follow-up to April 15, 2006 posting, Canadian Privacy Commissioner Launches Investigation of SWIFT, “today The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart..announced the conclusion of her Office’s investigation of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a European-based financial cooperative, that supplies messaging services and interface software to a large number of financial institutions in… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Rules EPA Has Authority to Regulate Green House Gases

The Supreme Court decision, April 2, 2007, 05-1120 Massachusetts v. EPA (66 pages, PDF). Via Cornell, Court’s 5-4 opinion per Justice Stevens, a dissent from Chief Justice Roberts and a second dissent from Justice Scalia. WSJ free feature: Industries Show Uncertainty Over Ruling’s Impact – Some Favor Regulation From Congress, Others From Federal Agencies Clean… Continue Reading