Washington Post – A cache of records shared with The Washington Post reveals that agents are scanning hundreds of millions of Americans’ faces without their knowledge or consent – “Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have turned state driver’s license databases into a facial-recognition gold mine, scanning through hundreds… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
The Strange Politics of Facial Recognition
The Atlantic – Everyone seems to have found common ground on the emerging technology. That’s exactly what its makers want: “Your face is no longer just your face—it’s been augmented. At a football game, your face is currency, used to buy food at the stadium. At the mall, it is a ledger, used to alert… Continue Reading
Can a cancer registry keep firefighters safe?
BBC: “A new US cancer database – the Firefighter Cancer Registry which was fully funded by Congress in June – aims to track the careers and health histories of thousands of firefighters in order to better understand the link between emergency work and disease, writes Victoria Oldridge. For thousands of years, firefighters have entered into… Continue Reading
‘A Lot Of Gray Area’: A Legal Expert Explains ‘How To Read The Constitution’
NPR – “What is the president actually allowed to do under the U.S. Constitution? It’s a question that’s comes up from time to time at NPR, and when it does, we’ve turned to experts such as Kim Wehle, now a law professor and CBS News legal commentator. Now, she’s written a book about it. It’s… Continue Reading
Technological Convergence: Regulatory, Digital Privacy, and Data Security Issues
EveryCRSReport.com – Technological Convergence: Regulatory, Digital Privacy, and Data Security Issues. May 30, 2019 R45746. “Technological convergence, in general, refers to the trend or phenomenon where two or more independent technologies integrate and form a new outcome. One example is the smartphone. A smartphone integrated several independent technologies—such as telephone, computer, camera, music player, television… Continue Reading
Public Highly Critical of State of Political Discourse in the U.S.
Pew – Reactions to Trump’s rhetoric: Concern, confusion, embarrassment – “The public renders a harsh judgment on the state of political discourse in this country. And for many Americans, their own conversations about politics have become stressful experiences that they prefer to avoid. Large majorities say the tone and nature of political debate in the… Continue Reading
Supreme Court rules in case watched for impact on Trump pardons
Politico: “The Supreme Court ruled Monday in a closely watched “double jeopardy” case, issuing a decision that preserves states’ power to limit the impact of future pardons by President Donald Trump or his successors. In a 7-2 ruling, the justices declined to disturb a longstanding legal principle known as dual sovereignty, which allows state governments… Continue Reading
The Impeachment Process in the House of Representatives
CRS Report via LC – The Impeachment Process in the House of Representatives. June 14, 2019: “Under the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives has the power to formally charge a federal officer with wrongdoing, a process known as impeachment. The House impeaches an individual when a majority agrees to a House resolution containing explanations… Continue Reading
FOIA to DOJ Seeking Legal Analysis Used By Treasury to Withhold Tax Return Info from Congress
American Oversight – Trump’s Tax Returns: “According to the Treasury Department, Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s refusal to comply with a House committee’s request for the president’s tax returns is based on a Justice Department legal analysis — even though the IRS issued a memorandum concluding that such documents must be produced unless there is a claim of… Continue Reading
In Court, Facebook Blames Users for Destroying Their Own Right to Privacy
The Intercept: “In April 2018, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg sat before members of both houses of Congress and told them his company respected the privacy of the roughly two billion people who use it. “Privacy” remained largely undefined throughout Zuckerberg’s televised flagellations, but he mentioned the concept more than two dozen times, including when he… Continue Reading
Transparency Caucus features tools to track legislative information
Alex Howell [includes video of the forum]: “On June 7, the Transparency Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted a remarkable forum inside of the United States Capitol that featured ten presentations from government officials and members of civil society on innovative tools and technologies. Following is a run down of who spoke and… Continue Reading
The House Streamlines Subpoena Enforcement
LawFare: “The House of Representatives adopted a resolution on June 11 authorizing Rep. Jerrold Nadler, chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary, to go to court to pursue civil enforcement of subpoenas issued to Attorney General William Barr and former White House Counsel Don McGahn. Importantly, however, the measure also makes changes that will… Continue Reading
