Spread Privacy: “On Tuesday September 13th, 13 privacy-focused technology companies representing more than 100 million users in the United States published a letter to U.S. Congressional Leadership imploring them to support the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) and bring it to a floor vote as soon as possible. Incessant data collection and tech… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Congress
LobbyingData.com Launches First-Ever Publicly Available Real-Time View of American Lobbying
“LobbyingData.com (LobbyingData) today announces the official launch of Daily Lobbying Data, the first-ever 100% free real-time view into American Lobbying. With LobbyingData, anyone can easily know which companies are lobbying, how much was spent, and-most importantly-the issues being lobbied for. LobbyingData is the only platform of its kind that provides insight into why companies choose… Continue Reading
House Oversight Committee asks Archives if Trump still possesses presidential records
CNN: “The House Oversight Committee is asking the National Archives for an assessment of whether there are presidential records still unaccounted for and in Donald Trump’s possession, according to a new letter obtained by CNN. The committee’s chairwoman, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat, also is requesting in the letter that the National Archives… Continue Reading
GAO: Congress Should Enact Comprehensive Privacy Legislation
EPIC.org: “The Government Accountability Office yesterday released a snapshot of its recent work on consumer data. The GAO’s work shows that (1) consumer scores pose risks; (2) facial recognition technology raises consumer privacy and accuracy concerns; and (3) additional federal authority over internet privacy could enhance consumer protection. The GAO recommended that Congress implement consumer… Continue Reading
Russia spent millions in secret global political campaign, U.S. official says
Washington Post: “Russia has secretly funneled at least $300 million to foreign political parties and candidates in more than two dozen countries since 2014 in an attempt to shape political events beyond its borders, according to a new U.S. intelligence review. Moscow planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more as part of its… Continue Reading
Law Library of Congress Report Examines Economic Espionage Laws in Selected Countries
In Custodia Legis: “A recently published Law Library of Congress report, Economic Espionage Laws, “addresses economic espionage laws and the regulation of fraudulent filing of corporate, import-export, and banking documentation” in sixteen countries. The report consists of a comparative summary followed by individual country surveys for sixteen countries. The countries surveyed are Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan,… Continue Reading
Trump found the holes in our election laws. Congress is trying to patch them.
Vox: “The human mind is ingenious. It can create towering works of art and make remarkable scientific discoveries. It is, as we saw in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, also capable of inventing new ways to undermine American democracy by abusing our existing election laws, and turning orderly presidential elections into anarchy and… Continue Reading
Congress may force election deniers to get a lot more creative
Vox: “The human mind is ingenious. It can create towering works of art and make remarkable scientific discoveries. It is, as we saw in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, also capable of inventing new ways to undermine American democracy by abusing our existing election laws, and turning orderly presidential elections into anarchy and… Continue Reading
The Insurrection Bar to Office: Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment
CRS Legal Sidebar – The Insurrection Bar to Office: Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment Updated September 7, 2022: “In the aftermath of the events of January 6, 2021,in and around the U.S. Capitol, there have been calls for accountability for those who participated, as well as for those who may have helped instigate it.… Continue Reading
Introducing the Congress.gov API
In Custodia Legis – September 6, 2022 by Margaret Wood and Andrew Weber. “Congress.gov is a fantastic source of legislative information, and a marvelous source for investigating specific legislation and exploring the legislative history of a bill. Congress.gov also contains large amounts of data and various users have expressed interest in having additional access to… Continue Reading
Politico’s new German owner has a ‘contrarian’ plan for American media
Washington Post: “Months after his company bought Politico, Mathias Döpfner stood atop Axel Springer’s 19-story headquarters, gazing out at the double row of cobblestones that mark the outline of the demolished Berlin Wall, and explained his global ambitions. “We want to be the leading digital publisher in democracies around the world,” he said. A newcomer… Continue Reading
Before the Presidential Records Act of 1978, presidents owned their papers
Washington Post: Now all presidents, including Donald Trump, must turn them over to the National Archives. “Until the 1970s, former presidents could do pretty much whatever they wanted with their presidential papers. That often was a problem. Some papers “were purposely destroyed, while others fell victim to chance destruction,” concluded a 1978 congressional study. “Others… Continue Reading
