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Category Archives: E-Government

Law Libraries and the Future of Public Access to Born-Digital Government Information

Kunkel, Rebecca, Law Libraries and the Future of Public Access to Born-Digital Government Information (2017). 109 Law Libr. J. 67, 2017. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3519405 “As government publications have shifted from print to electronic, mechanisms for guaranteeing the public’s right to access government information have not kept pace. Because legal resources are among the publications… Continue Reading

DOJ files new lawsuits in renewed push to pressure ‘sanctuary cities’

WSJ.com [paywall]: “The U.S. Justice Department filed three lawsuits against California, New Jersey and a Washington county late Monday over their laws and policies limiting local cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, escalating a Trump administration battle against liberal states and localities that adopt so-called sanctuary cities…” See also: DOJ Sues NJ and officials over… Continue Reading

DOJ Sues NJ and officials over ICE access to immigration docs

Justice Department Sues State of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor, and New Jersey Attorney General for Prohibiting State Officials From Sharing Information With U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement: “Today, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the State of New Jersey, New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy, and New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. The… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 8, 2020

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues February 8, 2020 – Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss, highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading

National Archives permitting deletion and destruction of gov docs

The New York Times Opinion – Matthew Connelly – professor of history at Columbia.- “…In 2017, a normally routine document released by the archives, a records retention schedule, revealed that archivists had agreed that officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement could delete or destroy documents detailing the sexual abuse and death of undocumented immigrants. Tens… Continue Reading

Smarter government or data-driven disaster

“The algorithms helping control local communities – MuckRock’s releasing a new database of algorithms in government – but we’ll need your input – What is the chance you, or your neighbor, will commit a crime? Should the government change a child’s bus route? Add more police to a neighborhood or take some away? Every day… Continue Reading

Should the public pay a dime for access to court records?

Washington Post – “The federal judiciary charges 10 cents per page to pull up court files from its online record repository. The fees can add up quickly, and users must consider whether each click to view a public record is worth the cost. But a lawsuit in court Monday in Washington challenges the government’s paywall… Continue Reading

Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide – Updated January 2020

Via LLRX – Competitive Intelligence – A Selective Resource Guide – Updated January 2020 – Sabrina I. Pacifici has completely revised and updated her guide, which she first published in 2006 and has updated regularly since that time. A wide range of free and low cost sites with expertly sourced content specific to researchers focused… Continue Reading

GSA launches public campaign to battle bots, fake comments from online rulemaking forums

Follow up to previous posting – Deepfake Bot Submissions to Federal Public Comment Websites Cannot Be Distinguished from Human Submissions – via Federal News Network – “The General Services Administration kicked off a public effort this week to modernize the federal e-rulemaking process, with a special emphasis on how agencies should respond to an ever-growing number… Continue Reading

Attacking a Pay Wall That Hides Public Court Filings

The New York Times – “The federal judiciary has built an imposing pay wall around its court filings, charging a preposterous 10 cents a page for electronic access to what are meant to be public records. A pending lawsuit could help tear that wall down. The costs of storing and transmitting data have plunged, approaching… Continue Reading

New Solar Telescope Shows Sun’s Surface in Unprecendented High Resolution

BoinbBoing: “The National Science Foundation has just released the very first images of the Sun taken with the new Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii. They are the highest resolution images ever taken of the Sun’s surface, showing three times more detail than was possible using previous imaging techniques. Those cells you see in the image…they’re… Continue Reading