First Amendment News

The head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently reminded employees of their obligation to make decisions with the fullest possible public participation and the importance of making these decisions in a way that does put special interests above the public. -DB OMB Watch May 6, 2009 In a recent memorandum to employees, the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) outlined broad principles of transparency that will govern the agency’s interactions with the

Senators Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham have asked President Barack Obama stop the release of photos of detainee abuse they say will empower al-Qaeda and hurt the country’s image. -DB Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists May 7, 2009 The White House should intervene to block the impending release of certain photographs showing detainees abused by U.S. military personnel, Senators Joseph Lieberman and Lindsey Graham wrote in a letter to President Obama yesterday. Release of

Republican members of Congress are asking the Secretary of Defense to lift restrictions on information about budgets and inspections. The members are particularly interested in records of ship inspections and those pertaining to Uighur prisoners in Guantanamo who may be released into the United States. -DB Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists May 7, 2009 Questions of secrecy and disclosure are increasingly prominent in congressional interactions with the executive branch, particularly on the part of

The South Carolina attorney general is the latest to ask Craigslist to remove its erotic services section. Henry McMaster has given Craigslist 10 days to comply. Craigslist defenders say it has already cleaned up the site and that under the law the company is not liable for content posted by third parties. -DB Electronic Frontier Foundation May 6, 2009 By Matt Zimmerman Here we go again. On Tuesday, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster notified

The California Interscholastic Federation has not been required to comply with open record laws. This will change if an assembly bill passes the legislature and is signed by the governor. -DB CalAware May 1, 2009 PUBLIC INFORMATION — A Republican Assemblywoman’s bill to open the records of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) to public scrutiny has moved to the Assembly floor’s consent calendar, amended to protect pupil privacy. AB 352 by Assemblywoman Audra Strickland (R-Westlake