privacy

Obama asks for renewal of Patriot Act provisions sanctioning secret domestic spying

The Obama administration has notified Congress that it backs renewing provisions of the Patriot Act which expires at the end of the year. The provisions include a secret court for granting wiretaps and warrants for records – banking, library and medical. -DB Wired September 15, 2009 By David Kravets The Obama administration has told Congress it supports renewing three provisions of the Patriot Act due to expire at year’s end, measures making it easier for the

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Suit asks for records concerning warrantless searches of travelers’ laptops

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit in federal court to obtain records pertaining to the immigration and border policy of routinely searching traveler’s laptops. -DB Congress Daily August 26, 2009 The American Civil Liberties Union wants federal government records pertaining to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s policy of searching travelers’ laptops without suspicion of wrongdoing. The watchdog group filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit Wednesday in a New

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Blogger intends to sue Google over outing

After Google revealed the identity of an anonymous blogger, her lawyer promised to sue citing the First Amendment right to speak anonymously. -DB Wired August 24, 2009 By Kim Zetter An anonymous blogger unmasked by Google last week following a court order has vowed to sue the internet giant for violating her privacy. Rosemary Port, who operated a blog called “Skanks in NYC,” was outed last week after failing in her efforts to quash a subpoena

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Students punished for off-campus speech

A CMLP intern says that there is an epidemic of cases in which students are reprimanded for off-campus speech. A case in a Mississippi high school illustrates the way students can be denied their First Amendment rights. -DB Citizen Media Law Project Commentary July 28, 2009 By Lee Baker The Supreme Court once famously said that public school students do not “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”  Tinker

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Judge says government pension records subject to disclosure

The California Supreme Court ruled in 2007 that names and salaries of government employees are public record but did not specifically mention retirees. A Contra Costa judge has now ruled that that records of county’s pension funds must be disclosed. -DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise July 15, 2009 By Sherrim M. Okamoto A county’s pension records are not exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Public Records Act, a Contra Costa Superior Court judge has ruled in what is

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