Saturday, March 17, 2007

Administrivia: Possible unscheduled upgrade of Privacy Digest Administrivia: Possible unscheduled upgrade of Privacy Digest. I might be implementing an unscheduled upgrade of the site due to some problems with the software I am currently using to run the site. I had been working on upgrading the software to implement some new features but may have to implement sooner than originally planned. If you would like to take a peek at the planned software take a visit to http://www.PrivacyDigest.com/index.php Yes the full URL will have to be entered until I have completed the switch over. There may be some hiccups during the process as the XML/RSS location will change along with access to the sub-topics. I plan to create mod-rewrite rules to take of this but they may not all be ready on day one. Please let me know what you think. 9:39:04 PM

HP Case Wraps Up but Pretexting Problems Remains. HP Case Wraps Up but Pretexting Problems Remains. Although a new federal law makes pretexting illegal, it will likely remain a problem for phone companies and other potential victims of the practice. [PC World: Latest Technology News] 9:26:39 PM

U.S. Lawmakers Introduce New Spyware Bill. U.S. Lawmakers Introduce New Spyware Bill. Two U.S. lawmakers reintroduce a bill that would impose penalties of up to five years of prison time and fines for spyware activities. [PC World: Latest Technology News] 9:21:55 PM

FOIA Reforms Plow Forward in Congress. FOIA Reforms Plow Forward in Congress. The House of Representatives has passed a bill that will make much-needed updates to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and strengthen the public's right to get records from the federal government. H.R. 1309, the Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 2007, was approved yesterday by a considerable 308-117 margin. But the White House lashed out against the legislation, calling FOIA improvements "premature and counterproductive" in light of an 2005 presidential order requiring agencies to streamline their FOIA processes. Just this week the National Security Archive released a report showing how necessary FOIA improvements are. The non-profit research group found that most federal agencies have failed to improve online access to public information in spite of a decade-old FOIA change requiring that they do so. In related news, a bipartisan bill similar to H.R. 1309 was introduced earlier this week in the Senate. Like the House bill, S. 849, the Openness Promotes Effectiveness in our National Government Act of 2007, will improve the public's right to access government information through the FOIA and penalize agencies that don't comply with the law. Learn more about the FOIA and EFF's Flag Project here. [EFF: Deep Links] 8:58:34 PM

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