Privacy Digest

Dear Potus 08 - Via CFP: Technology Policy '08:

From the in-progress page on the program wiki:

If the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy community wrote a letter to the next President of the United States about our priorities for technology policy, what would we say -- and how would we get him or her to read it?

There's only one way to find out.

At this year's conference dinner, we will launch a collaborative effort to write a short letter to the next President from the CFP '08 attendees. We'll get these initial results up on a wiki for comments and evolution, and refine them over the follwing 36 hours. By Friday morning, if we've managed to converge on something plausible, we'll start circulating the current draft for signatures. At the end of the conference, we'll mail the current draft to the presidential campaigns and invite their response.

We'll also put it all up on the web - with a Creative Commons "by" (attribution) license - and invite others to use it for whatever purposes they want as we revise our initial draft, get broader involvement and discussion, and try to get our voice heard amidst the din of the campaigns.

We'll be using this blog as a big part of the "Dear Potus 08" project, both to update the details -- currently described as "mostly TBD" -- and to discussparticular topics. The 9.5 theses thread is the best place to get involved with the technology policy discussion right now. In this thread, any questions or thoughts about "Dear Potus 08" -- or links to similar projects?

(Read Original Article - Via CFP: Technology Policy '08.)

No-go on GOFA - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:

Today, CDT posted an updated memorandum on the most recent version of the Global Online Freedom Act (”GOFA”). GOFA was first introduced by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) several years ago in response to troubling reports of company complicity in Internet censorship and cooperation in prosecutions of dissidents who posted political material online. The late Rep. Tom P. Lantos, (D-Ca) took up the cause last year and the bill was reported out of the Committee on Foreign Affairs late last year. Industry opposition to the bill has been fierce and efforts to bring the bill to the floor on suspension have thus far been thwarted.

CDT strongly believes that technology companies doing business in countries that broadly surveil and censor the Internet must take serious steps to identify and minimize the human rights risks associated with providing services and technology solutions in those countries. For several years, we have been co-facilitating a multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at developing global principles to guide ICT companies facing free expression and privacy challenges.  We remain hopefully that these principles will grow into a global industry standard that will give the industry a road map for collective action in this area.

We also believe that companies must not hide from these challenges. They should advocate for changes in public policy that protect the rights of their users, challenge laws where possible and collaborate with human rights groups and other stakeholders to build support for an open Internet that supports human rights.  read more »

Red Alert! Mandela Wants In! - Via ACLU Blog - Privacy & Technology:

USA Today reports:

Nobel Peace Prize winner and international symbol of freedom Nelson Mandela is flagged on U.S. terrorist watch lists and needs special permission to visit the USA. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls the situation "embarrassing…"

Shocking that this has happened considering how well-organized and error-free the watchlist is otherwise.  read more »

Why the Supreme Court Matters in a Presidential Election Year [Cato Institute] - Via JURIST - Video Monitor:

Why the Supreme Court Matters in a Presidential Election Year, Cato Institute, March 19, 2008. RealPlayer, 1 hr 13 mins. Watch recorded video. Additional information here.

(Read Original Article - Via JURIST - Video Monitor.)

ACLU Commends Senator Feingold for Hearing on Secret Law - Via American Civil Liberties Union:

Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union today applauded a Senate subcommittee for holding a hearing on the Bush administration’s use of secrecy to institute government policy. During the hearing, entitled "Secret Law and the Threat to Democratic and Accountable Government," the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and its chairman, Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI), heard testimony from legal experts and open government advocates. The hearing focused on the administration’s broad interpretation of the law as it relates to government secrecy and counterterrorism policies – including a legal opinion written by former Justice Department Official John Yoo on the use of torture in interrogations. That memo was made public through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request made by the ACLU.

"Government transparency is the cornerstone of democracy," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "This administration has been rewriting the Constitution memo by memo. From what we’ve seen of the self-serving opinions issued by the Office of Legal Counsel, we can only believe that those that remain secret must equally distort the law in favor of President Bush’s agenda. An agenda built on secrecy and overclassification is antithetical to our country’s ideals."  read more »

Yale Information Society Project's 9.5 Theses for Technology Policy in the Next Administration - Via CFP: Technology Policy '08:

The theme of the 18th Annual Computers, Freedom, and Privacy Conference is "Technology Policy '08." To help shape public debate in this election year, the Information Society Project at Yale Law School recommends the following policy principles - The 9.5 Theses for Technology Policy in the Next Administration:  read more »

ACLU Urges Senate Committee to Pass Strong State Secrets Bill - Via American Civil Liberties Union:

Washington, DC – As the Senate Judiciary Committee meets today to mark up key legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the body to pass a bill that would allow Americans to hold their government accountable. The bill, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would limit the scope of the state secrets privilege. The Bush administration, which has threatened to veto Senator Kennedy’s bill, has used the privilege to halt several important lawsuits against the government, including an ACLU case involving the extraordinary rendition of an innocent German citizen, Khaled El-Masri.

"The administration’s frequent and broad use of the state secrets privilege goes to the very root of its abuse of power," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "The privilege has been misused and abused for long enough. Senator Kennedy’s legislation will allow for a court to review the government’s national security claims and will rightly reinstate the role of the judiciary."  read more »

After Records Reveal E-Voting Glitches, Election Official Jokes She'll Stop Keeping Records - Via Threat Level:

Kathy Dent, the election director in Sarasota County, Florida, was the target of controversy after the 2006 election when more than 18,000 ballots cast on ES&S touch-screen voting machines in her county showed no vote cast in the 13th congressional district race. The so-called undervote rate in that race was five times what is considered normal and resulted in two lawsuits filed by voters and the defeated candidate, Christine Jennings, who lost the congressional seat by fewer than 400 votes.  read more »

Senate Poised To Tighten Broadcast Ownership Rules - Via American Civil Liberties Union:

Washington, DC – Today, the Senate Commerce Committee is expected to approve a bipartisan resolution, sponsored by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), which would restore a media ownership rule recently rescinded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The old rule generally restricted a company from owning both a newspaper and a television station in the same city, unless the FCC granted a waiver.

Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office said, “Senator Dorgan’s resolution aims to protect the airing of a multiplicity of voices, which fuels our democracy. Democracy is not served well by a media oligarchy where five or six corporations decide what Americans see in the news. We urge the Commerce Committee to also take up S. 2332, Senator Dorgan’s bill to reverse the media ownership rules to ensure the FCC does not go down this road again.”  read more »

State Secrets Finally Gets Some Spotlight with the Senate - Via ACLU Blog:

Senator Edward Kennedy's (D-Mass.) State Secrets Protection Act finally had its moment in the sun today — the hearing has been postponed almost every week since February. The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the bill 11 to 8, and now it's on its way to the floor for debate. Mandy Simon, Senior Legislative Communications Associate for our Washington, D.C., office, blogged about the bill and the use of the state secrets privilege in OpenLeft today. The privilege was rejected most recently in an ACLU of Illinois case involving the terrorism watch list. Mandy writes:  read more »

Stopping Abuse of the State Secrets Privilege - Via EFF: Deep Links:

Update: A victory! On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the State Secrets Protection Act. Thanks to everyone who contacted their Senator. Stay tuned to Deeplinks for more info as the bill moves through the Senate.

This week presents an opportunity to put a stop to one of the main tactics in the Bush administration's bag of sketchy legal tricks.

The State Secrets Privilege allows the White House to hide evidence of wrongdoing, and even to try to dismiss important lawsuits, with a unilateral claim that "State Secrets" are endangered. This doctrine was adopted by the Supreme Court in the McCarthy era, and was originally meant to be used only in exceptional circumstances. However, since 2001, the Bush Administration has repeatedly abused the Privilege in attempts to cover up potentially embarrassing or illegal activities.

For instance, when the ACLU sued the NSA in 2006, asserting that domestic spying activities were unconstitutional, the Justice Department misused the privilege to keep the court from deciding the case on its merits. And, right now, the Bush administration is trying to do the same thing to the EFF's lawsuit against AT&T and other lawbreaking phone companies.  read more »

Ashcroft's Bizarre Torture Comments - Via ACLU Blog:

Earlier this week, Think Progress reported on former Attorney General John Ashcroft's comment about torture in a speech he gave Monday at St. John's University. He said, "Going to a high school dance, having to listen to loud music, to me that's torture. I was on the Daily Show once. I was interviewed by Jon Stewart. That was torture."

Ha. Ha. Ha.

Now, we love a good laugh as much as the next person, but ThinkProgress's roundup got us thinking about the many, well, rather insensitive comments politicians have made of late. We think humor on the topic of torture is best left to the comics, not someone who authorized the real thing.

It turns out Ashcroft was on a roll. On Tuesday, he engaged in a rather testy exchange with an audience member at Knox College in Illinois. The audience member wrote a first-hand account of what went down on MyDD.  read more »

FBI, politicos renew push for ISP data retention laws - Via The Iconoclast - CNET News.com:

WASHINGTON--The FBI and multiple members of Congress said on Wednesday that Internet service providers must be legally required to keep records of their users' activities for later review by police.

Their suggestions for mandatory data retention revive a push for potentially sweeping federal laws--which civil libertarians oppose--that flagged last year after the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the idea's most prominent proponent.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told a House of Representatives committee that Internet service providers should be required to keep records of users' activities for two years.  read more »

Chertoff Disagrees with the Rest of His Agency, Again - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:

Nine days ago, Sophia Cope blogged about how Homeland Secretary Secretary Michael Chertoff suggested that REAL IDs cannot be skimmed, in sharp contrast to DHS REAL ID Regs, which clearly say that the REAL ID is at risk of skimming. Today, CDT Fellow Peter Swire blogged on the Center for American Progress Web site about a new Chertoff statement where he said that “fingerprints aren’t ‘Personal Data.’” Swire shows that this comment lies in sharp contrast to DHS’ stated policy that fingerprints are “personally identifiable information.”

It is now time for DHS to make clear, is Chertoff purposely suggesting changes to existing policy or are these both misstatements?

(Read Original Article - Via CDT - PolicyBeta.)

A Federal Shield Law for Journalists. Now, OK? - Via ACLU Blog - Free Speech:

Earlier this week,