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From User: Rattle

Current Topic: Civil Liberties

Obama fails to deliver revisited laptop policy on time.
Topic: Civil Liberties 12:33 am EDT, Jun 27, 2009

Senator, if I give you a timeframe and don't meet it you will be unhappy with me but let me suggest within the next 45 days.

Its been more than 45 days. I am unhappy.

Obama fails to deliver revisited laptop policy on time.


Supremes Mull Whether Bad Databases Make for Illegal Searches | Threat Level
Topic: Civil Liberties 12:15 am EDT, Oct  6, 2008

If a false entry in a database leads to a unconstitutional police search that reveals illegal drugs, does the government get to hold it against you?

That's the question the Supreme Court will tackle on Tuesday in a case civil liberties groups such as the Electronic Privacy Information Center argue will have broad implications in a world where we are constantly being evaluated against databases and watch lists that are riddled with frustratingly persistent errors.

"In these interlinked databases, one error can spread like a disease, infecting every system it touches and condemning the individual to whom this error refers to suffer substantial delay, harassment, and improper arrest," EPIC director Marc Rotenberg argued in a friend of the court brief (.pdf).

Supremes Mull Whether Bad Databases Make for Illegal Searches | Threat Level


New bill would tighten rules for DHS border laptop searches
Topic: Civil Liberties 9:37 am EDT, Sep 17, 2008

Customs and Border Patrol agents can grab your laptop, BlackBerry, or external hard drive without needing so much as a reason, but a new bill introduced last week to Congress would at least put some limits on how border searches could be done.

"I was deeply concerned to learn about the lack of protections individuals' have when their electronic equipment is randomly seized," said Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), who introduced the bill. "With the passage of the Border Search Accountability Act of 2008, Americans will be able to travel with more peace of mind knowing that their data will be further protected and that there are stringent accountability measures in place for safeguarding their personal information."

Note what her bill will not do—make searches more difficult.

This isn't what we really want, as it doesn't attempt to set any limits on searches. It does add more transparency to the process, and that is a good thing. It should be supported.

Sanchez's bill would bring more routine to the search process. The bill requires the government to draft additional rules regarding information security, the number of days a device can be retained, receipts that must be issued when devices are taken, ways to report abuses, and it requires the completion of both a privacy impact study and a civil liberties impact study. Travelers would also have the explicit right to watch as the search is conducted.

Sanchez also wants data about the searches, which would have to be turned over to Congress once per quarter. Specifically, she wants to know how many searches are being done, where they take place, and the race and nationality of those being searched.

The Department of Homeland Security actually issued search rules over the summer; while they were the first rules made public on the process, which had started to look quite ad-hoc, they still came in for criticism from groups like the Association of Corporate Travel Executives. ACTE, which doesn't like have executive laptops pinched whenever someone travels overseas, complained in early August that devices could basically be kept indefinitely, the data could be shared with foreign governments, and no data destruction procedures were spelled out.

This is unlikely to make it out of committee in any form before the end of the current congress. The situation is getting much needed attention though.

New bill would tighten rules for DHS border laptop searches


27B Stroke 6 | Dem's Privacy Changes in 9/11 Bill Challenge Administration
Topic: Civil Liberties 5:39 pm EST, Jan  9, 2007

Ryan Singel at 27B Stroke 6 chimes in on an element of the Democrats' 911 bill. This sounds really good to me.

Most notably, the bill removes the Privacy and Civil Liberties Board from the White House -- turning it into an independent agency.

Good news!

27B Stroke 6 | Dem's Privacy Changes in 9/11 Bill Challenge Administration


UMass Dartmouth senior visited by federal agents for checking out Mao's 'Little Red Book'
Topic: Civil Liberties 12:47 pm EST, Dec 18, 2005

A senior at UMass Dartmouth was visited by federal agents two months ago, after he requested a copy of Mao Tse-Tung's tome on Communism called "The Little Red Book."

The student, who was completing a research paper on Communism for Professor Pontbriand's class on fascism and totalitarianism, filled out a form for the request, leaving his name, address, phone number and Social Security number. He was later visited at his parents' home in New Bedford by two agents of the Department of Homeland Security, the professors said.

The professors said the student was told by the agents that the book is on a "watch list," and that his background, which included significant time abroad, triggered them to investigate the student further.

"I tell my students to go to the direct source, and so he asked for the official Peking version of the book," Professor Pontbriand said. "Apparently, the Department of Homeland Security is monitoring inter-library loans, because that's what triggered the visit, as I understand it."

UMass Dartmouth senior visited by federal agents for checking out Mao's 'Little Red Book'


One Tree Hill - Wonkette
Topic: Civil Liberties 6:42 pm EST, Dec  8, 2005

MemeStreams user Neoteric made Wonkette, or at least his Senate Webcam pointed at the Christmas tree did.

Happy Holidays from Washington DC.

One Tree Hill - Wonkette


CNN.com - Bush to Congress: Renew Patriot Act - Jun 9, 2005
Topic: Civil Liberties 1:32 pm EDT, Jun 10, 2005

President Bush on Thursday called on Congress to reauthorize the 16 provisions of the USA Patriot Act that are slated to expire at the end of the year, calling them "practical, important and ... constitutional."

"Congress needs to renew them all and, this time, Congress needs to make the provisions permanent," Bush told an audience of about 150 officers at the Ohio State Highway Patrol Academy in Columbus.

"We basically said we've very much like to hear about specifics," Gantman said. "The ACLU then, for really over a year, had no specific abuses they could point to. On their behalf, I'd say one of their problems, like us, is we have a helluva time getting information from the Justice Department about what was going on there."

The ACLU, in a posting on its Web site, said the Bush administration and former Attorney General John Ashcroft "essentially refused to describe how it was implementing the law; it left numerous substantial questions unanswered, and classified others without justification.

"In short, not only has the Bush administration undermined judicial oversight on government spying on citizens by pushing the Patriot Act into law, but it is also undermining another crucial check and balance on surveillance powers: accountability to Congress and the public."

CNN.com - Bush to Congress: Renew Patriot Act - Jun 9, 2005


CNN.com - Cop on the beat now a walking database - Jul 1, 2004
Topic: Civil Liberties 8:19 pm EDT, Jul  3, 2004

] A police officer stops you on the street, then taps
] something into a device in the palm of his hand.
]
] The next minute, he knows who your relatives are, who
] lives in your house, who your neighbors are, the kind of
] car you drive or boat you own, whether you've been sued
] and various other tidbits about your life.

"Sir, what is your name?"

CNN.com - Cop on the beat now a walking database - Jul 1, 2004


U. S. Bureau of Industry and Security: Antiboycott Compliance Office
Topic: Civil Liberties 9:33 am EDT, Apr 16, 2003

] The antiboycott laws were adopted to encourage, and in
] specified cases, require U.S. firms to refuse to
] participate in foreign boycotts that the United States
] does not sanction. They have the effect of preventing
] U.S. firms from being used to implement foreign policies
] of other nations which run counter to U.S. policy.

(Comments from Shorty)

For those who didn't believe me at Interz0ne that such a department existed, here is your proof. If the US government decides that they don't want US citizens/businesses to participate in a boycott, they've already got a department set up to fine the heck out of you for going against the government's wishes. Right now the department is primarily focused on making sure nobody boycotts Israel.

U. S. Bureau of Industry and Security: Antiboycott Compliance Office


U.S. plan: Threat level for every flyer - Feb. 28, 2003
Topic: Civil Liberties 3:37 pm EST, Mar  1, 2003

So are you more likely a terrorist if you have a small bank account with lots of NFS's or if you have millions of dollars and large transactions? More dangerously "Unlike the current system, in which data stays with the airlines' reservation systems, the new setup will be managed by TSA. Only government officials with proper security clearance will be able to use it.". This means if you keep getting flagged as a problem, you cannot review the information and make corrections. Disturbing.

U.S. plan: Threat level for every flyer - Feb. 28, 2003


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