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Congress Passes Do Not Call List Funding - The Federal Trade Commission received $16 million in the 2003 appropriations bill to fund the nationwide do not call list. The House also passed a bill, which would require the FTC to report to Congress on the progress of the list and the FCC to develop a similar list, since FTC lacks jurisdiction over some areas of telemarketing. more February 18, 2003
Bill Introduced to Create Homeland Intelligence Agency - Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) has introduced a bill that would establish a new domestic intelligence agency, modeled in some respects after Britain's MI5. The bill would take domestic intelligence collection authority away from the FBI, and would establish additional standards for the collection of information. more February 14, 2003
Congress Limits TIA Datamining Program - In a significant victory for civil liberties, Congress enacted legislation limiting the Defense Department's controversial "Total Information Awareness" datamining project until the Pentagon provides more information about the privacy implications of the program. The TIA provision was an amendment, introduced by Senator Ron Wyden, to the massive omnibus appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2003. Adoption of the amendment is by no means the end of datamining -- rather, it creates an opportunity to develop sound guidelines for the various uses of government and private sector databases that will become an increasing part of efforts by various agencies to prevent terrorism. February 11, 2003
CDT joins Friend-of-the-Court Brief to Supreme Court in Library Filtering Case. - CDT joins authors, book and magazine publishers, and sellers and distributors of books and other publications in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the Supreme Court in the government's appeal of an injunction blocking the Children's Internet Protection Act ("CIPA"). CIPA would require nearly every public library in America to install and use Internet filtering software. The brief filed on February 10 argues that CIPA would severely diminish the capacity of library patrons to access constitutionally protected materials via the Internet. The brief notes that although filters are unconstitutional when mandated by government, they remain a valuable tool for voluntary use by individuals and families. More February 11, 2003
PATRIOT Act II Draft Online - The Center for Public Integrity has obtained the Justice Department's draft of PATRIOT II. The document (120 pages long and dated January 9, 2003) consisting of section-by-section analysis and legislative language proposes sweeping expansions of surveillance power. February 7, 2003
Legislation Authorizing "Do Not Call" List Introduced in House - The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. Billy Tuazin (R-LA), has introduced a bill to fund a national "Do Not- Call" list, removing a potential obstacle to an effort by the Federal Trade Commission to help consumers block unwanted calls from telemarketers. The FTC believes the Do Not Call registry it has proposed would cost about $16 million in its first year. It would be funded with fees collected from telemarketers, but congressional approval is required to collect the fees. CDT has supported establishement of the national Do Not Call list. more Jan. 30, 2003
Few Details On New US Surveillance Center Made Public - In his State of the Union address, President Bush announced the creation of a new U.S. government department that will compile information on people deemed possible terrorist threats from government and private sources. Only a few details about the plan to create the agency, dubbed the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC), have been made public on the White House Web site. Jan. 30, 2003
Burglary and Bribery Problems Persist at Local DMV Offices - Internal fraud and physical security have been a consistent problem at State Motor Vehicle Offices around the Country. CDT believes that this issue needs to be the top priority in driver's license security since it has posed the greatest threat and will continue to undermine all other security reforms at the DMV. CDT has created a new page tracking selected cases of burglary and bribery since September 11, 2001. more Jan. 30, 2003
Verizon Seeks Stay of Court Ruling on Subscriber Identity - Verizon has asked a district court to delay enforcement of a recent order directing Verizon to identify a subscriber accused of downloading copyrighted songs through a peer-to-peer network. The case, RIAA v. Verizon, has raised privacy concerns in the ongoing efforts to stop copyright infringement online. CDT has issued a statement calling for a better balance between copyright enforcement and privacy and free expression interests. more Jan. 30, 2003
GAO Reports US E-Gov Plan Is Not Citizen Focused - The General Accounting Office released a report criticizing the Bush Administration's E-Government Office for not following its stated goal of citizen-focused projects. According to the report, only 9 of the Administration's 24 main E-Government projects are aimed at fulfilling user needs. more December 20, 2002
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