Posted on April 25th, 2013 by Deborah Collier
Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) applauds approval by voice vote today of S. 607, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act Amendments Act of 2013, by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) was enacted in 1986, long before widespread use of the Internet. Today’s society communicates in a dramatically different manner than in [...]
Filed under: Cloud Computing, Internet, Privacy, Technology | No Comments »
Posted on February 4th, 2013 by Deborah Collier
On February 21, 2012, a Swineline blog post proposed that cloud computing is a viable option for law enforcement. This followed the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s announcement on February 7, 2012 that cloud vendors must comply with the Department of Justice’s Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) security policy after city officials in Los Angeles claimed [...]
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Posted on August 3rd, 2012 by Deborah Collier
On July 26, 2012, Kansas City and Google announced an agreement to build out a fiber optic network, promising to bring broadband Internet and TV to homes across the area with speeds of up to 1 Gigabyte per second. While there may be benefits to increased competition for such services, there are questions that must [...]
Filed under: Broadband, Internet, Privacy, Telecommunications, Video | No Comments »
Posted on July 6th, 2012 by Deborah Collier
A law enforcement officer must obtain a warrant before opening up mail boxes and reading postal mail. However, the same effort may not be occurring when the authorities wish to access an individual’s personal email. That is what the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is seeking to learn through recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) [...]
Filed under: Internet, Privacy | No Comments »
Posted on June 1st, 2012 by Deborah Collier
As co-chair of the Privacy Working Group, Citizens Against Government Waste has long been interested in online privacy issues. CAGW previously reported in March about the potential implications of the Obama Administration’s proposal for a Consumer Online Privacy Bill of Rights. On May 31, 2012, Microsoft announced that as part of the Windows 8 release [...]
Filed under: Privacy, Technology | No Comments »
Posted on March 30th, 2012 by Deborah Collier
Yesterday, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade held its sixth hearing on online privacy. This hearing followed last month’s request and proposal by the Obama administration for a consumer privacy “Bill of Rights,” and Monday’s release of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) online privacy report. Witnesses at yesterday’s hearing included [...]
Filed under: Internet, Privacy, Regulation | No Comments »
Posted on October 3rd, 2011 by Deborah Collier
On September 30, 2011, an article appeared in Nextgov detailing the loss last month of computer tapes containing health care information on 4.9 million TRICARE beneficiaries. These tapes, which did not meet federal encryption standards, were stolen from the vehicle of a government contractor. Hauntingly familiar, this event rings similar to a situation in May [...]
Filed under: Privacy, Technology, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted on August 29th, 2011 by Deborah Collier
E- Commerce has thrived in large part due to the unregulated nature of the Internet, which has allowed businesses using this technology to grow and prosper. Because of this unhindered freedom, companies using the Internet have, much like a chameleon, been able to quickly adapt and change to meet consumer needs. However, this could change. [...]
Filed under: Congress, Internet, Privacy, Regulation, Technology, Uncategorized | No Comments »
Posted on August 22nd, 2011 by Deborah Collier
As the use of electronic health records (EHR) spreads, new privacy concerns are emerging. An article this morning detailed a disturbing example of the use of EHRs in California where the information was stored online without the proper security measures in place, making it vulnerable for anyone on the Internet to view. Encouraged by the Patient Affordability and [...]
Filed under: Healthcare, Internet, Medicare/aid, Privacy, Technology | No Comments »
Posted on August 1st, 2011 by Deborah Collier
On Wednesday, July 27, 2011, the Privacy Working Group held a panel discussion on the proposals in the European Union (EU) to create a “right to be forgotten.” These proposals have spurred similar debate in the U.S. over whether individuals are entitled to a “delete” button for their information on the Internet. Moderated by Daniel [...]
Filed under: Internet, Privacy, Technology, Uncategorized | No Comments »
