From the good folks over at EFF: Today the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) posted thousands of pages of records detailing behind-the-scenes negotiations between government agencies and Congress about providing immunity for telecoms involved in illegal government surveillance. The documents include drafts of legislation and communications between Congress and the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the…
Category: Featured News
Obama stares down Patriot Act criticism
Susan Crabtree reports: The Obama administration is standing firm in its support of several George W. Bush-era Patriot Act powers in the face of sharp criticism from civil rights groups, liberal Democrats and a Dec. 31 deadline to extend key provisions of the bill. The Justice Department recently reiterated its request for Congress to extend…
Leaders set to include ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ repeal in defense authorization bill
Eric Zimmermann reports: Democratic leaders plan to repeal the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in next year’s defense authorization bill. Both the White House and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) back the strategy of using the defense bill to change policy on gays in the military, an aide to Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told The…
German privacy law vs. our First Amendment
David Kravets writes: Wikipedia is under a censorship attack by a convicted German murderer invoking his country’s privacy laws in a bid to remove references to him killing Bavarian actor Walter Sedlmayr in 1990. Lawyers for Wolfgang Werle, of Erding Germany, sent Wikipedia a cease-and-desist letter (.pdf) demanding the free encyclopedia remove Werle’s name from…