Papers, Please! has done yeoman service uncovering how DHS has been accessing Amtrak passenger data. See past coverage on this blog by searching for “Amtrak.” Now they report: Documents released to us by Amtrak suggest that since 2012, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has had direct access to Amtrak’s reservation system, possibly including access to…
Category: Govt
In Court: EPIC Challenges FAA Failure to Establish Drone Privacy Rules
From EPIC.org: EPIC has filed the opening brief in a lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration. EPIC charged that the agency’s failure to establish privacy rules for commercial drones is a violation of law and should be overturned. The EPIC lawsuit followed an Act of Congress requiring a “comprehensive plan” for the integration of drones and petition, backed by more than one…
Does the FTC really assess compliance with consent orders? If so, how well?
Add this analysis and commentary by Chris Hoofnagle to your must-read list. Assessing the Assessments When companies settle FTC charges, they often agree to extended periods of oversight by the Agency. The FTC requires companies to be regularly assessed by an outside firm during the oversight period. In my forthcoming book, I argue that this assessment…
FISC Recruits Outside Lawyer in Phone-Records Case
Joe Palazzola reports: The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court occupies a super secure space inside the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, behind a biometric hand-scanner and wood-and-metal doors that seal into the walls. The secret courtroom has been forbidden to all but the government officials seeking warrants in national-security investigations. But it may soon admit an outsider….