The Scottish Government have demanded an end to the identity card scheme. They have urged newly-appointed Home Secretary Alan Johnson to cancel the £1.1billion UK-wide project. Holyrood Community Safety Minister Fergus Ewing said: “Given the current financial climate, I believe the UK Government should have better uses for the vast sums of money being spent…
Category: Govt
Congress delays debate on gay ban
Congress seems intent on delaying any debate on repealing the military’s ban on open service by gays until next year. As the House passed its version of the 2010 defense authorization bill, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee talked about having hearings later this year on the possible repeal of the so-called “don’t…
FBI justifies gag order — in secret
When the FBI uses a national security letter (NSL) to force the cooperation of an ISP or phone company in the surveillance of a suspect, the agency typically slaps a gag order on the service provider to prevent it from revealing the existence of the NSL. Civil liberties groups have successfully challenged the DOJ on…
Privacy policies: public vs. private sector
In a Brookings Institute study, “Comparing Technology Innovation in the Private and Public Sectors” (pdf), authors Darrell M. West and Jenny Lu compared the sectors on a number of factors, including privacy and security. They report, in part: A growing number of websites offer privacy and security statements, yet they remain more prevalent on commercial…