David G. Savage reports: Among some libertarians and conservatives, the most troubling aspect of the pending healthcare reform bills is the prospect of a federal requirement that Americans buy insurance. “What next? Can Congress order you to buy spinach?” asked Roger Pilon, director of constitutional studies at the Cato Institute. He and other defenders of…
Category: Laws
Article: Preemption and Privacy
Paul M. Schwartz has an article (pdf) in Yale Law Review that provides much food for thought. Here’s the abstract: A broad coalition, including companies formerly opposed to the enactment of privacy statutes, has now formed behind the idea of a national information privacy law. Among the benefits that proponents attribute to such a law…
NZ: Telecom blows whistle on Search and Surveillance Bill
Stephen Bell Wellington reports: Telecom is warning that provisions in the Search and Surveillance Bill, now before a Parliamentary select committee, could amount to unwarranted surveillance. The company says in its submission that, as currently written, an order for a telecommunications operator to produce the “call-related information” of a particular customer, could effectively become a…
House Patriot Act Bill Draws Broad Support On Account of National Security Letter Fix
Greg Nojeim writes: A coalition of 20 civil liberties organizations, including the Center for Democracy & Technology, released a letter today endorsing H.R. 3845, the USA Patriot Amendments Act. The bill was introduced by the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Subcommittee Chairs Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Rep. Bobby…