Two authorized dealers of the satellite television provider Dish Network, formerly known as EchoStar, have agreed to settle charges that they violated the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule by calling consumers whose numbers are on the Do Not Call Registry. At the FTC’s request, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed complaints against the dealers in…
A Problematic New Policy on State Secrets
Commentary on the DOJ’s new policy on invoking the “state secrets” privilege has suggested that although it is a slight improvement over the Bush administration policies, it does not go far enough. Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News adds to the growing chorus of concerns: […] More surprisingly, the policy seems to have fumbled the question…
EFF Wins Release of Telecom Lobbying Records
In a clear victory for transparency, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White today ordered the government to release more records about the lobbying campaign to provide immunity to the telecommunications firms that participated in the National Security Agency (NSA)’s warrantless surveillance program. The government has been ordered to provide the records to the Electronic Frontier…
DHS issues annual privacy report to Congress
The Department of Homeland Security Privacy Office has released its privacy report [pdf] for the period July 2008 – June 2009. As summarized in the report, the DHS Privacy Office: is the first statutorily mandated privacy office in the federal government. Its mission is to minimize the impact on an individual’s privacy, particularly an individual’s…