Privacy Act, Order Shielded U.S. Names on List
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CIA analyst Charles A. Duelfer's report on Iraq's weapons programs included lists of governments, political parties, companies and individuals from at least 44 nations who received vouchers to buy oil -- both legally and otherwise -- from the Iraqi government during Saddam Hussein's reign.
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A London-based human rights watchdog group on surveillance and privacy has released its National Privacy Ranking for 2007, ranking the U.S, Russia, China and much of Southeast Asia at the bottom.
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Years ago, businesses often created names beginning with the letter A to be listed first in the telephone book. In today's high-tech world, they're vying to be noticed first on the Internet.
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Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine proposed legislation yesterday that would require companies to notify consumers if their Social Security numbers or other personal information were accidentally made public.
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The government ordered U.S. airlines Friday to turn over personal information about passengers so it can test a system for identifying potential terrorists. The move was expected but nonetheless brought protests from civil libertarians worried about invasions of privacy.
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The U.S. announces a list of luxury items banned from export in an attempt to pressure the North Korean regime
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A White House board empaneled to protect Americans' civil liberties has its first public meeting. Reporters are barred from asking questions, and the panel won't tell the public what it's learned about warrantless domestic spying. With friends like these.... Ryan Singel reports from Washington.
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President Bush has failed to nominate candidates for a congressionally empowered privacy board intended to police anti-terrorism programs. Privacy groups charge that the administration fears the board's independence.
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The FBI wants to compile a massive computer database and analyze it for clues to unmask terrorist sleeper cells. Two congressmen are worried about whether the bureau will protect the privacy of U.S. citizens.
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New national standards for driver's licenses worry some privacy advocates.
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New rules will allow stalking victims and others at risk to keep their names off the electoral register.
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Phone companies that took part in President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic spying program would receive retroactive immunity from lawsuits under a bill approved on Tuesday by the Democratic-led Senate.
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By HOPE YEN WASHINGTON - A White House privacy board has determined that two of the Bush administration's controversial surveillance programs - electronic eavesdropping and financial tracking - do not violate citizens' civil liberties.
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(InfoWorld) - A group of civil liberties and other advocacy groups are urging supporters to contact the U.S. Congress as it moves ahead to approve an electronic surveillance program run through the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union, the First Amendment Foundation, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers are among the groups encouraging voters to voice opposition to two bills that would authorize the NSA program. Both bills are scheduled to be considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday morning. Opponents say the program, reportedly used to spy on U.S. residents as well as foreigners, is illegal because the NSA has conducted surveillance without court-approved warrants. Officials in U.S. President George Bush's administration and some congressional Republicans contend that the program is legal and limited in scope. "This is an unprecedented expansion of government surveillance," said Kevin Bankston, a staff attorney at the EFF, which is spearheading a lawsuit against AT&T Inc. for allegedly participating in the NSA program. "We've encountered the ultimate nightmare scenario as far as electronic privacy is concerned -- an unchecked executive branch." U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the program in August, calling it effective and legal. "It is a very narrow program ... focused on communications with al Qaeda where one end of the phone call [or] communication is foreign, outside of the United States," he said in a press conference. "It has been reviewed by a number of lawyers within the administration, including lawyers out at the NSA, including lawyers at the Department of Justice." Numerous U.S. intelligence officials have said the program is effective in tracking terrorist activity, Gonzales added. The legislation in Congress to authorize the program isn't necessary, but the Bush administration is working with bill sponsors, he said. Both Judiciary Committee bills would establish congressional oversight for terrorist surveillance programs conducted by the NSA or other government agencies. One bill, sponsored by Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican and Judiciary Committee chairman, would largely give the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court jurisdiction for any terrorist surveillance programs. The court would have to approve new surveillance programs, as it has for past U.S. government surveillance operations. The second bill, sponsored by Ohio Republican Senator Mike DeWine, would allow the U.S. president to authorize surveillance programs for up to 45 days without a court order. The U.S. attorney general can then review the program and continue it for another 45 days without a court order. The DeWine bill requires that the president report the programs to congressional subcommittees, but it also allows a 15-year prison sentence and a US $1 million fine to anyone who leaks the details of secret surveillance programs. DeWine, in an August statement, called the NSA program a "critical tool to prevent America from being attacked." The DeWine bill would retroactively approve the NSA program, while the Specter bill would not, Bankston said. Lawsuits targeting the program, now moving forward in Michigan and California, could be stalled if Congress passes a retroactive bill, he said. "Let's let the courts finish the job," he added.
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The federal government's latest attempt to improve security checks of airline passengers is prompting privacy concerns here and abroad.
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U.S., U.K. among worst-ranked "democratic" countries in terms of privacy protections for citizens, says 2007 International Privacy Ranking report.
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In A Race to the Bottom: Privacy Ranking of Internet Service Companies, Privacy International spray-paints the fa&ccedil;ades of landmark companies that line today's Main Street on the Web. The painted colors are assessments of each company's performance on privacy issues. Though the rankings are colorful, what they say isn't pretty.  Nobody in the &quot;interim rankings&quot; (.pdf) gets the top (green) mark for &quot;Privacy-friendly and privacy enhancing&quot;. The bottom (black) mark, for &quot;Comprehensive consumer surveillance &amp; entrenched hostility to privacy&quot;, goes to just one company: Google.