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Government Information in Legacy Formats
Government Information in Legacy Formats: Scaling a Pilot Project to Enable Long-Term Access, by Gretchen Gano and Julie Linden, D-Lib Magazine (July/August 2007) Volume 13 Number 7/8.
The Yale Library pilot project described here has served not only as a means for analyzing and documenting aspects of a CD-ROM migration approach, but also as a launching pad for a community-wide consideration of a large-scale, distributed project to migrate this legacy collection and ensure permanent public access to government information distributed on CD-ROMs.Continue reading
Government Secrecy: Decisions Without Democracy
Government Secrecy: Decisions Without Democracy By David Banisar. Preface by Bob Barr and John Podesta. OpenTheGovernment.org and People for the American Way Govinfo News says: "OpenTheGovernment.org and People for the American Way have issued an updated version of the 1987 primer on the expansion of executive power and government secrecy. The 1987 version documented the rise at the height of the Cold War; 20 years later, we face the same problems. The book also looks at the opportunities and challenges provided by the advent of digital government." In the forward, Gary D. Bass of OMB Watch, Thomas S. Blanton of the National Security Archive and Ralph G. Neas of People for the American Way say:
Our three organizations are part of OpenTheGovernment.org, a broad-based coalition that brings together journalists, librarians, academics, individual citizens, advocacy groups, and professional associations committed to strengthening and protecting our right to know. This primer is just one step in engaging the public in a campaign to make our government more transparent and accountable to the public. “We the people†must exercise our rights to strengthen, if not preserve, democracy. We encourage you to get involved by visiting the website (www.openthegovernment.org) to learn what you can do.Continue reading
Google: “We don’t know enough about you”… yet.
There are big privacy implications of relying on private sector companies like Google instead of libraries to index knowledge. One of the biggest problems is that, in the age of the web, search engines don't just index content and help you find it, they also track what you use and how you use it, thus learning more about you. They don't just index what you want to find, they index you too.
An interview with Google's chief executive shows that this is Google's explicit goal.
- Google's goal: to organise your daily life, By Caroline Daniel and Maija Palmer, Financial Times, May 22 2007. "The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask the question such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' and "What job shall I take?'" The race to accumulate the most comprehensive database of individual information has become the new battleground for search engines as it will allow the industry to offer far more personalised advertisements. These are the holy grail for the search industry, as such advertising would command higher rates. Mr Schmidt told journalists in London: "We cannot even answer the most basic questions because we don't know enough about you. That is the most important aspect of Google's expansion."
An OpEd in today's Los Angeles Times examines these comments...
- Is Google's data grinder dangerous?, By Andrew Keen Los Angeles Times, July 12, 2007. Still, if iGoogle turns out to be half as wise about each of us as Schmidt predicts, then this artificial intelligence will challenge traditional privacy rights as well as provide us with an excuse to deny responsibility for our own actions. What happens, for example, when the government demands access to our iGoogle records? And will we be able to sue iGoogle if it advises us to make an unwise career decision?
As Keen says, "Google is not our friend. Schmidt's iGoogle vision of the future is not altruistic, and his company is not a nonprofit group dedicated to the realization of human self-understanding." See also: Privacy: "I have nothing to hide"
Continue readingPrivacy: “I have nothing to hide”
"I've Got Nothing to Hide" and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy by Daniel J. Solove, George Washington University Law School San Diego Law Review, Vol. 44, No. #, 2007; GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 289.
Abstract: In this short essay, written for a symposium in the San Diego Law Review, Professor Daniel Solove examines the "nothing to hide" argument. When asked about government surveillance and data mining, many people respond by declaring: "I've got nothing to hide." According to the "nothing to hide" argument, there is no threat to privacy unless the government uncovers unlawful activity, in which case a person has no legitimate justification to claim that it remain private. The "nothing to hide" argument and its variants are quite prevalent, and thus are worth addressing. In this essay, Solove critiques the "nothing to hide" argument and exposes its faulty underpinnings. Keywords: privacy, nothing to hide, data mining, surveillance
Excerpt:
The "nothing to hide" argument speaks to some problems, but not to others. It represents a singular and narrow way of conceiving of privacy, and it wins by excluding consideration of the other problems often raised in government surveillance and data mining programs. When engaged with directly, the "nothing to hide" argument can ensnare, for it forces the debate to focus on its narrow understanding of privacy. But when confronted with the plurality of privacy problems implicated by government data collection and use beyond surveillance and disclosure, the "nothing to hide" argument, in the end, has nothing to say.
Thanks to Patrice McDermott and GovInfo News (7-11-2007). See also: Privacy and the "Terrorist Surveillance Act".
Continue readingBig Privacy Problems of Facebook?
I have not verified any of this and would be interested to hear if others have.
- Do you have Facebook? andyuk2005, YouTube
XNEWS from rixstep says:
Get this: they want to help you find your friends on Facebook. That's nice of them, isn't it? So what do you do? Easy. You go to their contact page and give them your webmail account name and password. And then they log into your account, pluck up all the contact addresses you have in there, and then walk out without touching a thing.Continue reading
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