ACLU challenges federal government on records of drone attacks killing U.S. citizens in Yemen

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing the Obama administration to force them to release records related to the deaths by drone attacks of three U.S. citizens in Yemen. The administration cited national security in denying the request for the documents under the Freedom of Information Act, but the ACLU said the drone program should [...]

Federal appeals court rejects requests to release Prop 8 trial videos

In a narrowly tailored decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the public, media and same-sex marriage proponents could not gain access to the videotapes of the trial over Proposition 8. The court said that the trial judge had assured Prop 8 backers that the trial videotape would not be made public, [...]

With reporting costs escalating, will media cut coverage of Newt Gingrich?

With travel costs eating up the budgets of the big media companies, they will look to save money by ending man-to-man coverage of also rans including Newt Gingrich, predicts John Ellis of BuzzFeed.-db From a commentary in BuzzFeed, January  31, 2012, by John Ellis. Full story  

California: Hanford City Council may be correct in withholding packet of allegations

The Hanford City Council has so far not released an anonymous packet of documents to the public and may never. The documents make allegations against city leaders which the council discussed in closed meetings. Jim Ewert, legal counsel for the California Newspaper Publisher Association, said the council may be on safe ground in denying public [...]

Student Press Law Center protests banning of Arizona school books

Together with other free speech groups, the Student Press Law Center is opposing the removal of ethnic history books from the Tucson, Arizona schools. The school district banned the books under a state law that prohibits courses of study that are “designed primarily for pupils of a particular ethnic group.” “The Supreme Court has told [...]

EFF wants protection for anonymous in porn-downloading suit

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is petitioning a federal judge to protect the anonymity of individuals involved in a copyright lawsuit over porn downloading. An adult film company wants to determine the identities of 1495 Internet users. The judge ordered the individuals suing to protect their anonymity to reveal their identities before the suit could proceed. [...]

Reporters group disappointed in federal appeals court decision over access to Virginia state records

The Reporters Committee  for Freedom of the Press did not like a federal appeals decision upholding a law restricting access to Virginia state records by non-residents. The court ruled that the restriction was not unconstitutional. The Reporters Committee felt the court should have considered the effect of the restriction on smaller journalistic enterprises. -db From [...]

Federal court rules non-residents can be denied Virginia state records

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that non-residents have no right to Virginia public records under the state’s freedom of information law. Non-residents were challenging the law claiming it was unconstitutional. The two non-residents who sued the state were seeking child support documents and real estate tax assessment records. -db From The Reporters [...]

Federal judge rules FBI cannot withhold information about informant from Civil Rights era

A federal district judge ruled that the FBI could not use a Freedom of Information Act exclusion in denying access to records about a civil rights era photographer who was an informant for the agency. The judge said the FBI confirmed the relationship with their response to the FOIA request so could not then withhold [...]

Federal judge allows smut lords to pursue identities of users downloading illegally

A federal judge says Digital Sin can pressure Internet service providers for names of people illegally downloading “My Little Panties #2.” The company has obtained 176  IPA addresses and now will ask the Internet service providers for the names of those affiliated with the addresses. The judge is requiring that any names uncovered be sent [...]

Government watchdog alleges FBI stonewalling on WikiLeaks surveillance

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has sued the Justice Department and the FBI claiming that they refuse to release information on the FBI’s surveillance of citizens who have shown support for or interest in WikiLeaks. EPIC made the Freedom of Information Act complaint in federal court. -db From the Courthouse News Service, January 31, [...]

Gay police officer loses right to make First Amendment case after he was hounded out of the department

A gay police officer who alleged that St. Cloud Police Department refused to allow him his First Amendment rights to work in the Twin Cities Pride Festival even if he used his vacation time lost a bid in federal court on the First Amendment claim. The court did say there was sufficient evidence to pursue [...]

Journalists snared in arrest net at Occupy Oakland protests

Six journalists were arrested at an Occupy Oakland protest at Oakland City Hall where protesters broke in and vandalized the walls. That brings the total of journalists arrested during the protests to 52. The reporters included those from KGO, an ABC affiliate, Mother Jones and the San Francisco Chronicle. As of now, it is not [...]

Federal agencies making scant progress in declassifying backlog

Two years after President Barack Obama ordered government agencies to come up to speed on declassifying 400 million pages of old records, there has been little progress. The failure to make more progress is a sign that the secrecy system considers itself immune from presidential orders, writes Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News. -db From a [...]

Illinois case greater threat to bloggers seeking protection of shield laws

The Oregon case denying a blogger protection under the state;’s shield is of minor concern writes Eric P. Robinson for the Citizen Media Law Project. A greater threat lies in a recent decision in Illinois. In that case the Cook County court ruled that an online news source that posted blogs on technology did not [...]

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul loses bid for identities of those posting online spoof

A federal judge ruled that Republican presidential contender Ron Paul could not force YouTube and Twitter to provide the identities of whoever uploaded videos with a spoof of Ron Paul bashing former candidate Jon Huntsman for being a Chinese agent. It is unusual for a candidate to sue in these matters given the courts’ tolerance [...]

LA Times editorial criticizes supervisors for excessive closed door meetings

An editorial in the Los Angeles Times says the board of supervisors for Los Angeles County “displays its contempt for the public” by closing the door before discussing such vital issues as the shift of convicts from state facilities to the county. The Times argues that the mere wish to speak frankly does not allow [...]

Doctors uneasy about online complaints attempt to stifle criticism

Writing critical reviews of doctors and dentists online could make you the target of a defamation lawsuit as medical professionals try to stifle negative comments. Some doctors are asking patients to sign gag orders to prevent online comments while the sites are publishing the names of doctors using gag order forms and providing patients with [...]

California: Long Beach wants state court to keep names of officers involved in shootings secret

Long Beach and a police officers group are asking an appeals court  to overturn a lower court ruling that the city must provide the names of officers involved in shootings. After a controversial shooting of an unarmed man in Long Beach in 2010, the Los Angeles Times asked the city to provide the identities of [...]

Justice Department cites threat of violence in U.S. in keeping bin Laden photos secret

The Justice Department wants a federal judge to allow them to withhold photos of the death of Osama bin Laden on the grounds that releasing the photos could incite violence against the U.S. The DOJ disputed the arguments of Judicial Watch that making the photos public would cause harm to national security by revealing intelligence [...]

Federal appeals court upholds Stolen Valor Act

After the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Stolen Valor Act unconstitutional in a separate case, the 10th Circuit upheld the law which prohibits lying about military awards. The opinion of the 10th Circuit judges cited a statement from a Supreme Court ruling that false statements do not get constitutional protection, “except to [...]

Opinion: NBC TV station obliged to run Romney ad the network objects to

After NBC TV station continued to air a Mitt Romney ad that the network wants pulled, they were charged with hypocrisy, but says Josh Gerstein in Politico, it’s not that the stations would sell out principles to make a buck, FCC rules say that stations have to take ads on a comparable basis from all [...]

Federal appeals court hands censorship tool to public colleges

The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals extended the Supreme Court ruling known as Hazelwood to public colleges and universities while ruling on a case over the expulsion of a student in a counseling program at Eastern Michigan University. Hazelwood allows school administrators to censor student expression on the grounds of “legitimate pedagogical concerns.” -db [...]

Public has options in dealing with Twitter’s new country-specific censorship

After Twitter announced last week they would engage in country-specific censorship, EFF’s Eva Galperin says there are ways to fight the plan including checking to see if Twitter makes use of the Chilling Effects Project which publishes a country’s censorship orders and puts it in an archive. Galperin also says that a user can circumvent [...]

DEA agent loses privacy case over self-inflicted bullet wound during public presentation

The District of Columbia appeals court ruled that an agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration could not sue the agency for releasing a video showing him shoot himself in the leg while lecturing children on gun safety. The agent claimed the DEA violated his privacy rights. -db From the Courthouse News Service, January 27, 2012, [...]

Twitter censorship plan provokes outrage

To cries of protest, Twitter announced last week that it will take a country’s laws and culture into account in conducting country-specific censorship. Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who is also the second largest shareholder in News Corp., recently invested $300 million in Twitter. -db From the Courthouse News Service, January 27, 2012, by Adam [...]

Citizen sources base for new reporting unit by Public Insight Network

The Public Insight Network (PIN) is launching its own reporting unit to produce original stories tapping into  its huge database of 130,000 citizen sources. Citizens across America and recently South Africa have been reporting their experiences to the PIN database. Reporters can use the sources to write stories on such topics as foreclosures or the [...]

Acai diet pill promoters lose millions in settlement with FCC over fake news stories

The Federal Trade Commission won a $4 million settlement against marketers of the Acai diet pill who made false claims about the pill’s effectiveness that included reference to fake news stories. The promoters will only pay $500,000, the value of their tangible assets. -db From the Los Angeles Times, January 25, 2012, by Matt Stevens. [...]

Family sues Hustler for $20 million for publishing nude photos after death

A grieving family is suing Hustler Magazine for $20 million after the magazine published nude photos of a model who was murdered by her husband. Hustler is claiming that the model was a public figure and newsworthy. -db From the  Daily Mail, January 26, 2012, by Daily Mail Reporter. Full story  

Auto safety firm sues for records of government investigation of sudden acceleration

Safety Research and Strategies is suing the federal government for details of their investigation into the sudden acceleration of a Prius last year. Federal regulators have found no evidence that electronic systems were the cause of the unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, but Safety Research is not satisfied with that conclusion. -db From The New [...]

California appeals court rules sexual harassment complaint against teacher public record

A Santa Monica math teacher lost a lawsuit in a California appeals court to keep a sexual harassment complaint against him private. The court found substantial public interest in the release of details of the investigation into a parent’s charge that the teacher sexually harassed his thirteen-year-old daughter. The charge was not fully substantiated. -db [...]

U.S. press freedom plummeted in 2011

Press freedom took a hit in the United States in 2011 according to Reporters Without Borders who ranked contries according to their performance. The U.S. now shares 47th place in a tie with Romania and Argentina. Much of the drop may be based on the harassment, beating and arrest of journalists covering Occupy Wall Street [...]

Federal appeals court rules Albuquerque public library must allow sex offenders

The 10th Circuit Appellate Court upheld a lower court decision that Albuquerque’s ban on registered sex offenders in public libraries violates the First Amendment. The court ruled that the ban was too restrictive and did not allow alternative means for sex offenders to gain access to the library’s information and ideas. -db From the First [...]

South Carolina prison newsletter wins censorship suit

A South Carolina county will have to pony up nearly $600,000 to settle a censorship lawsuit brought by a group who publishes a monthly newsletter for prison inmates. Before the settlement, prison officials at a county detention center only allowed inmates religious texts for reading materials. -db From the First Amendment Center, January 26, 2012, [...]

Sikh leader sues comedian Jay Leno for defamation in Mitt Romney joke

As Jay Leno was joking on “The Tonight Show”about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s wealth, a picture of the Sikh’s  Golden Temple Holy Shrine appeared on a screen. A Sikh religious leader filed a lawsuit against Leno and NBC claiming the Leno joke was false and brought Sikhs into public hatred, contempt and ridicule. -db [...]

California: Ventura County school district leads the county in open meeting complaints

The Rio School District has over half of the 36 complaints about violations of the state’s open meeting law, the Brown Act, according to a report by the district attorney’s office. The office said it might have to take legal action against the district unless they paid greater attention to the issue, perhaps providing training [...]

California: Newspaper seeks information on robbery in Alameda

After tipsters told the Action Alameda News that the Alameda Police Department was trying to cover up a robbery at a restaurant in December of 2011, the newspaper made a public records request on the incident. The police denied that there was a coverup and denied access to 911 tapes saying that they were exempt [...]

Europe considers tough online privacy law

Europe is considering a new law that would require Internet companies like Amazon and Facebook to obtain consent from consumers to  use their personal data. The law would force companies to delete personal data forever at the consumer’s request or face fines for failing to comply. -db From The New York Times, January 23, 2012, [...]

Chicago Sun-Times abandons political endorsements

In a recognition of its waning influence, the Chicago Sun-Times has decided to stop endorsing political candidates. As reasons for the move, it also says it wants to allow readers to decide for themselves and that it wants to appear nonpartisan. -db From The Atlantic Wire, January 23, 2-12, by Dino Grandoni. Full story  

WiliLeaks founder getting TV show

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will have his own TV interview show this spring pending the outcome of his court hearing on February 1. He says he plans to interview political thinkers and revolutionaries. Assange is waiting for the appeal of his extradition to Sweden on sex charges. -db From Gizmodo, January 24, 2012, by Jamie [...]

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