EFF seeks records on drones in U.S. airspace

The Electric Freedom Foundation is suing the Department of Transportation for its records on drones operating in U.S. airspace. EFF claims the drones are used for surveillance of U.S.  citizens and are a matter of great public concern. -db From The Washington Post, January 13, 2012, by Jason Ukman. Full story    

Justice Department freezes music blog for a year supposedly for copyright infringement

The Justice Department seized the assets of a popular music blog, Dajaz1, reportedly for violations of copyright, but did not give the blog a day in court to fight the action. Writing in TechDirt, Mike Masnick says it was an outrageous act, “I suspect that nearly all of you [readers] would say that’s a classic [...]

Homeland Security sued for mashing whistleblowers

A former Customs officer sued in federal court claiming that the Department of Homeland Security operates a “Cat’s Paw” program that fosters action against whistleblowers that can’t be traced back to the supervisor that initiates the retaliation. The officer claimed that the retaliations were often inappropriate and that federal whistleblower laws were ineffective in protecting [...]

ACLU suing Los Angeles sheriff for limiting photography in public places

The American Civil Liberties Union is invoking the First Amendment in suing the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department for labeling photography in key public places as “suspicious activity.” In three separate incidents, sheriff deputies detained photographers, at a Los Angeles Metro, industrial buildings, and the Long Beach courthouse. -db From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of [...]

Primer offered for photographing police

A reporter for PCWorld provides some guidelines for photographing police including details about allowable circumstances, the exceptions to the rule that a citizen can take photos and videos of police doing their jobs and the responsibilities of the police. -db From PCWorld, September 19, 2011, by Rachel Sadon. Full story

Feds’ border searches of journalists run afoul of First Amendment

The federal government is taking an aggressive stance towards journalists returning from overseas. Several have been detained for hours, their laptops with private content searched and recorded. Homeland Security agents questioned one videographer returning from Haiti where he documented school rebuilding. They searched and photocopied his papers and the contents of his computer, phone, camera [...]

Protestors included in Pennsylvania Homeland Security anti-terrorist report

American Civil Liberties Union Commentary January 20, 2011 A retired Air Force officer and anti-drilling activist  received a Pennsylvania Homeland Security  bulletin that listed her activities against drilling in their anti-terrorist report. -db

Federal district court denies ACLU request for immigrant detainee death records

A federal district court in Washington, D.C. ruled that the Department of Homeland Security had acted within the exemptions to open record laws in withholding e-mails and records requested by the ACLU of the deaths of immigrants who died while in detention. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press September 24, 2010 By [...]

Pennsyvania court fires on local agency for withholding names of Homeland Security contractors

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review will have access to the identities of contractors who supplied first responder equipment to local agencies. In making the records public, the commonwealth court said it found no reasonable public safety argument in favor of withholding the names. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press February 11, 2010 By Cristina [...]

Michigan Homeland Security charging $7 million for documents in FOIA request

The Michigan Homeland Security is charging a staff member of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy $6,876,303.90 to fulfill a Freedom of Information Act  request for documents on homeland security grant money from 2002 to 2009. The center was following up on a report by the Office of the Inspector General which revealed a lack [...]

Suit asks for records concerning warrantless searches of travelers’ laptops

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a Freedom of Information lawsuit in federal court to obtain records pertaining to the immigration and border policy of routinely searching traveler’s laptops. -DB Congress Daily August 26, 2009 The American Civil Liberties Union wants federal government records pertaining to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s policy of searching [...]

Federal government: New ‘sharing’ agency no guarantee to transparency

Secrecy News’ Steven Atergood says that the newly appointed Senior Director for Information Sharing Policy does not have a mandate for transparency. Rather, Aftergood asserts, “information sharing” does not include the public. -DB Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists Analysis August 17, 2009 By Steven Aftergood The Obama Administration is giving increased attention to the [...]

Foundation sues for records of illegal acts of intelligence agencies

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed suit in federal court to force the CIA and other government agencies to disclose reports on possible violations of the law by intelligence agencies during the Bush administration. -DB Electronic Frontier Foundation July 22, 2009 Press Release SAN FRANCISCO – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit today against the [...]

Federal court reverses ruling that upheld government exclusion of leading Muslim world scholar

The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of U.S. organizations when the government excludes foreign scholars, artists, politicians from the U.S. holding that the organizations have a First Amendment right to hear and speak with those individuals. -DB American Civil Liberties Union Press Release July 17, 2009 NEW YORK – A federal appeals court [...]