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Monday, April 21, 2003 |
Security Agency Selects Privacy Watchdog, by Jonathan Krim (WP).
Privacy advocates have harshly criticized the Bush
administration's domestic security efforts as eroding civil liberties
without increasing safety, and yesterday they were wary in their assessment
of [Nuala O'Connor] Kelly's appointment.
In February 2000, Kelly went to work for Internet advertising giant
DoubleClick Inc., a company that earlier had infuriated some computer users
when it was revealed that the company planned to capture information
identifying individuals who viewed particular ads.
The firestorm, and threatened legal action by the Federal Trade Commission,
led DoubleClick to backtrack and hire a team of people, including Kelly, to
develop more stringent privacy policies and compliance procedures.
She may do an excellent job, but the choice of someone who was doing PR
cleanup for one of privacy's greatest monsters may be a bad sign, said
Jason Catlett, head of Junkbusters Corp., a privacy and anti-spam
organization.
. . .
Kelly said it was too soon for her to have formed opinions on some of the
administration's most controversial security initiatives, including a huge
database linking financial and other personal records, and an air
travel-screening system that would attempt to assess whether someone making
an airline reservation poses a security risk.
1:55:02 PM 
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Local Officials Rise Up to Defy The Patriot Act, by Evelyn Nieves,
Washington Post.
Last month, [Arcata, California] joined the rising chorus of
municipalities to pass a resolution urging local law enforcement officials
and others contacted by federal officials to refuse requests under the
Patriot Act that they believe violate an individual's civil rights under
the Constitution. Then, the city went a step further.
This little city (pop.: 16,000) has become the first in the nation to pass
an ordinance that outlaws voluntary compliance with the Patriot Act.
I call this a nonviolent, preemptive attack, said David Meserve, the
freshman City Council member who drafted the ordinance with the help of the
Arcata city attorney, city manager and police chief.
12:54:54 PM
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Turning over an old leaf: Used-book sellers battle national chains
and the Internet to carve out their literary niche. By Adam Bregman.
L.A. Times.
Good piece that surveys the scene at several used book stores in Los
Angeles, with an eye especially to assessing the impact of big box and
Internet sales.
11:54:34 AM
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President's Top IT Security Adviser To Resign, by Brian Krebs (WP).
White House cybersecurity adviser Howard Schmidt will resign
from his
post at the end of the month, raising concerns about the Bush
administration's commitment to implementing its strategy for
protecting the nation's critical information infrastructure.
Several friends and close associates of Schmidt said he had informed
them of his plans to leave the White House. The former chief of
security at Microsoft Corp., Schmidt became chair of the President's
Critical Infrastructure Protection Board in February following the
departure of his predecessor, Richard Clarke.
9:54:17 AM
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A Feminist News Service Is Reaching Out in Arabic. When Women's eNews, the New York-based feminist news service, examined data last summer identifying the location of its visitors, the United States was the No. 1 country of origin, followed by Britain, Australia, Canada and Saudi Arabia, a country where women's activities are restricted by the government. By Joan Oleck. [New York Times: Business]
6:03:39 AM
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U.S. Backs RIAA in ISP Fight. The Bush administration is supporting the recording industry in its effort to force Verizon to finger subscribers accused of illegal file trading. [Wired News]
6:00:08 AM
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