Author Archive
People
Schwartz: Focusing on searchability
When it comes to online searches, people are concerned with what they aren't finding.
People
Schwartz: Let's not relive TIA
Those gathering data for counterterrorism must do a better job of ensuring privacy protection from the start.
Digital Government
Privacy made simple for high-tech minds
New books make difficult issue more manageable
People
E-Government Act essential
Commentary: We shouldn't get too caught up in the details of these worthwhile provisions
Digital Government
The P3P basics
It is easy for agencies that already have privacy policies to create a P3P statement.
Digital Government
Bush sends bad message
Bush's statement has put many defenders of government transparency on high alert.
Digital Government
Peer-to-peer in practice
'Peer-to-Peer: Harnessing the Power of Disruptive Technologies' addresses peer-to-peer's potential and avoids becoming trapped in intellectual property law.
Digital Government
Privacy at the crossroads
Americans lack the privacy protections they think they should have.
People
A Supreme effort
As a beacon of hope in 2000's election morass, significant advances emerged in government's use of the Web
Digital Government
An unseemly 60-day rule
During this past election season, we were reminded of the ludicrous rule preventing senators from updating their official Web sites within the 60 days before an election.
Digital Government
A law in need of a new look
The revelation that the federal Office of Drug Control Policy was using profiling cookies to collect data on visitors to its Web site was just one of several recent incidents that have raised concerns about how the government collects personal information online.
Featured eBooks
People
Mirror, mirror on the Web
Many similarities exist between egovernment and ecommerce. Both government and commercial Web sites can provide streamlined and efficient services. Both are available around the clock to harried folks who otherwise would have to take time off work to visit a store or office during normal business hours or hold for 'the next available operator.'
Digital Government
Give privacy post some clout
Two years ago, Vice President Al Gore announced that the Clinton administration was creating the position of chief privacy counselor within the Office of Management and Budget
Digital Government
When the 'cookie' crumbles
In the wake of the revelation that the White House Office of Drug Control Policy's relationship with Internet advertiser DoubleClick Inc. was causing the White House to violate its own privacy policy, Office of Management and Budget Director Jacob Lew has issued a memorandum enforcing stricter privacy controls.
Digital Government
Privacy/access trade-offs
Privacy and access to government information are two core American values. Often, they are compatible. Both serve the goal of constraining government power, and they have a common enemy in government secrecy.
People
Making documents smarter
Does making government more accessible need to be so difficult? In the Information Age, shouldn't there be an easier way to locate documents and to predesignate what is public and what is not?
People
Making the Web safe
Agencies must highlight privacy from the onset as part of the design of any new system.
Digital Government
Guarding privacy
Americans' privacy fears have always been focused first and foremost on government intrusions. The Founding Fathers tried to allay these fears in the Fourth Amendment; Congress passed laws, including the Privacy Act of 1974 and the wiretap law; and court decisions also have tried to protect privacy.
Digital Government
Campaign Finance Laws Stifle the Electronic Soapbox
As the increasingly wired Year 2000 political races heat up, we are faced with considerable uncertaintyand some ominous initial signalsover the application of campaign finance laws to campaignrelated speech and political activities on the Internet. So far, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) h
Digital Government
Federal Web sites should be more like these
Recently, the Center for Democracy and Technology and OMB Watch released a list of the '10 Most Wanted' government documents. The initiative was a response to the failure of many federal agencies to place government information online, where it would be readily accessible to members of the public,
