PALIAct
PALIAct is the Progressive African Library & Information Activists Group. It has ties to CILIP (the UK library association) and the UK’s Information for Social Change, and publishes an online … Read more PALIAct
Category: Information Policy
Reports disappearing from EPA library website
As you may have noticed throughout the EPA library closure situation, the government’s big justification for closing the libraries has been that it is a digital age, meaning that physical … Read more Reports disappearing from EPA library website
American Anthropological Association opposition to Open Access: a letter from the AnthroSource Steering Committee on FRPAA
The Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006 (FRPAA), if passed, would mandate that research by Federal government agencies (publicly funded research) automatically go into publicly accessible open access repositories. … Read more American Anthropological Association opposition to Open Access: a letter from the AnthroSource Steering Committee on FRPAA
The IRS keeping audit statistics secret; covering up higher audit rates of the poor than the rich
The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), which provides data on Federal “enforcement, staffing, and spending,” reported in March of this year that IRS data obtained through FOIA requests showed that … Read more The IRS keeping audit statistics secret; covering up higher audit rates of the poor than the rich
FCC study on media ownership ordered destroyed
From the AP story: WASHINGTON – The Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt … Read more FCC study on media ownership ordered destroyed
AEJMC anti-Bush resolution
The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication passed a resolution against the Bush Administration’s anti-press policies yesterday in San Francisco, at it’s annual conference. The resolution says, “The … Read more AEJMC anti-Bush resolution
Contact your Senators about DOPA
Urgent message from the ALA Washington Office: On Wednesday, July 28, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the amended H.R. 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA), by a vote … Read more Contact your Senators about DOPA
Katrina victims muzzled
A new FAIR Action Alert reports that FEMA security guards are blocking journalists from talking to Katrina victims in FEMA trailer parks. FAIR cites the original story from the Baton … Read more Katrina victims muzzled
“Strong Copyright + DRM + Weak Net Neutrality = Digital Dystopia?”
A preprint of a paper by Charles W. Bailey, Jr., to be published in Information Technology and Libraries 25, no. 3 (2006): “Strong Copyright + DRM + Weak Net Neutrality … Read more “Strong Copyright + DRM + Weak Net Neutrality = Digital Dystopia?”
Scary New Intellectual Property Bill
The Bush administration is preparing to introduce sweeping new intellectual property legislation, called the The Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006. Among other things, this bill would create a new … Read more Scary New Intellectual Property Bill
Smithsonian Sellout
The Smithsonian Institution has made an exclusive deal with Showtime Networks, Inc., allowing the cable TV content company to create a private cable station for documentaries that use footage from … Read more Smithsonian Sellout
Okay, who will say they still haven’t gone too far Now?
Interested in using a phrase like “Feel Free,” “General Knowledge,” “Freedom to do what you want” or “That’s a great idea” but can’t because it would be trademark violation? Well, … Read more Okay, who will say they still haven’t gone too far Now?
Annenberg Center’s (Compromised) Principles for Net Neutrality
Last month the Annenberg Center for Communication at USC, an industry-centered think tank that focuses on the networked society, convened a group of scholars and industry insiders to discuss the … Read more Annenberg Center’s (Compromised) Principles for Net Neutrality
Global governance is the internet’s hope
I don’t read a lot of blogs or tech news, but last summer I couldn’t help noticing tons of commentary about the United Nations’ “threatened takeover of the internet,” which … Read more Global governance is the internet’s hope