 merrie says: In a statement Monday, American Civil Liberties Union spokesman Michael Macleod-Ball said the move could "allow the mass collection of personal information of every user of a federal government website." Even groups that support updating the policy question whether the administration is seeking changes at the request of private companies, such as online search giant Google, as the industry's economic clout and influence in Washington have grown rapidly. Two prominent technology policy advocacy groups, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and Electronic Frontier Foundation, cited the terms of a Feb. 19 contract with Google, in which a unnamed federal agency explicitly carved out an exemption from the ban so that the agency could use Google's YouTube video player. Contract Terms The terms of the contract, negotiated through the General Services Administration, "expressly waives those rules or guidelines as they may apply to Google." The contract was obtained by EPIC through a Freedom of Information Act request. “Our primary concern is that the GSA has failed to protect the privacy rights of U.S. citizens,” EPIC Executive Director Marc Rotenberg said. “The expectation is they should be complying with the government regulations, not that the government should change its regulations to accommodate these companies.” Cindy Cohn, legal director for Electronic Frontier Foundation, called the contract “troubling.” “It appears that these companies are forcing the government to lower the privacy protections that the government had promised the American people,” Cohn said. “The government should be requiring companies to raise ... |
View the Top Clips from August 11, 2009
Embed This Clip In Your Site...
|
|
|
|
|
New from the makers of Clipmarks: Amplify.com - Don't just share the news...Amplify it!
|
|
