US government will declassify Yahoo documents and court decision by September

Posted on 30/07/2013 by Melissa Grey

Earlier this month, the US government was put in the hot seat with regards to the Justice Department's 2008 battle with Yahoo over its request for user data. Yahoo fought the PRISM demand and ultimately lost; five years later, we're finally going to be able to see the court decision that's been kept under lock and key since then. The clock is ticking for the federal government, as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has set a September deadline for unveiling those classified documents. While this might be a victory for transparency, it's important to remember that declassification doesn't necessarily mean full disclosure. The government will still have the option to redact certain portions of text that it feels must remain classified. Considering its reticence to share the information in the first place, we can probably expect to see a liberal distribution of those pesky black rectangles.

Filed under: Misc

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Via: GigaOM

Data.gov redesign preview modernizes public data delivery

Posted on 17/07/2013 by Timothy J. Seppala

While we know the government's spying on our personal data, what's it doing with all of the public info it gathers? President Obama's answer to that question was creating Data.gov, a portal that publishes, among other things, public school funding amounts. Four years on, though, and the site looks and navigates like a product of its time. The modern redesign that launched today as a preview is part of this May's Open Data Executive Order that hopes to graft non-proprietary and machine-readable data formats "into the Federal Government's DNA." The homepage combines published research from a range of headings -- education, energy, finance, global development, health, research and safety -- and the tweets of public servants about said data, into one river of news. It's cool to see the government taking charge and making all this easier to access, but we're wondering how much it'll cost us next April.

Filed under: Internet

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Via: The Verge

Source: Whitehouse, Data.gov

FCC says it’s running out of identification codes, promises to make room for new devices

Posted on 14/06/2012 by Sean Buckley

All those fancy slabs sneaking their way through federal inspection take their toll, and the friendly folks at the FCC are starting to feel it. According to an official statement from the Federal Communications Commission, it's receiving applications for more wireless device authorizations than ever before, and it's exhausting its pool of identification codes. In addition to expanding its allotment of identifier codes for companies requesting equipment authorization, the feds also considering new ways to improve the authorization process, such as clarifying administrative requirements. The bottom line? We won't see any shortage of devices breaking through the federal lines any time soon. Check out the FCC's official statement after the break.