Event: House Homeland Security Committee roundtables on privacy, civil rights, & civil liberties at DHS

When:  Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
Where: 311 Cannon House Office Building, Washington D.C.
Time:  9:00 am – 4:00 pm

On Wednesday, December 3rd, the Majority Staff of the House Committee on Homeland Security will host a series of roundtable discussions on the future of privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties at DHS.  The event, entitled “A Path Forward: [...]

GAO report on NAO disputes Chertoff claims of compliance

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released its full public report on the status of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Applications Office (NAO) compliance with current legal, privacy and civil liberties standards.
On April 9, 2008, in a letter to Members of Congress, DHS secretary Michael Chertoff certified that the NAO complies with [...]

Bush administration disregards reporting law

From the New York Times:
The Bush administration has informed Congress that it is bypassing a law intended to forbid political interference with reports to lawmakers by DHS. The August 2007 law requires the DHS chief privacy officer to report each year about Homeland Security activities that affect privacy, and requires that the reports be submitted [...]

DHS privacy chief highlights privacy improvements

From DHS Leadership Journal:
Hugo Teufel, DHS Chief Privacy Officer, announces the release of the fourth annual DHS Privacy Office Annual Report to Congress, which covers the reporting period from July 2007 – July 2008, and reviews some of the improvements in DHS privacy efforts in the last year, and ongoing.

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President signs bill turning military spy satellites on U.S.

An appropriations bill signed by President Bush last week allows the controversial National Applications Office (NAO) to begin operating a stringently limited version of a program which would turn military spy satellites on the United States, sharing imagery with other federal, state, and local government agencies.
Both Congress and the GAO have expressed concern that the [...]

Bill would limit homeland security laptop searches

The Homeland Security Department has declared its right to seize laptops at the U.S. border indefinitely, and the 9th Circuit court upheld their right to do so, but the Travelers Privacy Protection Act introduced Thursday is intended to curb that power.
The legislation would require DHS to form reasonable suspicion of illegal activity before searching electronic [...]