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There are 3 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. GOVERNMENT : INTERNET SEARCH TOOLS: GOOGLE: Google Moves Ahead wit
From: David P. Dillard
2. Polcy Post 13.3: CDT Urges Steady Increase in FTC Funding
From: David P. Dillard
3. JOB: WITNESS.org: Hub Coordinator Position, deadline April 15 2007
From: George Lessard
Messages
________________________________________________________________________
1. GOVERNMENT : INTERNET SEARCH TOOLS: GOOGLE: Google Moves Ahead wit
Posted by: "David P. Dillard" [EMAIL PROTECTED] jwneastro
Date: Fri Mar 2, 2007 2:01 pm ((PST))
GOVERNMENT :
INTERNET SEARCH TOOLS: GOOGLE:
Google Moves Ahead with Plan to Open up Federal Web Sites
Google Moves Ahead with Plan to Open up Federal Web Sites
By Daniel Pulliam
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Daily Briefing
February 21, 2007
GOVEXEC.com
<http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0207/022107p1.htm>
Google is making strides on an initiative to make information stored on
public government Web sites more accessible to people looking for it, but
challenges remain, officials with the search engine company said
Wednesday.
Three federal organizations recently agreed to structure their sites to
make them accessible for nearly all Internet searches, the officials said.
Information on the Plain Language Web site aimed at eliminating jargon in
government communications, and on sites by the Energy Department's Office
of Scientific and Technical Information and the Education Department's
National Center for Education Statistics, has been opened up to the three
most popular search engines: Google, Yahoo and MSN.
<snip>
But despite months of meeting with officials at nearly every agency,
Google still faces misconceptions, Needham said. "Literacy about search
engines is lower in the federal government than in the private sector," he
said.
Needham said about 80 percent of visitors to government Web sites arrive
through search engines rather than the home page "front door." Only about
5 percent come directly to the sites, he said, and because about half of
all government Web pages remain inaccessible through search engines, a
substantial percentage of people are passing up information they would
otherwise find.
----------------------------------------
The complete article may be read at the URL above.
Sincerely,
David Dillard
Temple University
(215) 204 - 4584
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Net-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/net-gold>
<http://listserv.temple.edu/archives/net-gold.html>
<http://groups.google.com/group/net-gold?hl=en>
<http://net-gold.mailspaces.com/>
General Internet & Print Resources
<http://library.temple.edu/articles/subject_guides/general.jsp>
<http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/ringleaders/davidd.html>
Digital Divide Network
<http://www.digitaldivide.net/profile/jwne>
Educator-Gold
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Educator-Gold/>
K12ADMINLIFE
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K12AdminLIFE/>
Messages in this topic (1)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. Polcy Post 13.3: CDT Urges Steady Increase in FTC Funding
Posted by: "David P. Dillard" [EMAIL PROTECTED] jwneastro
Date: Fri Mar 2, 2007 2:21 pm ((PST))
Date: Fri, 2 Mar 2007 12:16:25 -0500
From: Michael Clark <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Polcy Post 13.3: CDT Urges Steady Increase in FTC Funding
A Briefing On Public Policy Issues Affecting Civil Liberties Online
from The Center For Democracy and Technology
(1) CDT Urges Steady Increase in FTC Funding
(2) Evolving Internet Threats Pose New Challenges
(3) New Privacy Law Could Bring New Responsibilities
___________________________________________________
(1) CDT Urges Steady Increase in FTC Funding
On February 28, CDT Deputy Director Ari Schwartz urged a House
Appropriations subcommittee to steadily increase funding for the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to support the agency's increasingly
important role in the fight against online fraud, identity theft and
spyware. In recent years, the FTC has emerged as the lead federal
agency in the fight against a broad range of Internet scams and
crimes. In that role, the commission has shut down several dangerous
and costly scams, obtained substantial redress for consumers and
established important precedents for acceptable behavior in the areas
of e-commerce and software downloads. CDT is urging Congress to take
this new slate of responsibilities into account as it makes its
appropriations for the FTC.
Some of the most pervasive and costly Internet threats -- threats
that in many cases didn't exist 5-10 years ago -- now fall under the
FTC's authority.
Consumers are increasingly alarmed about the proliferation of online
scams, Internet privacy intrusions, fraud and abuse. In an April 2006
poll for the Center for American Progress, 69 percent of respondents
indicated they were very or somewhat worried about having their
identities stolen.
Spyware has proven especially costly for consumers. Consumer Reports
estimates that the problem cost consumers .6 billion last year and
affected 1 in 8 Internet users. As disturbing as those figures are,
even they cannot give an adequate picture of the harm caused by
spyware-related privacy invasions, which can wreak havoc on Internet
users lives and livelihoods.
To prevent problems such as spyware from mushrooming, there must be a
systemic commitment to aggressively investigate and prosecute
Internet crime. This begins by providing sufficient resources to
enforcement agencies, in particular the FTC.
The FTC is the lead federal agency responsible for protecting
consumers against spam, spyware, identity theft and other Internet
fraud.
By law, the FTC enforces the:
-Childrens Online Privacy Protection Act
-CAN-SPAM Act
-Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act
-Do Not Call List
-Gramm-Leach Bliley Act
In addition the agency now plays the lead federal role in addressing
issues relating to:
-Identity theft
-Spyware
-"Phishing"
-General Internet fraud
When we take into account the scope of the FTC's responsibilities it
becomes obvious that maintaining this aggressive enforcement on
behalf of American consumers requires additional funds for the FTC.
The online marketplace will become both more complex and more
essential over time, and the FTC has been and will continue to be a
critical force in maintaining consumer trust in the Internet.
Increased resources are a vital part of making that happen.
Schwartz Testimony:
http://www.cdt.org/privacy/20070228schwartzftc.pdf
___________________________________________________
(2) Evolving Internet Threats Pose New Challenges
In the early days of Internet crime, a vast number of offenses
amounted to little more than virtual vandalism. Hackers would often
circumvent Internet security as a way of showing off to their friends
and proving their skills. That trend has long been on the decline, as
malicious actors on the Internet are increasingly going after
financial gain first and foremost. This means that more consumers are
losing more money than ever before either as a direct or indirect
result of malicious activity online, and that malicious hackers have
more financial resources than ever before. As a result, the FTC's
consumer protection mission has risen to even more critical
importance. Compensating consumers who have been harmed and putting a
stop to fraudulent schemes becomes ever more important as fraud and
monetary loss become more widespread.
As the FTC's role in fighting new fraud increases, its job becomes
more complicated. One of the great paradoxes of the Internet is that
while most Internet users are having their movements tracked and
traced in ways never before imagined, those that are willing to take
the time and energy can hide the tracks of their online activities in
ways that make them very difficult to find. While this is a huge boon
for free expression around the world, it also can help criminals and
malicious Internet operations to evade the grasp of law enforcement.
Using just a few simple tools, criminals and scammers can quickly and
easily cloak their identities and locations. Tracking them down may
require the assistance of multiple network operators, applications
providers and technical experts to unravel a complex web of online
identities and cloaking services.
Tracking individuals online is made more complicated by the fact that
many malicious Internet schemes involve groups of companies,
affiliates, and individuals acting together to defraud consumers. Not
only must the identities and locations of all of these actors be
traced, but the business arrangements and relationships between them
must also be sorted out before law enforcers can act. The Internet's
distributed nature lends itself to arrangements wherein multiple
parties each contribute to form a complete operation or business
plan. This characteristic has helped to provide all kinds of new
services, but it may be exploited just as easily for malevolent
purposes as for benevolent ones. The complexity of these arrangements
will likely continue to grow as malicious Internet users realize that
working with many different parties complicates enforcement and
spreads liability to multiple entities.
The global nature of the Internet further complicates the task of
apprehending malicious online actors. Internet scams are increasingly
based overseas or in multiple countries at once, adding a whole new
dimension to enforcement investigations. Law enforcers must cultivate
relationships with their foreign counterparts in order to increase
cooperation when it comes time to conduct investigations. The same is
true for domestic enforcement across multiple states. The FTC has
always had the authority and the willingness to cooperate with state
attorneys general on enforcement matters, and the Internet makes
these cases ever more likely since consumers from many different
states may be affected by a single online scam. In order to be
fruitful, this cooperation requires all parties to expend extra
resources.
Because of the rapid changes involved with Internet scams,
investigations of Internet fraud are becoming increasingly
technologically intensive. Although vast resources may not have been
required when the FTC first began investigating online scams,
technological advances over the past few years have heightened the
level of sophistication necessary for successful investigations. If
the FTC is to continue as a leader in online enforcement, it must
keep pace with these changes.
The Internet revolution also complicates FTC oversight of completed
cases. Before digital technologies became pervasive, it was much
easier for the FTC to monitor whether former defendants were
complying with the provisions of their settlement agreements or court
orders. The Internet provides simple means for such actors to quickly
and easily setup new schemes under new monikers in new locations,
making it difficult for the FTC to draw links to former businesses or
identities and determine compliance.
In all of these ways, the fast pace of technological change
demonstrates the need for the FTC to expend new resources in order to
stay up to speed.
___________________________________________________
(3) New Privacy Law Could Bring New Responsibilities
Privacy is at the heart of online consumer protection. Since the
advent of widespread computing, the Internet and distributed
databases, it has become far easier for businesses to collect, store
and trade information about their customers. Frequently, the
information collected includes sensitive or personally identifying
data, which, if not properly secured, can become a tool for identity
theft. Companies also may use this data to track consumer preferences
and behavior, often without the consumerbs knowledge or permission.
Despite this unprecedented threat, there is still no single
comprehensive law that spells out consumer privacy rights. Instead, a
confusing patchwork of distinct, and sometimes inadequate or
nonexistent, standards has developed over the years, producing more
than a few oddities. For example, we reserve our strongest privacy
protections for cable and video records, while travel records and
online purchasing data are left disturbingly vulnerable, financial
privacy laws have major exceptions, and some important uses of
public records are left unregulated.
Over the past nine years, CDT has urged Congress to enact a single
consistent regime, based on fair information practice principles.
Specifically, consumers should be able to:
- know which companies are collecting information from them;
- provide only information necessary for a transaction;
- find out what companies are doing with this information beyond
the original transaction;
- know who else might have access to their personal data;
- check to ensure that the data held about them is timely,
accurate and complete; and
- obtain assurance that their information is held securely by
all third parties.
These protections are crucial to address the new threats faced by
online consumers. Consumers need to be put back in control of their
personal information, so that privacy is preserved and fraud and
abuse prevented.
When this law is finally passed, the FTC, with its leadership role on
these issues to date, will undoubtedly be asked to enforce these new
privacy protections as well. As the privacy issue is debated, a plan
for enforcing the law should be considered concurrently. While the
long-term streamlining of privacy law will make educational and other
efforts easier, Congress must recognize that the historic effort of
protecting Americansb privacy will require significant resources to
implement.
_______________________________________________
Detailed information about online civil liberties issues may be found
at http://www.cdt.org/. This document may be redistributed freely in
full or linked to http://www.cdt.org/publications/policyposts/2007/03
Excerpts may be re-posted with prior permission of [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Policy Post 13.3 Copyright 2007 Center for Democracy and Technology
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Messages in this topic (1)
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. JOB: WITNESS.org: Hub Coordinator Position, deadline April 15 2007
Posted by: "George Lessard" [EMAIL PROTECTED] themediamentor
Date: Fri Mar 2, 2007 8:12 pm ((PST))
Please ask applicants to send their
applications by email to [EMAIL PROTECTED], with "Hub Coordinator" as
the subject line, by the closing date for applications, April 15,
2007.
Many thanks,
Sameer
Hub Manager
WITNESS.org
-----------
WITNESS uses the power of video to open the eyes of the world to human
rights abuses. By partnering with local organizations around the
globe, WITNESS empowers human rights defenders to use video as a tool
to shine a light on those most affected by human rights violations,
and to transform personal stories of abuse into powerful tools of
justice. Since its founding by Peter Gabriel and others in 1992,
WITNESS has partnered with groups in more than 60 countries, bringing
often unseen images, untold stories and seldom heard voices to the
attention of key decision makers, the media, and the general public -
prompting grassroots activism, political engagement, and lasting
change. WITNESS is an independent nonprofit organization with an
annual budget of $3,600,000 and a staff of twenty-six.
In an effort to expand the strategic use of video to create change
online and offline, WITNESS will launch a participatory media website
in Summer 2007 - The Hub (working title). The site will allow anyone
from anywhere in the world to upload video footage of human rights
abuses using the internet and mobile devices, and will provide a forum
for individuals and online communities to organize action around video
to make a difference. The Hub will become a powerful new destination
for concerned citizens, activists, journalists, researchers and
advocates.
WITNESS is seeking a dynamic Hub Coordinator to assist the Hub Manager
in overseeing all community and content-related activity within the
Hub site, assisting with day-to-day maintenance and content updates of
the site, and helping to identify feature content and editorials that
would best achieve the Hub's goals. This position will have more of a
focus on building and maintaining strong on-line communities.
PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Curate online human rights videos from user and ally submitted
content, and provide editorial and contextual information on those
videos for Hub features;
Assist in identifying and launching special on-line campaigns around
themes and issues;
Actively promote community activity and higher user registration by
reaching out to similar online communities;
Monitor and maintain a presence on community message boards;
Assist in identifying and maintaining relationships with possible
community leaders who may become Hub editorial contributors or
community leaders, thematic or regional content reviewers or
moderators;
Develop messaging to the Video Hub community in the form of web site
text, blog entries and a weekly newsletter;
Develop monthly activity reports on activity in the online
community;
Serve as a secondary contact person between members of the Hub
community and WITNESS;
Review screen content, videos, postings and group activities
according to WITNESS developed guidelines and community standards, and
notify Hub Manager of repeating guideline offenders;
Communicate with members regarding content review policies;
Identify content or technical needs based on community feedback
and usage;
Additional meta tagging of content;
Post or facilitate ally content updates, and preparation of content
for distribution;
Liaise with Online Outreach Coordinator to promote and raise
awareness around Hub events, activities and news.
POSITION REQUIREMENTS
At least 3-4 years work experience in the human rights, social
justice media and on-line community fields
Experience working collaboratively with non-governmental
organisations, including in the global South;
Must be passionate about the web, human rights and building on-line
communities
Experience as an online community moderator preferred
Preferred experience with video and film being used in communication
and advocacy contexts;
Oral and written fluency in English and at least one additional
widely-spoken language;
Strong written and verbal communicative skills;
Attention to detail;
Excellent computer skills including word, excel and powerpoint, and
data entry;
Basic HTML knowledge;
Basic image/video processing skills preferred
Ability to work under tight deadlines;
A sense of humor, energy for challenges, passion for social change
START DATE: May 2007, full-time
LOCATION: Brooklyn, New York
TITLE: Hub Coordinator
SALARY: Commensurate with experience, with an excellent benefits package
SUBMISSIONS: Cover letter, resume, and contact information for three
references. Writing samples will be requested at a later stage from
selected candidates. Please do not submit writing samples unless you
are requested to do so.
APPLICATION PROCESS: Forward completed application materials to
[EMAIL PROTECTED], with the subject line "Hub Coordinator" by April 15,
2006.
**PLEASE DO NOT SEND DUPLICATE APPLICATIONS VIA MAIL OR EMAIL.
No phone calls will be accepted. Due to the volume of applicants
anticipated, we will not be able to respond individually to each
applicant and will only be contacting those applicants that we feel
best meet our criteria.
WITNESS IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER. WE CAREFULLY CONSIDER
APPLICANTS FOR ALL POSITIONS WITHOUT REGARD TO RACE, COLOR, RELIGION,
CREED, GENDER, NATIONAL ORIGIN, AGE, DISABILITY, MARITAL OR VETERAN
STATUS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, OR ANY OTHER LEGALLY PROTECTED STATUS.
http://www.witness.org
Messages in this topic (1)
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