Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association

(Cross-posted from the Choose Privacy Week blog – Please share widely!)

Protecting your private information and web-surfing habits while using public access computers or public wi-fi is an important part of any plan to protect personal privacy.  Many people, however, are simply unaware of the easy-to-use strategies that will help them  guard their personal information from theft or inadvertent disclosure.

A new tip sheet, Public Computers and Wi-Fi Privacy, helps individuals understand the privacy risks associated with public access computing and outlines how they can protect their privacy while using public computers and public networks.  The tip sheet is available here at chooseprivacyweek.org as a free, downloadable PDF file and libraries, schools, and community groups are invited to share the tip sheet with their users, students, and members.  There are no restrictions on duplicating or posting the tip sheet for free distribution.

The Public Computers and Wi-Fi Privacy tip sheet is courtesy of Data Privacy Day and is offered in celebration of Choose Privacy Week.   Data Privacy Day, held every January 28, is the National Cyber Security Alliance’s annual effort to empower people to protect their privacy and control their digital footprint while encouraging everyone to make the protection of privacy and data a priority.

Many thanks to Tiffany Barrett of Data Privacy Day for her assistance and support!

Reposted from chooseprivacyweek.com

Tomorrow, May 1, begins our annual observance of Choose Privacy Week. It’s an event that invites everyone to visit their local library and learn more about the importance of protecting your privacy rights in an age of pervasive surveillance.

During Choose Privacy Week, libraries will offer individuals the opportunity to learn, think critically, and make more informed choices about their privacy by offering special resources and sponsoring programs and other special events.

ALA itself will mark Choose Privacy Week with a special online forum that will feature guest commentaries by noted privacy experts and advocates. The forum will be part of this blog, “Voices for Privacy.”  Participants in the online forum include:

• J. Douglas Archer, Librarian at the University of Notre Dame and chair of the ALA-IFC Privacy Subcommittee
• Khaliah Barnes, Administrative Law Counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)
• Mitra Ebadolahi, Nadine Strossen Fellow, the ACLU National Security Project
• Rachel Levinson-Waldman, counsel to the Liberty and National Security Program at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice
• Lew Maltby, President, National Workrights Institute
• Joyce McIntosh, library consultant, editor, and former Outreach and Assistive Technology Librarian at Elmhurst Public Library
• Deborah Peel, MD, Patient Privacy Rights and the Coalition for Patient Privacy
• Chip Pitts, Lecturer, Stanford Law School and former Chief Legal Officer of Nokia, Inc.

If you’re planning Choose Privacy Week activities, you’ll find a wealth of resources here on our redesigned website, including free, downloadable PDF edition of the Choose Privacy Week Resource Guide. The Resource Guide contains out-of-the-box activities, events and other suggestions for educating and engaging library users on privacy issues and features several age-specific lesson plans and activities for children and youth.

In addition, a free recording of the April 9 webinar, “Choose Privacy Week Programming @ Your Library,” is now available. The webinar features a panel of librarians and privacy experts discussing ideas and tools for privacy-related programming and outreach.

We’ve also got downloadable banners, web badges, and social media images for privacy mavens who want to promote Choose Privacy Week. The hashtag for Choose Privacy Week is #chooseprivacy.

Also available as “programming in a box” are three Choose Privacy Week documentaries. These documentaries, available as streaming High Definition video, examine the many facets of privacy, government surveillance, and civil liberties and provide a great “jumping off” point for library programs that discuss privacy issues.

• “Choose Privacy” features youth, parents, librarians, and citizens discussing privacy in a digital age, with commentary by author Neil Gaiman and constitutional law scholar Geoffrey Stone of the University of Chicago.
• “Vanishing Liberties: The Rise of State Surveillance in the Digital Age” examines the government’s growing use and abuse of surveillance tools to track and spy on immigrant communities and the proposals to adopt these same tools to monitor and track the activities of all Americans.
• “Data Mining, Government Surveillance, and Civil Liberties” features Michael German, ACLU senior policy counsel for national security and privacy and former FBI agent.

Remember: the campaign to raise awareness about the importance of privacy rights isn’t limited to just one week. Libraries, schools, and community groups can sponsor programs year round. Let us know what you need – just get in touch by calling or writing Deborah Caldwell-Stone in the Office for Intellectual Freedom at (312) 280-4224 or dstone@ala.org. Additionally, you can follow@privacyala on Twitter and visit www.facebook.com/chooseprivacyweek.

If you missed Tuesday’s OIF webinar, “Defend the Freedom to Read: Reporting Challenges,” featuring OIF Assistant Director Angela Maycock, you’ll be glad to know that the session was recorded and is now available as a webcast.

Links to this and other OIF webcasts can be found at http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/oifprograms/webinars.

In memory of our great friend, Gerald Hodges…

The deadline for nominations is Monday, May 13, 2013.  The nomination form can be found at http://www.ala.org/ifrt/awardsfinal/hodges/hodges.

Please consider submitting a nomination for an organization you think deserves the inaugural Hodges Award!

Register now for “Defend the Freedom to Read: Reporting Challenges”

Challenges to library materials take place in schools and libraries across this country every day. One of the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom’s primary duties is to track challenges and to provide support to librarians, teachers, library workers, trustees, and others who are dealing with these challenges.

As part of this effort, OIF is pleased to offer a free, interactive webinar on Tuesday, April 23, 2013 from 1-2 p.m. Central time, focused on challenges: formal requests that materials in libraries and schools be removed due to their content or appropriateness. We’ll discuss the current state of challenges – what’s causing controversy right now – and talk about ALA’s efforts to document as many challenges as possible in order to raise awareness about this fundamental intellectual freedom issue. Attendees will learn about the resources and support ALA can offer when libraries are preparing for or responding to challenges. Whether you’re a veteran intellectual freedom fighter or a newbie, this webinar will provide you with information and ideas to help advocate for the freedom to read in your community.

To register, visit http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e34emkdvckk/event/event_info.html. This webinar will be recorded and available in archive after the live event. Contact Angela Maycock at amaycock at ala.org with any questions or concerns.

In this era of “Big Data,” we know that our location, our phone calls, our purchases, our Facebook posts and our web site visits are being monitored, recorded, collected, and stored.  But too often we can’t tell who’s collecting our data, or how they’re making use of our personal information.

During Choose Privacy Week, May 1-7, 2013,  we invite everyone to answer the critical question, “Who’s tracking you?”  We believe everyone should have the right to know who’s collecting their information and choose how their private data is used.

“People who understand how personal data is generated, collected, stored, and used are better equipped to take control of their personal data and demand accountability from the agencies and corporations that store and use their information,” says Barbara Jones, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom.

This year’s Choose Privacy Week observance will feature a week-long online forum that will include an introduction by Barbara Jones and guest commentaries by academics, librarians, and civil liberties experts that discuss current threats to personal privacy and how each threat impacts personal freedoms and civil liberties.  The commentaries will be presented on the newly redesigned website hosted at www.chooseprivacyweek.org, the online hub for Choose Privacy Week activities.

The social media hashtag for Choose Privacy Week is #chooseprivacy.

Scheduled guest commentators include Khaliah Barnes of the Electronic Privacy Information Center; Shaun Dakin, Privacy Camp; Mitra Ebadolahi, the ACLU National Security Project; Rachel Levinson-Waldman, NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice; Deborah Peel, MD, Patient Privacy Rights; Chip Pitts, Stanford Law School; Lew Maltby, National Workrights Institute; and J. Douglas Archer, Librarian at the University of Notre Dame and chair of the ALA-IFC privacy subcommittee.

If you’re a librarian looking for programming ideas, the recording of OIF’s April 9 Choose Privacy Week programming webinar is now available as a free webcast, featuring librarians and privacy experts discussing ideas and tools for privacy-related programming and outreach in the library.

Posters, buttons, and privacy-protecting RFID sleeves are available in the ALA Store at http://www.alastore.ala.org/cpw

For more information on Choose Privacy Week, visit www.chooseprivacyweek.org or contact Deborah Caldwell-Stone in the Office for Intellectual Freedom at 312-280-4224 or dstone@ala.org.

The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom released the top ten most frequently challenged books list of 2012 as part of the State of America’s Library Report on Monday, April 15. Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants series ranked #1, having been challenged for “offensive language” and “unsuited to age group.” Captain Underpants also appeared on the Top Ten lists in 2002, 2004, and 2005. New to the Top Ten list are Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher at #3, Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James at #4, and The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls at #9. Back on the list after one year off is Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson’s And Tango Makes Three.

Out of 464 challenges as reported by the Office for Intellectual Freedom

1. Captain Underpants (series), by Dav Pilkey.
   Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited for age group
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.
   Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
3. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.
   Reasons: Drugs/alcohol/smoking, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited for age group
4. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E. L. James.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
5. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, unsuited for age group
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.
   Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
7. Looking for Alaska, by John Green.
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
8. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
   Reasons: Unsuited for age group, violence
9. The Glass Castle, by Jeanette Walls
   Reasons: Offensive language, sexually explicit
10. Beloved, by Toni Morrison
    Reasons: Sexually explicit, religious viewpoint, violence

138 more challenges were reported for 2012 than 2011, at least in part due to success of OIF’s Challenge Reporting Campaign. If you know of a book that has been banned or challenged in a library or school, please help us by reporting it.

The Intellectual Freedom Round Table (IFRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) announces that Amnesty International USA is the recipient of the 2013 John Philip Immroth Memorial Award.

Amnesty International USA has supported intellectual freedom for 52 years.

“Of special recognition is Amnesty International’s approach to Banned Books Week, said Immroth Award Chair Charles Kratz. Rather than focusing on book censorship, per se, Amnesty International’s approach focused on the logical consequences that would follow when governments are allowed to censor. Beyond the removal or burning of books comes the removal and physical harm to authors, journalists and others.

This year’s award will be presented at the 40th anniversary celebration of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table. In celebrating the 40th anniversary, IFRT will also celebrate our first chair of the Round Table, John Phillip Immroth (1973–1974). Come join the IFRT from 7:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. on Friday, June 28, 2013 at the magnificent Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St. at Michigan Ave., Chicago) for the celebration. Refreshments, including signature cocktails, will be served.

The John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award honors intellectual freedom fighters in and outside the library profession who have demonstrated remarkable personal courage in resisting censorship. The award consists of $500 and a citation. Individuals, a group of individuals or an organization are eligible for the award. The award was first presented in 1976.

Tickets for the celebration are $30 for IFRT members and $40 for non-members. To purchase a ticket, just visit http://ala13.ala.org and go through the Annual Conference registration site. If you already have registered for the Annual Conference, you can just add this ticketed event. Note: if you do not want to attend the rest of the conference, you can purchase tickets just for this event. Just begin the registration process and then select “Ticketed Events.”

Proceeds from the 40th anniversary celebration will go to increase the endowment of the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award.  You can help. Your event sponsorship donation of $100, $250 or $500 will help to continue this prestigious award for many years to come. The bulk of your sponsorship donation is tax-deductible. To become a sponsor of the IFRT 40th anniversary celebration, contact Shumeca Pickett at spickett@ala.org or (312) 280-4220.

The ALA Committee on Professional Ethics invites you to join a half-day preconference offered during the 2013 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago this summer!

“Ethics Matters: Ethical Decision-Making for Librarians and Information Professionals” will provide attendees with practical tools for resolving the daily ethical issues librarians face. Dr. Nancy Zimmerman will lead this highly interactive event that will challenge librarians to develop ethical awareness, identify the global common ground of values underlying ethics, analyze ethical issues using real-life dilemmas and resolve dilemmas using practical resolution principles.

This preconference will take place from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on Friday, June 28, 2013.  Continental breakfast, coffee and other refreshments will be served. Advance registration is required. Tickets cost $80 and are available via ALA’s Annual Conference registration system. Tickets may be purchased as part of Annual Conference registration or separately (note: you do not have to register for the entire Annual Conference to attend). The Event Code for “Ethics Matters” is OIF1.

“Ethics Matters” will introduce attendees to the Ethical Fitness® process, a conceptual framework for decision-making developed by the Institute for Global Ethics (IGE). Founded in 1990 by the late Dr. Rushworth Kidder, IGE is an independent, nonsectarian, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting ethical action in a global context.

Dr. Nancy Zimmerman, professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of South Carolina, is a certified IGE ethics educator and past chair of the ALA Committee on Professional Ethics. She is a past president of the American Association of School Librarians, the New York Library Association and Beta Phi Mu, the International Library Science Honor Society. She served four terms as an ALA Councilor-at-large and is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of the Freedom to Read Foundation.

The ALA Committee on Professional Ethics is charged with augmenting the ALA Code of Ethics by developing explanatory interpretations and additional statements, and by providing guidance to other units of the association developing statements dealing with ethical issues. Ethics education has been identified as a priority for the American Library Association, and this preconference represents a major step toward meeting that identified need.

Are you preparing for Choose Privacy Week? Join ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom and librarians across the country next week for a free webinar to discuss how your library can observe Choose Privacy Week,   ALA’s annual education and awareness campaign that invites library users into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age.

The free, hour-long online webinar will take place on Tuesday, April 9 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Central Time and will feature four speakers discussing ideas and tools for privacy-related programming and outreach, with an emphasis on sample programs and resources that have proved successful in school, academic, and public library environments:

Michael Zimmer, PhD, will discuss how to use short documentaries on privacy and surveillance to increase awareness among patrons and spark conversations on controversial technologies and practices.

Michael is an assistant professor in the School of Information Studies and director of the Center for Information Policy Research at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Carolyn Caywood will discuss how librarians can raise awareness of developments that impact privacy in their community by offering civic engagement programs about privacy.

Carolyn worked as a Youth Services librarian and branch manager for Virginia Beach, VA before retiring in 2010. She is currently a Fellow of the Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement and serves on the Advisory Committee of the American Library Association’s Center for Civic Life.

Marc Gartler will discuss how Madison Public Library planned and implemented a successful week-long observance for Choose Privacy Week that emphasized preventing identity theft and making informed privacy choices.

Marc joined the management team at Madison Public Library (WI) in 2010 following four years as Library Director at Harrington College of Design. He previously worked on digital library projects at the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Dr. Deborah Peel will discuss one of privacy’s “hot topics” – patient privacy rights. She will discuss the fight to keep health information private and provide resources for planning programs about protecting our health information both inside and outside of the health care system.

Dr. Peel leads Patient Privacy Rights (PPR) and is the voice of the bipartisan Coalition for Patient Privacy, speaking for 10.3 million Americans who expect to control their sensitive health data in electronic systems.

Register for this free webinar via this link to the registration page.  The webinar will be recorded and available in the archives. For questions about registration or using the webinar platform, contact Angela Maycock at amaycock@ala.org.

Choose Privacy Week 2013 takes place May 1-7 and asks the critical question, “Who’s Tracking You?”   When someone is always watching your every move both online and off, you should have the right to know who’s collecting your information and choose how your private data is used.

Sponsored annually by the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), Choose Privacy Week provides individuals with resources to think critically and make more informed choices about their privacy.

For information about Choose Privacy Week 2013, visit privacyrevolution.org or email Deborah Caldwell-Stone at dstone@ala.org.

Posters, buttons, and resources for Choose Privacy Week are available online through the ALA Store.

Cross-posted from the FTRF Blog

Applications are now open for FTRF’s 2013 Judith F. Krug Memorial Fund Banned Books Week event grants. Grants in the amounts of $2,500 and $1,000 will be given to organizations in support of “Read-Outs” or other activities that celebrate Banned Books Week (Sept. 22 – 30, 2013).

The Office for Intellectual Freedom sponsors IFAction, an email list for those who would like updated information on news affecting intellectual freedom, censorship, privacy, access to information, and more. Click here to subscribe to this list. For an archive of all list postings since 1996, visit the IF Action archive. Below is a sample of articles from March 18–24, 2013.

Privacy, Surveillance, and Cybersecurity

Bruce Schneier: The Internet is a surveillance state

Florida Appeals Court: Threats posted on Facebook are crimes

What Would We Do If The Internet Crashed?

ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Warrantless Searches of Cell Phones

Twitter sued for $50 million for refusing to reveal anti-semites

Tone Down the Cyberwarfare Rhetoric, Expert Urges Congress

Censorship and Free Speech

Barbara Jones discusses Persepolis controversy on Chicago Tonight

“Gamers” are not the enemy

Oxford’s University’s Harlem shake librarian must be reinstated

Canadian Librarians ‘Owe Duty Of Loyalty To The Government,’ Must Self-Censor Opinions Even In Private

Access and Intellectual Property Protection 

Could the Supreme Court outlaw your library’s right to lend?
Update: Supreme Court rules in favor of libraries, consumer rights

New research: music piracy should not be a “concern for copyright holders”

Library Of Congress Hoping To Cut Through Tangled Copyright Laws In Order To Archive Historic Sound Recordings

The head of the Copyright Office says the law is broken — but can she fix it in time?

Other

Internet retailers bash Senate attempt to ‘sneak through’ online sales tax 

Cross-posted at the IFRT Blog.

We’re 40 this year! Come help us celebrate, at the Chicago Cultural Center, during the Annual ALA conference this summer!

Tickets available now!  Visit http://www.ala.org/ifrt/ifrt-40th-anniversary-celebration for more information

CHICAGO – After 40 years of defending and upholding First Amendment rights, it is time for a party. Come join the Intellectual Freedom Round Table

IFRT logo

(IFRT) from 7:30 – 10 p.m. on Friday, June 28, 2013 at the magnificent Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St. at Michigan Ave.) for our 40th Anniversary Celebration. This event is held in conjunction with the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.

Tickets for this worthy event are $30 for IFRT members and $40 for non-members.  If you are not a member, consider joining IFRT for only $15 and become involved in some of the most important issues in the library community.  Tickets for students are $20.  All tickets are available via ALA’s Annual Conference registration system (note: you do not have to register for the Annual Conference to attend). Refreshments, including signature cocktails, will be served.

Proceeds from this event will benefit IFRT’s prestigious John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award, honoring the courage, dedication and contribution of an individual or group setting the finest example for the defense and furtherance of the principles of intellectual freedom. The award was named for John Phillip Immroth, founder and first chair of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table in 1973.  ”The winners of this award through the years have, without exception, been inspirational to all of us who know the kind of risk and dedication it takes to stand up for intellectual freedom,” said Charles Kratz, chair of the Immroth Award committee.  ”Our goal is to raise $10,000 for the Immroth Award, so that it can continue to honor those who richly deserve it for years to come.”  The 2013 Immroth Award recipient will be announced later this spring.

Sponsorship opportunities are available to individuals and organizations who wish to help support the event at a higher level. Sponsorship levels are $100 (Defender), $250 (Advocate) and $500 (Champion) and include tickets, recognition in the program and other benefits. Sponsorship donations above the price of the tickets are tax deductible.  To become a sponsor of the IFRT 40th anniversary celebration, contact Shumeca Pickett atspickett@ala.org or (312) 280-4220.

“The IFRT 40th Anniversary celebration will be a great opportunity to bring together long-standing and brand new members of the Intellectual Freedom community to honor our past and look forward to our future,” says Julia Warga, chair of IFRT. “I invite everyone to come and share in what promises to be a truly delightful event!”

The Office for Intellectual Freedom sponsors IFAction, an email list for those who would like updated information on news affecting intellectual freedom, censorship, privacy, access to information, and more. Click here to subscribe to this list. For an archive of all list postings since 1996, visit the IF Action archive. Below is a sample of articles from March 11 –March 17, 2013.

Privacy, Surveillance, and Cybersecurity

Harvard Search of E-Mail Stuns Its Faculty Members

Rolling Stone: Police Spying on American Muslims Is a Pointless National Shame 

U.S. plans to let spy agencies scour Americans’ finances

Reuters Employee Charged With Helping Anonymous Hack News Site

Federal Judge Finds National Security Letters Unconstitutional, Bans Them

Censorship and Free Speech

Rhode Island ACLU Report Finds Prevalent Internet Censorship in Public Schools

Illinois county to pay ACLU $600K after high court voids eavesdropping law

Chicago School District Under Fire for Restricting Access to ‘Persepolis’

Access and Intellectual Property Protection 

Obama gets mixed marks for record on secrecy

Bradley Manning Speaks: In Leaked Court Recording, Army Whistleblower Tells His Story for First Time

RIP: Google Reader Meets Its Inevitable End

Gov’t won’t even give page counts of secret PATRIOT Act documents

What Librarians Need to Know about the New Copyright Alert System

Aaron Swartz to Be Honored by [American] Library Association

Wisconsin man banned from all libraries on earth [Racine]

Other

Steubenville Rape Guilty Verdict: The Case that Social Media Won

As documented by DNAinfo.com and numerous other blogs, the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) yesterday ordered that all copies of the award-winning graphic novel Persepolis be removed from schools district-wide. Initially the order explicitly included libraries, but the head of school libraries has since issued a directive that, pursuant to its collection development policy, the book is to remain on library shelves.

OIF staff spoke with a CPS official this afternoon, who confirmed that the books were removed due to what she termed “graphic illustrations and language” and concerns about “developmental preparedness” and “student readiness.” While still in school libraries, they have been “temporarily recalled” from classroom libraries and teaching curriculum until CPS can “control” how the book is being presented. She said there was no timeline for CPS’s evaluation. CPS CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett also has issued a memo to CPS principals regarding the removal.

The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) has filed a FOIA request for all documents related to this action and, jointly with OIF, has sent a letter urging reconsideration of the action (see the text of the letter below).

Follow @OIF and @FTRF on Twitter for the latest on this developing situation.

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, Chief Executive Officer for Chicago Public Schools

We fully support the talented CPS teachers and librarians who work so hard to thoughtfully and sensitively explore vital but often difficult ideas and information with their students.

We request and would appreciate an explanation of these actions, and we encourage you to both retain and return the book as quickly as possible to the students of Chicago Public Schools. Such action will reaffirm the importance and value of the freedom to read. We must send the message to students that in this country they have the right and responsibility to think critically about what they read, rather than allowing others to do their thinking for them.

Sincerely,

Barbara Jones

Director, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom

Executive Director, Freedom to Read Foundation

The Office for Intellectual Freedom sponsors IFAction, an email list for those who would like updated information on news affecting intellectual freedom, censorship, privacy, access to information, and more. Click here to subscribe to this list. For an archive of all list postings since 1996, visit the IF Action archive. Below is a sample of articles from February 25-March 10, 2013.

Privacy and Cybersecurity

Darpa Wants You to Transcribe, and Instantly Recall, All of Your Conversations

Google reveals data on secretive FBI subpoenas
Related:

• Google Says the FBI Is Secretly Spying on Some of Its Customers
• How the FBI uses the Patriot Act to get info on Google user

Good cybersecurity means better privacy

Bill would force cops to get a warrant before reading your e-mail

Supreme Court Dismisses ACLU’s Challenge to NSA Warrantless Wiretapping Law
Related:

• Supreme Court Makes It Harder To Challenge Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
• Justices Turn Back Challenge to Broader U.S. Eavesdropping
• Editorial: Unbridled Secrecy

…more after the break!

Censorship and Free Speech

‘Harlem Shake’ videos lead to school suspensions

At principal’s request, Buffalo middle school to consider banning novel
Follow-up: No book ban: Committee votes not to remove coming-of-age novel from Buffalo school [Buffalo, MO - Intensely Alice]

Despite Limits on Freedom, Foreign Campuses Retain Value, Speakers Say [Dubai]

Federal judge: Public library cannot censor pagan websites [Salem, MO]
Related:  

• Judge Orders Public Library Not to Censor Pagan Websites
• Salem Public Library Agrees to Not Filter Websites

NCAC: Rather than Censor Video Games, NJ Library Censors Everything

Obama Administration supports journalist who was arrested after recording cops

Beretta Exec Likens Gun Ban to Book Ban

Feds Say Man Deserved Arrest Because Jacket Said ‘Occupy Everything’ [Washington, DC]

Book ban request fails — again [Flagstaff, AZ - Steve McQueen, King of Cool]

GEICO Pig Angers One Million Moms

Access and Intellectual Property Protection 

Global Free Internet Act Introduced In Congress

Google not expected to check every upload says Italian court

Court: Google isn’t liable if your name turns up near something you don’t like

Hispanics Now Closing the Digital Divide
Related:  Digital divide is narrowing for Latinos, Pew study says

Maryland Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Bar Schools From Claiming Copyright On Student & Faculty Work

ACLU Demands [Shillington] PA School District Stop Use of Discriminatory Internet Filters

Indian Music Industry Exec Says The Unthinkable: ‘Internet Piracy Is A Good Thing’
Related:  ‘Digital is saving, not killing music’ says Sony chief Edgar Berger [Video]

Here’s what an actual “Six Strikes” copyright alert looks like
Related:  

• ISPs Shed Light on Plans for ‘Six Strikes’ Copyright Alerts
• Comcast: We Won’t Slow Down or Disconnect Alleged Pirates
• Cablevision to Suspend Repeat Copyright Scofflaws, Comcast to Hijack Browsers
• Verizon policy blog: Copyright Alert System: What Users Need To Know

Freedom of Information Day 2013 (March 15)

Other

Manning, shocked by “the bloodlust,” went with WikiLeaks

West Virginia auditor blasts Cisco, state for “oversized” router buy 

The Promise and Peril of the ‘Data-Driven Society’
Related:  

• Disruptions: Data Without Context Tells a Misleading Story
• Big Data: Bad science on steroids?

The Office for Intellectual Freedom sponsors IFAction, an email list for those who would like updated information on news affecting intellectual freedom, censorship, privacy, access to information, and more. Click here to subscribe to this list. For an archive of all list postings since 1996, visit the IF Action archive. Below is a sample of articles from February 18-24, 2013.

Privacy and Cybersecurity

White House warns of dangers posed by WikiLeaks, LulzSec, other ‘hacktivists’

Censorship and Free Speech

Zero tolerance or zero sense? Kids’ suspensions over imaginary weapons renew debate

Kansas Senate advances bill to require public schools, libraries to filter Internet content

Illinois Politician Seeks To Outlaw Anonymous Comments (But Allow Anonymous Gun Ownership)

5 Books They Dont Want You Reading: Black History Month Edition

‘Boobies’ Wristbands in Schools Weighed by Full Appeals Court

Connecticut State Senator Seeks To Ban Minors From Playing Arcade Games Utilizing Fake Guns

Joan Rivers Lesbian Kiss, Costco Book Ban Heats Up Joan Knows Best

Access and Intellectual Property Protection

Bestselling Author Of Children’s Books Accuses Public Libraries Of Stealing His Paychecks

How Republicans Are Looking to Close the Digital Divide Against Democrats

Independent Booksellers Sue Amazon and Publishers Over E-Books

Ask the ALA Librarian: Internet Use in Libraries

Should Google, Amazon And Others Be Able To Lock Up New Generic Top Level Domains For Their Own Use?

Publishers reluctant to sell e-books to local libraries

White House Delivers New Open-Access Policy That Has Activists Cheering

Related: White House Orders Federal Agencies To Require More Open Access To Not Just Research, But Data

Related: Obama Administration backs open access to all federal research

Is your library considering a move to self-service holds (also known as open-shelf holds)? Such systems have enabled many libraries to successfully continue user hold services despite staff cuts and budget reductions. But some of these systems may compromise privacy and confidentiality by linking personally identifiable information with the specific materials on hold. Such practices may violate the ALA Code of Ethics and may, in some states, violate library confidentiality statutes.

Join ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom for a free, live webinar on the legal and ethical standards that support the move to privacy-protective hold systems. OIF Deputy Director Deborah Caldwell-Stone will discuss the issues and consider various self-service hold systems that both protect user privacy and save the library money. Bring your questions and discuss your own experiences in an interactive session with colleagues across the country!

Date: Tuesday, March 19, 2013 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Central time; will be recorded and available in archive

Cost: Free. To register, visit http://ala.adobeconnect.com/e4bngl6pl35/event/event_info.html.

Other upcoming OIF webinars include “Choose Privacy Week Programming @ Your Library” (April 9) and “Defend the Freedom to Read: Reporting Challenges” (April 23).  For more information on these and other OIF online learning offerings, please visit www.ala.org/offices/oif/oifprograms/webinars. Contact Angela Maycock at amaycock@ala.org with any questions.

For more on the case discussed in the statement below, see this Chronicle of Higher Education piece.

From the ALA Public Information Office:

CHICAGO - Recently Edwin Mellen Press filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against McMasters University Associate Librarian Dale Askey.  The suit alleges that Askey committed libel while criticizing Edwin Mellen Press on a personal blog while a librarian at Kansas State University.  Edwin Mellen Press is seeking a total of $4.5 million dollars in damages to compensate for injury to their reputation.

American Library Association President Maureen Sullivan released the following statement regarding the lawsuit:

As president of the American Library Association, I share the deep concern expressed by the Association of College and Research Libraries, the Association of Research Libraries and the Canadian Library Association among many others in deploring the actions of the Edwin Mellen Press in filing a libel suit against Dale Askey, currently a librarian at McMaster University, for expressions of his professional opinion in a blog hosted first by the Kansas State University and now by McMaster University.

This action strikes at a core responsibility of all librarians as information professionals to provide considered, critical advice to the reading public regardless of the type of library in which they are employed.

In addition, it has the potential to significantly poison the good relationships enjoyed by the library and publishing communities.  I call upon the Press to reconsider its actions and drop this assault on intellectual and academic freedom.

The Office for Intellectual Freedom sponsors IFAction, an email list for those who would like updated information on news affecting intellectual freedom, censorship, privacy, access to information, and more. Click here to subscribe to this list. For an archive of all list postings since 1996, visit the IF Action archive. Below is a sample of articles from February 11 –February 17, 2013.

Privacy and Cybersecurity

In a Major Privacy Victory, Seattle Mayor Orders Police to Dismantle Its Drone Program After Protests [EFF]

Cyberattacks reanimate CISPA, spark move by Obama — reports

Censorship and Free Speech

Egyptians Condemn Court Order Blocking YouTube In Egypt For 30 Days

Azerbaijani [Akram Aylisli “Stone Dreams”] author stripped of title, pension for novel showing sympathy to Armenians

States mull violence studies, even sin tax on games

Parents pushing for book ban in Danbury Local Schools [Fallen Angels; Toledo, OH]

Librarians Rally Behind Blogger Sued by Publisher Over Critical Comments

North Dakota State U. Gives Go-Ahead to Controversial Sex-Education Program

Access

FCC Chairman Says “Libraries Are More Important Than Ever”

Reading e-books easier than printed versions for older people

New Open Access Project for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Amazon Has a Patent to Sell Used Ebooks

The Pirate Bay: We will sue copycat site for copyright infringement

New online assessments to include accommodations for students with disabilities