Roy Mark

The Bush administration is again raising the ire of privacy groups with the announcement last week of a controversial pilot program for airlines known as the Computer-Assisted Passenger Pre-Screening System II program (CAPPS II). The new system, which will be administered by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), will scan government and commercial databases for potential […]

The overall quality of congressional Web sites improved significantly during the last year, according to a report released Monday by Congressional Management Foundation. The study determined that 50 percent of congressional office Web sites received a grade of A or B, compared to only 10 percent of the sites in 2002. However, the percentage of […]

SRA International, the Fairfax, Va.-based government contractor, has won a six year, $105 million task order from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide enterprise-wide network engineering and management services to support the GAO’s IT infrastructure. Previously, SRA provided similar support to the GAO through a now-completed task order that the company has managed […]

The Pentagon has approved 26 research grant proposals for the military’s controversial Total Information Awareness Program (TIA). Although Congress has blocked future funding for the data mining program until the Pentagon can resolve privacy concerns, the grants were approved under previous budget requests. The TIA program, under the direction of the Defense Advanced Research Projects […]

The FBI’s National Infrastructure Protection Center (NIPC) officially moves to the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Saturday. Most of its staff, however, will not. The NIPC was created by the FBI four years ago to investigate computer crimes. Under the legislation creating the DHS, Congress mandated the NIPC, along with the Department of Commerce’s […]

Three U.S. senators have introduced legislation to enhance congressional oversight and public reporting of the FBI’s domestic surveillance efforts, including the agency’s efforts to monitor Internet activity by Americans. The bill would require public accounting of the number of Americans subjected to surveillance under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the number of times […]

WASHINGTON — Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael Powell told a Congressional panel Wednesday he believes the regional Bell operating companies will begin investing in high-speed fiber lines despite the Bells recent vows not to do so. Last Thursday, a sharply divided FCC ruled the Bells will no longer have to share their high-speed fiber […]

WASHINGTON — Less than a week after passing controversial new rules in its local phone and broadband competition rules, the five commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Wednesday morning in what may prove to be the liveliest hearing to date in the 108th Congress. Last […]

Senator Charles Schumer (D.-N.Y.) introduced legislation Tuesday calling for a cell phone user bill of rights aimed at improving wireless service and making competition an “ingrained part of the wireless industry.” Schumer’s bill would mandate number portability between companies, require wireless phone companies to provide contract and service information on solicitations and contracts and authorize […]

The U.S. Senate Monday afternoon passed a new child pornography bill designed to overcome the Supreme Court objections that struck down a previous effort by Congress to ban computer-generated child pornography images. The House has yet to pass companion or similar legislation. In April of last year, the court ruled that Congress’ 1996 law banning […]

Operators of Web sites selling drug paraphernalia were among the 55 individuals and businesses indicted Monday in a nationwide investigation known as “Operation Pipe Dreams.” The defendants are charged with conspiracy to sell, and offering to sell, various types of drug paraphernalia, a federal offense carrying a maximum jail sentence of three years and a […]

The Library of Congress has received approval from Congress for its “Plan for the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP),” which will allow the Library to launch the initial phase of building a national infrastructure for the collection and long-term preservation of digital content. Congressional approval of the plan means the Library can […]