IP: [USA] Congress Hurries to Limit Public's Right to Know

[Dave Farber <farber@cis.upenn.edu>]

>
>=======================================================================
>C D T   P O L I C Y   P O S T
>***********************************************************************
>A BRIEFING ON PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES
>AFFECTING CIVIL LIBERTIES ONLINE
>from
>THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY
>***********************************************************************
>Volume 5, Number 9       May 20, 1999
>=======================================================================
>
>CONTENTS:
>(1) Congress Hurries to Limit Public's Right to Know
>(2) Background on Proposals To Limit Public Clean Air Act Information
>(3) CDT Creates Access to Government Information Resource
>(4) Subscription Information
>(5) About the Center for Democracy and Technology
>
>** This document may be redistributed freely with this banner intact **
>Excerpts may be re-posted with permission of ari@cdt.org
>_______________________________________________________________________
>
>(1) CONGRESS HURRIES TO LIMIT PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO KNOW
>
>The House Commerce Subcommittee on Health and Environment held a hearing
>yesterday on H.R. 1790, a bill that would impose criminal penalties of up
>to a year in jail on government officials who make certain environmental
>data
>available to the public in electronic format, even though the information
>must be made available on paper.
>
>The proposal, introduced by Commerce Committee chairman Thomas J. Bliley,
>Jr. (R-VA) but crafted by the Clinton Administration, is supposed to
>prevent terrorists from learning through the Internet about the damage to
>surrounding communities that could be caused by attacking a hazardous
>chemical plant.
>
>CDT is concerned that the legislation would set an unwise precedent by
>limiting the release of government information in electronic form,
>backtracking from advances of the last three years that required disclosure
>of government information in the format requested by a citizen.
>
>CDT and other advocates of access to government information wrote to
>Chairman Bliley urging him not to undermine the goals of the Electronic
>Freedom of Information Act (E-FOIA).
>http://www.cdt.org/righttoknow/blileyletter.html, However, yesterday's
>hearing included no testimony from advocates for open government or from
>experts on federal and state FOIA and open records laws. Democratic members
>of the committee took the unusual step of calling for a second hearing
>which will take place next Wednesday, May 26.
>
>Supporters of the bill made it clear that they would like to see the bill
>enacted into law before June 21.
>
>_______________________________________________________________________
>
>(2) BACKGROUND ON PROPOSALS TO LIMIT PUBLIC CLEAN AIR ACT INFORMATION
>
>H.R. 1790 and its Senate counterpart S.880 would amend a section of the
>Clean Air Act that was designed to make available to the public so-called
>"worst case scenarios" about potential accidents at chemical plants.  The
>worst case scenarios describe how far the dangerous chemicals in a plant
>would travel in event of a catastrophe, how many people live in the circle
>defined by that distance, and what types of public facilities (e.g.,
>schools or hospitals) are within that radius. The compilation and public
>release of this data were designed to empower local communities by
>providing the information they need to assess the safety of plants
>operating in their midst.  The data allow concerned citizens to compare the
>risks to their communities with those affecting other neighborhoods.  The
>worst case data do not include information on where the chemicals are
>stored, what would cause a release or what site security measures a
>facility has in place.
>
>Chemical plants are supposed to submit their worst case data to the
>Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by June 21, 1999.  In recent months,
>chemical manufacturers and the FBI have said that release of the data
>increases the potential for a terrorist attack.  What specifically worried
>the FBI was the notion that the information would be posted on the
>Internet.  Yet no terrorist attack has ever taken place on a chemical
>plant, while hundreds of people (including employees) die every year from
>chemical plant accidents.
>
>The proposed legislation would allow disclosure of worst case data to the
>public only on paper.  Under the proposal, the data might be made available
>at some public libraries in electronic form, but librarians would have to
>monitor patrons to assure that they were not copying the data. Any official
>that made the information available through any other means would be liable
>for criminal penalties of up to a year in jail.  Supporters of the bill
>argue that this complicated system would make the information available but
>create "speed bumps" so that the data would not be posted on the Internet.
>
>Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has drafted a bill that take a much more
>direct approach: Instead of restricting citizens' ability to find out about
>hazards in their backyard, Waxman's bill would require greater protections
>against terrorist attacks at hazardous chemical sites, including buffer
>zones between hazardous chemical operations and residential areas.
>
>For more information on the public release of worst case scenario
>information, see the FAQ at http://www.rtk.net/wcs.
>
>_______________________________________________________________________
>
>(3) CDT CREATES ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT INFORMATION RESOURCE
>
>Since issues of access to government information have become increasingly
>important to the Internet community, CDT has built a page for news and
>related links on the subject - http://www.cdt.org/righttoknow/.
>
>The page contains the latest headlines and links to FOIA aids and will soon
>contain links to sites making government information available in
>innovative ways.  In the coming months, we hope to expand the site to
>include an automatic FOIA request system, allowing you to formulate your
>FOIA requests and submit them directly to government agencies online.
>
>If you have suggestions or comments about what CDT could do to improve
>citizen access to information through the Internet, send them to
>>ari@cdt.org.
>
>_______________________________________________________________________
>
>
>(4) SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
>
>Be sure you are up to date on the latest public policy issues affecting
>civil liberties! CDT Policy Posts, the regular news publication of the
>Center for Democracy and Technology, are received by Internet users,
>industry leaders, policymakers, the news media and activists, and have
>become the leading source for information about critical free speech and
>privacy issues affecting the Internet and other interactive communications
>media.
>
>Contact Ari Schwartz at ari@cdt.org to subscribe, unsubscribe or change
>your address.
>
>
>_______________________________________________________________________
>
>
>(5) ABOUT THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY/CONTACTING US
>
>The Center for Democracy and Technology is a non-profit public interest
>organization based in Washington, DC. The Center's mission is to develop
>and advocate public policies that advance democratic values and
>constitutional civil liberties in new computer and communications
>technologies.
>
>Contacting us:
>
>General information:  info@cdt.org
>World Wide Web:       http://www.cdt.org/
>
>
>Snail Mail:  The Center for Democracy and Technology
>              1634 Eye Street NW * Suite 1100 * Washington, DC 20006
>              (v) +1.202.637.9800 * (f) +1.202.637.0968
>
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>End Policy Post 5.9
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
>------------------------------------
>Ari Schwartz
>Policy Analyst
>Center for Democracy and Technology
>1634 Eye Street NW, Suite 1100
>Washington, DC 20006
>202 637 9800
>fax 202 637 0968
>ari@cdt.org
>http://www.cdt.org
>------------------------------------