Transparency
387 Articles

Secrets Revealed: The Government’s No Fly List Arguments Aren’t Flying
Last week Judge William Alsup (N.D. Cal.) released the unredacted version of his ruling in the first-ever challenge to the no-fly list to be decided on the merits – a case that…

Letter to the Editor from Gabor Rona, Airstrikes in Yemen and Government Transparency
Thanks Ryan and Sarah for an excellent analysis of the NY Times article on the recent military activity in Yemen. In noting that the article is imprecise in its reference to “alleged…

Court Decision Supports Broader Disclosures on US Drone War
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision yesterday that the Obama administration had waived its right to refuse to turn over legal memos justifying the killing of a U.S.…

The Second Circuit and the Vices of Selective Disclosure
I’ve now had a full day to digest yesterday’s lengthy decision by the Second Circuit in New York Times v. Department of Justice, which, among other things, orders…

Representatives Schiff and Jones Introduce Bill to Increase Transparency in U.S. Drone Program
Today, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) introduced new legislation aimed to bring greater transparency to the U.S. drone program. The Targeted Lethal…

An End to Dragnet Surveillance?
The New York Times report that President Obama will call for an end to the bulk collection of American’s telephone metadata is yet further vindication for Edward Snowden in particular,…

Is the ODNI Approach to Secrecy and Transparency Evolving?
We flagged this yesterday afternoon on Just Security’s Twitter account, but nevertheless, it is helpful to include a reference here on the pages of the blog as well. Yesterday,…

RightsCon, March 3-5, San Francisco
Further to all our coverage of the use and abuse of digital technologies, I commend RightsCon to our readers—a gathering of the Silicon Valley (and beyond) tech community, digital…

An Inauspicious Anniversary: It’s Time to Release the Report of the Special Interagency Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies
Yesterday was the five-year anniversary of President Obama’s Executive Order 13491 on ensuring lawful interrogations. The Order, one of the first acts of the Obama administration,…

So Much for a New Drone Policy – Why Can’t the US Explain Why It Targeted a Wedding Party?
The New York Times has an important front-page story today by Mark Mazzetti and Robert Worth on last week’s drone strike in Yemen, which reportedly targeted a convoy of trucks…

Drones Strikes Kill 18 in Yemen This Week — More Transparency is Needed
The alleged US drone strike that reportedly killed up to 15 people on their way to a wedding in Yemen on Thursday is just one more reason why the Obama administration has to start…

UN Secretary General Calls for More Transparency About Drone Use
The United Nations Secretary-General has released a new report (A/2013/689) on the protection of civilians in armed conflict, which devotes significant attention to current drone…