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EFF Unveils Search Tool for FOIA Results 57

The EFF has released a beta version of a new search tool that lets you mine the documents the EFF has unearthed using FOIA requests and lawsuits over the years. Quoting: "In celebration of Sunshine Week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today launched a sophisticated search tool that allows the public to closely examine thousands of pages of documents the organization has pried loose from secretive government agencies. The documents relate to a wide range of cutting-edge technology issues and government policies that affect civil liberties and personal privacy." I tried a search for "border" among the documents relating to the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement and turned up 21 results and fascinating reading.
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EFF Unveils Search Tool for FOIA Results

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  • by Shakrai ( 717556 ) on Tuesday March 17, 2009 @08:37AM (#27223645) Journal

    but i donate to EFF frequently too.

    After Obama reversed himself on FISA I wrote his campaign demanding a refund of all monies I had donated to them. When I received said refund I donated every single penny (>$500) to the EFF. They do good work and unlike the ACLU they aren't hypocrites [aclu.org], at least as far as I can tell.

  • Re:wow (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Yacoby ( 1295064 ) on Tuesday March 17, 2009 @08:45AM (#27223725)

    Let me guess before looking, hundreds of PDF files with those annoying black lines through
    that parts people are really interested in.

    I remember reading somewhere about a method of removing the black lines by calculating what the word could be based on the font used (letter spacing). I am not sure how far it got, and weather you could input a context.

    And some information is always better than no information.

  • by calmofthestorm ( 1344385 ) on Tuesday March 17, 2009 @09:22AM (#27224087)

    Depends on the department, some places it goes smooth as clockwork. That's your clue you didn't ask for anything unpatriotic or counterrevolutionary.

  • by fuzzyfuzzyfungus ( 1223518 ) on Tuesday March 17, 2009 @09:40AM (#27224287) Journal
    If one had sufficient resources, it would be quite interesting to use large numbers of FOIA requests, on a wide variety of topics, to build a "topic sensitivity map", if you will, of various agencies. Analogous to the various network mapping and monitoring techniques that infer things about the network's structure, load, and so on by looking at packet response times, TTLs, and losses.

The faster I go, the behinder I get. -- Lewis Carroll

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