Confronted by a government that seems intent on erecting unnecessary new barriers to public access, members of the public are not entirely without resources to oppose such barriers, and even to overcome them.
“Decrying secrecy, citizen groups fight back” is the thrilling headline of a story by reporter Aliya Sternstein in Federal Computer Week today (2/27/06) which explores the withdrawal of government information from the world wide web, and the public response.
“More federal agencies are taking data off the Web, while citizens seek ways to restore public access,” as described in the article.
“The concerted use of the Freedom of Information Act by public interest groups and their constituents” offers one way of recovering public access to official information that has been removed from government websites, advises law professor and librarian Susan Nevelow Mart in a new paper.
See “Let the People Know the Facts: Can Government Information Removed from the Internet Be Reclaimed?” (pdf), Law Library Journal, Volume 98, No. 1 (2006).
The absence of consistent voting privileges for patient representatives on Advisory Committees hinders representatives from providing an voice on behalf of the community they represent.
Grant funds research of AI’s impact on nuclear weapons, biosecurity, military autonomy, cybersecurity, and other global issues.
AdComm members note a lack of transparency in recruitment methods, insufficient training, and limited understanding of regulatory procedures.
Internal disagreements present a growing concern about FDA leadership overruling the expert opinions of scientific staff and proceeding with official approvals, thus undermining staff expertise, decreasing agency morale, and potentially diminishing public trust.