Tools: Blogger's Guide for Libel

So you've had a threatening legal letter over a blog post. What do you do? This interesting pamphlet from the UK group Sense About Science, which advocates for libel reform, gives some good tips. It applies to the UK, but some of the info could be instructive for bloggers elsewhere, especially in Commonwealth countries that might share Britain's difficult legal climate. Be sure to check the legislation and case law in your own country.

Books: Activists and Files Tell Story of FBI-Led "Surveillance Society"

Read the story of the FBI's intelligence activities on U.S. political activists in a new book that looks at the spying through the eyes of people under surveillance. The Dangers of Dissent: The FBI and Civil Liberties Since 1965 relies on first-hand accounts and government documents obtained through FOI requests and litigation to tell the tale of the new U.S. "surveillance society."

Books: New FOI Legal Guide

FOI users in the U.S. will be interested in a new book from the Electronic Privacy Information Center: Litigation Under the Federal Open Government Laws, 2010. Highly useful guide for FOI-using journalists and litigators.