FBI Drops Internet Archive Gag Order

By Digital Trends Staff May 9, 2008

FBI Drops Internet Archive Gag Order The Internet Archive is a non-profit organization that stores web pages. In November 2007 it received a request for information on one of its users from theFBI. It refused to comply, and found itself slapped with a National Security Letter NSL) that meant founder Brewster Khale could only discuss the matter with hislawyers – even the other members of the board had to be kept in the dark. Kahle, who also sits on the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) board, handedover only publicly available documents on the user and then challenged the Letter with help from the ACLU and the EFF, and now he’s won, as the FBI hasrescinded the Letter, allowing him to talk freely about the matter. The FBI plans to make the matter public, but with identifying information blacked out. It’s the third successful challenge ofa National Security Letter. NSLs are issued secretly to let the FBI obtain customer records from ISP, financial institutions or credit reporting agencies and usually include a gag order,forbidding the company from talking about it. "The free flow of information is at the heart of every library’s work. That’s why Congress passed a law limiting the FBI’s power to issueNSLs to America’s libraries," said Brewster Kahle. "While it’s never easy standing up to the government — particularly when I was barred from discussing it with anyone — I knew I had tochallenge something that was clearly wrong. I’m grateful that I am able now to talk about what happened to me, so that other libraries can learn how they can fight back from these overreachingdemands."

Digital Trends Staff

Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.