Neglect of .govs Impacts Consumer Safety and Privacy During Government Shutdown

January is Consumer Law Resources Month at the Harris County Law Library. Consumer law research materials from our print collection are on display throughout the library until the end of the month. In particular, we are featuring titles from the National Consumer Law Center as well as self-help sources published by Nolo. Topics run the gamut from product liability and food safety to financial market transparency and identity protection.

With consumer law occupying our thoughts this month, we were naturally drawn to the headlines in recent days (see below) announcing the potential for compromised consumer safety during the federal government shutdown, now entering its 25th day.

• Consumer protection services falter during government shutdown (The Daily Dot)

• Consumer protection websites are down due to the government shutdown (The Verge)

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, BBC, the Washington Post, and several other news organizations, a potentially increasing number of .gov websites are now blocked or completely inaccessible due to the inability of individual government agencies to renew their HTTPS security certificates. Tech Crunch explains:

Every time your browser lights up with “HTTPS” in green or flashes a padlock, it’s a TLS certificate encrypting the connection between your computer and the website, ensuring nobody can intercept and steal your data or modify the website. But TLS certificates are notoriously delicate things. Certificates expire — a common mistake as people often forget to renew them. Depending on the security level, most websites will kick back browser errors while other sites won’t let you in at all until the expired certificate is renewed. Except in this case, they can’t — because there’s nobody there to buy and install a new certificate

Websites affected by the shutdown include the US Department of Justice, the Courts of Appeals, and NASA. Also impacted is the Federal Trade Commission, which helps protect consumers from identity theft and scams by offering free credit reports and maintaining the “Do Not Call” registry. As a consequence of the shutdown, the Washington Post reports, a surge in robo-calls has already begun. Neither DoNotCall.gov nor IdentityTheft.gov is currently operational, thus reducing privacy protections and preventing victims from reporting their stolen personal and financial information.

As the shutdown continues, more website certificates will expire. This will expose the unprotected sites to vulnerabilities that hackers may exploit to gather data on citizen-consumers who, during periods of full government funding, enjoy the protections of the regulatory agencies operating in the best interest of all Americans.

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Image credit: https://media.threatpost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/103/2019/01/11104051/tls-1.png

For a full history of all 20 previous federal government shutdowns dating back to 1976, take a look at this timeline from Vox, and for a humorous take on many of the government agency shutdown notices, ranked from panicked to indifferent, click here to get the rundown from Quartz.

Finally, don’t forget that the Law Library of Congress is operational, and access to this beginner’s guide to consumer protection is a great place to start your consumer law research.

Introducing govinfo

In 2009, the Government Publishing Office (then called the Government Printing Office) migrated all of its Federal Government resources from GPO Access to FDsys.gov. Providing access to federal statutes, regulations, and executive branch documents, FDsys was a government information goldmine. However, opinions about the site were mixed. While one reviewer described it as, "...well organized, with good symmetry, plain layout, and design," others found it unattractive and difficult to navigate. In any case, the GPO is migrating once again to a new and improved, next generation website. It's called govInfo, and it debuted in beta mode just two years ago. It features all the content and coverage offered by FDsys but the layout and design are much improved. Best of all, the new site is built for responsive design and optimized for display on mobile devices.

govinfo is the new front door to accessing the same content that's been available on FDsys for the last 7 years, with a focus on "implementing feedback from users and improving overall search and access to electronic Federal Government information."  FDsys will retire and will be completely replaced by govinfo by the end of 2018. During the transition period, be sure to update your bookmarks and links to govinfo.gov.

If you'd like to find the same documents on govinfo that you used to access on FDsys, look for the comparison chart that's available on the govinfo About page. Video tutorials are also provided along with a Help guide that links to information about what kind of content is available on govinfo and how to find it.

Latest & Greatest – Texas State Directory

Published by Texas State Directory Press, Inc.

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Have you ever been curious about how the legislative branch in Texas works? Are you interested in learning more about our state’s lawmakers and the people who make up the state’s three branches of government as well as the agencies, boards, and commissions? If so, then we recommend that you have a look at the Texas State Directory and its companions, Texas Legislative Handbook and Texas Legislative Guide. Published by Texas State Directory Press, Inc., Texas State Directory is the go-to source for information about Texas government. In fact, its subtitle is “The Comprehensive Guide to the Decision-Makers in Texas Government.” Now in its 60th edition, Texas State Directory is divided into five sections: the State Section, the County Section, the City Section, the Federal Section, and the Reference Section. As you would expect, the State Section covers every branch of state government and has information about elected and appointed officials. The County and City Sections contain detailed information about county public officials and the elected officials in the incorporated cities, respectively. The Federal Section provides information about the Texans who represent the State in the federal government, including United States Senators, members of the United States House of Representatives, and Federal Circuit and District Judges. The Reference Section is where you can find names and addresses associated with the two main political parties, some Texas facts, and qualifications for office, among other things.

Texas Legislative Handbook is a handy pocket guide featuring photographs and useful information about our state senators and representatives, addresses and telephone numbers for the Texas delegation of the 115th United States Congress, and the names of those members who comprise the various Senate and House Standing Committees. Of interest as well are the Senate and House seating charts and the Senate and House district maps.

The last of this trio of governmental resources is the Texas Legislative Guide: A Guide to the Texas Legislative Process. This volume is separated into four principal sections. After providing a brief historical synopsis of the early Texas legislatures, the first section addresses the powers granted to the legislature and how the legislature is structured and how it operates. The second section of the book delves into the legislative process and walks the reader through the various stages from the initial preparation and reading of a bill to its enrollment and ultimate signing (or vetoing) by the governor. The third section lays out the responsibilities, immunities, and restrictions of the legislator and describes the three libraries located within the capitol complex. Political parties, administrative agencies, and interest groups are discussed in the fourth section as are the public’s participation in the legislative process and the role of the press.

Be sure to ask for the Texas State Directory at the reference desk.