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TOP STORIES FOR FRIDAY, AUGUST 01, 2003 A Kinder, Gentler CAPPS II SBC Challenges RIAA and DMCA Copyright Apathy on the Rise A KINDER, GENTLER CAPPS II Following a series of very vocal criticisms of the proposed Computer Assisted Passenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II) program, the Transportation Safety Administration has released a set of new guidelines for the program. Under the original proposal, the system would run background checks, including credit and criminal searches, on all airline passengers when reservations were made, and would assign each passenger a risk code. The system was roundly attacked by privacy and consumer groups for being intrusive and ineffectual in stopping terrorism. The new guidelines specify that airline passengers will still be required to supply name, address, telephone number, and date of birth. That information will be transmitted to commercial data providers for the "purpose of authenticating passenger identity." The only correlation sought will be between data in the CAPPS II system and that held by commercial data providers. Data providers will not own any of the data they see or be able to keep it, and passengers will be able to request access to most of the data in the system. Internet News, 31 July 2003 http://dc.internet.com/news/article.php/2242861 SBC CHALLENGES RIAA AND DMCA Pacific Bell Internet Services (PBIS), a division of SBC Communications, has filed a legal challenge to recent subpoenas to its customers from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). PBIS argued that the subpoenas are overly broad and originate from improper jurisdictions, though PBIS said the true intention of the lawsuit is to challenge the recording industry's right to access information about its customers. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which the courts have said gives the RIAA the right to demand user identities of suspected copyright violators, may in fact violate constitutional protections of privacy, according to PBIS. The RIAA said that before the lawsuit was filed it had contacted SBC regarding the concerns raised in the suit but that it had been "rebuked" by SBC. CNET, 31 July 2003 http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5058107.html COPYRIGHT APATHY ON THE RISE A new survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project shows that 67 percent of file sharers are unconcerned about copyright issues, up from 61 percent in 2001. Among high-school and college students, the number rises to around 80 percent. One researcher at the Pew project said she was surprised that recent attention to legal issues of file sharing had not resulted in lower rates of apathy, but a spokesman from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) discounted the survey's results, saying that it predated his organization's announcement about prosecuting individual file sharers. He said that other research has shown that the RIAA's recent actions will result in more users paying attention to and caring about copyright issues. This week Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) began looking into the RIAA's actions, including the subpoenas it has filed. Coleman said he is concerned about situations in which family members or roommates have been caught up in the RIAA's hunt for copyright violators. Chronicle of Higher Education, 1 August 2003 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/08/2003080101t.htm ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, or change your settings, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For past issues of Edupage or information about translations of Edupage into other languages, visit http://www.educause.edu/pub/edupage/edupage.html ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE PUBLICATIONS EDUCAUSE publishes periodicals, including "EQ" and "EDUCAUSE Review," books, and other materials dealing with the impacts and implications of information technology in higher education. For information on EDUCAUSE publications see http://www.educause.edu/pub/ ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/conference/ ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2003, EDUCAUSE
