Boy does GoDaddy suck.....well, they suck stuff that I can't mention as someone might be offended by the language.
PGA -------- Forwarded Message -------- > From: EFFector list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: EFFector list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: EFFector 20.12: Action Alert - Tell Congress to Update the > Freedom of Information Act! > Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2007 10:45:12 -0500 (CDT) > > EFFector Vol. 20, No. 12 March 21, 2007 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation > ISSN 1062-9424 > > In the 418th Issue of EFFector: > > * Action Alert - Tell Congress to Update the Freedom of > Information Act! > * DMCA Abuser Apologizes for Takedown Campaign > * "Free Speech Ain't Free" Benefit in San Francisco on > Thursday, March 22 > * EFF's Pioneer Awards and More at ETech Next Week > * Google's New Plan to "Anonymize" Search Logs: A Good > First Step, But More Is Needed > * RIAA to Universities: Help Us Threaten Your Students > * PATRIOT Act Apologist Site Didn't Get the Memo > * GoDaddy, Get a Backbone and Protect Your Users' Rights! > * Students Coders: Get Paid to Improve Tor and Protect > Privacy Online! > * At ShmooCon? Play the Hacker Arcade and Donate to EFF > * miniLinks (11): Deutsche Telecom Ditches DRM > * Administrivia > > For more information on EFF activities & alerts: > <http://www.eff.org/> > > Make a donation and become an EFF member today! > <http://eff.org/support/> > > Tell a friend about EFF: > http://action.eff.org/site/Ecard?ecard_id=1061 > > effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired > change. > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Action Alert - Tell Congress to Update the Freedom of > Information Act! > > The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) helps protect the > public's right to know, and new legislation would provide > some much-needed updates to this crucial law. One open > government bill has already passed the House -- make sure a > similar one passes in the Senate: > <http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=285> > > H.R. 1309 and S. 849 give federal agencies, like the FBI > and the FCC, greater incentive to follow the law and make > it easier for all FOIA requesters to access government > documents. Among other reforms, the bills will help > government watchdogs keep track of FOIA requests they've > sent and ensure that more journalist requesters get > preferred treatment under the law. The bills will also > penalize agencies that don't respond to requests within the > time limits set by the FOIA. > > Revelations about the secret NSA spying program, the FBI's > misuse of a key PATRIOT Act power, and other privacy- > invasive initiatives clearly demonstrate the importance of > government transparency. EFF's FOIA Litigation for > Accountable Government (FLAG) project relies on FOIA to > expose the government's expanding use of new technologies > that invade Americans' privacy, and these bills would > greatly help in our and other organizations' efforts to > protect your rights. > > Take action now: > <http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=285> > > Line Noise, EFF's occasional podcast, is back with a new > edition featuring David Sobel, EFF Senior Attorney and > director of our FLAG project. He talks about uncovering the > secrets behind National Security Letters, government data > mining, and exactly how big the FBI's file on the CIA is. > You can find download and RSS links here: > <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005166.php> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * DMCA Abuser Apologizes for Takedown Campaign > > Michael Crook Agrees to Stop Attacks on Free Speech > > San Francisco - Michael Crook, the man behind a string of > meritless online copyright complaints, has agreed to > withdraw those complaints, take a copyright law course, and > apologize for interfering with the free speech rights of > his targets. > > The agreement settles a lawsuit against Crook filed by the > Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) on behalf of Jeff > Diehl, the editor of the Internet magazine 10 Zen Monkeys. > Diehl was forced to modify an article posted about Crook's > behavior in a fake sex-ad scheme after Crook sent baseless > Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices, > claiming to be the copyright holder of an image used in the > story. In fact, the image was from a Fox News program and > legally used as part of commentary on Crook. But Crook > repeated his claims and then attempted to use the same > process to get the image removed from other websites > reporting on his takedown campaign. > > "Crook's legal threats interfered with legitimate debate > about his controversial online behavior," said EFF Staff > Attorney Jason Schultz. "Public figures must not be allowed > to use bogus copyright claims to squelch speech." > > In addition to withdrawing current complaints against Diehl > and every other target of his takedown campaign and taking > a copyright law course, Crook has also agreed to limit any > future DMCA notices to works authored or photographed by > himself or his wife, or where the copyright was > specifically assigned to him. All future notices must also > include a link to EFF information on his case, as well as > the settlement agreement. Crook has also recorded a video > statement to apologize and publicize the dangers of abusing > copyright law. > > "We're pleased that Crook has taken responsibility for his > egregious behavior," said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne > McSherry. "Hopefully, this will set a precedent to prevent > future abuse of the law by those who dislike online news- > reporting and criticism." > > The settlement with Michael Crook is part of EFF's ongoing > campaign to protect online free speech from the chilling > effects of bogus intellectual property claims. EFF recently > filed suit against the man who claims to have created the > popular line dance "The Electric Slide" for misusing > copyright law to remove an online documentary video that > included footage of people trying to do the dance. > > For the video statement from Michael Crook: > <http://blip.tv/file/169553> > > For more on Diehl v. Crook: > <http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/diehl_v_crook> > > For this press release: > <http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_03.php#005161> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * "Free Speech Ain't Free" Benefit in San Francisco on > Thursday, March 22 > > If you're in the Bay Area, celebrate your free speech > rights and support EFF on Thursday, March 22, at "Free > Speech Ain't Free." The event is being thrown at Club Six > by 10ZenMonkeys.com, EFF's client in the now-settled suit > against Michael Crook. More details here: > <http://upcoming.org/event/149726/> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * EFF's Pioneer Awards and More at ETech Next Week > > Heading to San Diego for the O'Reilly Emerging Technology > Conference (ETech) next week? Then join EFF in honoring > Yochai Benkler, Cory Doctorow, and Bruce Schneier at the > 16th annual Pioneer Awards. The fundraiser will also > feature HDNet Chairman and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark > Cuban and EFF's own Fred von Lohmann squaring off over > copyright, YouTube, and the future of Web 2.0. > > Awarded every year since 1991, the Pioneer Awards recognize > leaders who are extending freedom and innovation on the > electronic frontier. > > This year, the Pioneer Awards ceremony will be held in > conjunction with ETech at San Diego's Manchester Grand > Hyatt on Tuesday March 27th, 2007. The event begins at 7:30 > p.m. > > Tickets to the Pioneer Awards ceremony and Mark Cuban's > keynote address are $35. You can buy your ticket in advance > at: > <http://secure.eff.org/pioneerfundraiser> > > For more information about the 2007 Pioneer Awards: > <http://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer> > > The 2007 Pioneer Awards ceremony is sponsored by: > > Gold sponsor Sling Media: > http://www.slingmedia.org > > Silver sponsor: Three Rings > http://www.threerings.com > > Bronze sponsors: Six Apart, JibJab, MOG, Stamen Design. > > That's not all EFF will be up to at ETech. Come to our > Birds of a Feather session, "Is That Even Legal? Tap the > EFF," Monday, March 26, from 9:15 p.m. until 10:15 p.m. in > room Douglas A. EFF lawyers and activists will be on hand > to chat and take your questions about the law's impact on > emerging technologies: > <http://conferences.oreillynet.com/cs/et2007/view/e_sess/13555> > > EFF will also have a booth in the exhibit hall -- stop by > to chat and grab some schwag! > > Exhibit Hall Hours: > > Tuesday, March 27, 2007 > 10:15AM - 11:30AM > 12:30PM - 2:15PM > 3:30PM - 4:30PM > 6:00PM - 7:30PM (Sponsor Reception) > > Wednesday, March 28, 2007 > 10:15AM - 11:30AM > 12:30PM - 2:15PM > 3:30PM - 4:30PM > > About ETech and O'Reilly Media > > For the past five years, the O'Reilly Emerging Technology > Conference has found new networked innovations before they > hit the mainstream. ETech balances pie-in-the-sky > theorizing with practical, real-world information and > conversation. O'Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of > innovators through its books, online services, magazines, > and conferences. Since 1978, O'Reilly has been a chronicler > and catalyst of leading-edge development, homing in on the > technology trends that really matter. > > For more about ETech: > <http://conferences.oreillynet.com/> > > For more information about O'Reilly: > <http://www.oreilly.com> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Google's New Plan to "Anonymize" Search Logs: A Good > First Step, But More Is Needed > > After years of criticism from EFF and other privacy > advocates, last week Google announced a new policy on how > it handles logs of its users' searches: after 18-24 months, > it will delete key information in its server logs that > could be used to link particular users to records of their > search queries. > > This is a big change from Google's previous policy, which > was essentially to keep all of those logs forever in > identifiable form, and we're certainly glad to see that > Google is starting to limit its retention of such sensitive > data. Your Google search history can paint an intimate > portrait of your most private interests and concerns. > Particularly in light of the disastrous AOL search terms > disclosure, recent scandals involving government > surveillance, and Google's own recent court fight with the > government over a subpoena for search records, it seems > that Google has finally realized that limiting the > retention of such records is essential to protecting your > privacy. > > Hopefully, Google's change in policy will spur other online > service providers to consider how they can minimize the > amount of personal data that they store, and perhaps even > prompt competition between service providers to offer the > most privacy-protective services. However, we hope that > this new announcement is only Google's first step in > changing its privacy practices, because additional changes > would better protect user privacy and set an even better > example for the industry: > > * Google should shorten the retention period for > identifiable logs to six months at the outside, and ideally > to only thirty days (which is AOL's retention limit for > similar logs). Barring this, it should at least justify why > it needs such records for up to two years, beyond offering > one-sentence platitudes about how such records are used to > improve Google's service. > * Google should also shorten the retention of the > "anonymized" logs, which Google apparently still intends to > keep forever. As Google itself admits, the new policy > changes still don't guarantee users' anonymity, and holding > onto those records indefinitely still poses a serious > privacy threat. > * Therefore, Google should consider more robust > anonymization techniques, up to and including scrubbing > entire IP addresses rather than just the last quarter or > "octet" of such addresses. > * Finally, Google should expand its new anonymization > policy to include the search records of users with Google > Account log-ins, and to records generated by their myriad > other services, rather than limiting the policy change to > regular search logs. > > Beyond making these additional policy changes, there's one > more thing that Google should be doing--something we think > it actually has a duty to do as a good corporate citizen > and as a preeminent Internet powerhouse--and that is using > its considerable political clout to fight for better > Internet privacy laws on Capitol Hill. Right now, there are > significant questions as to whether or how Internet search > logs are protected by existing federal privacy laws, and > Google owes it to its customers to publicly advocate for > updating those laws for the 21st century. > > For this post and related links: > <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005162.php> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * RIAA to Universities: Help Us Threaten Your Students > > Not content with wasting universities' resources via their > usual tactics -- i.e., flooding them with machine-generated > complaints about file sharing -- the major record labels > are now demanding that universities help them shake down > students. > > The RIAA has asked universities and colleges to forward > "pre-lawsuit" letters to alleged filesharers that promise a > "discounted" settlement price if the student agrees to pay > up immediately. Forwarding the letters saves the RIAA the > trouble and expense of filing a lawsuit to obtain students' > contact information -- a savings that may be redirected to > more lawsuits. > > To add insult to injury, the letters advise students to > contact the RIAA if they have any questions. It's safe to > say that the RIAA is unlikely to give students the full > picture. For example, will the RIAA tell students that > parents are generally not liable for infringements > committed by their kids, or that the record labels > sometimes sue the wrong people? Probably not. > > We think students should seek out less biased sources of > information -- and their institutions should assist in that > process. Toward that end, we've put together a short FAQ to > help students learn more about their options; we hope > colleges and universities that forward the RIAA's threat > letter will take the additional step of directing students > to this FAQ as well as other neutral information sources: > <http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/RIAA_v_ThePeople/college_faq.php> > > The University of Wisconsin is refusing to forward the pre- > litigation letters to its students. Says Brian Rust of UW's > IT department: "These settlement letters are an attempt to > short circuit the legal process to rely on universities to > be their legal agent." We couldn't have said it better > ourselves. > > Of course, the RIAA should not be putting universities in > this perverse position in the first place. Let academic > institutions stick with their real mission -- educating > students, not helping to threaten them. > > Take action now to help stop the lawsuit campaign: > <http://www.eff.org/share/petition> > > For this post and related links: > <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005164.php> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * PATRIOT Act Apologist Site Didn't Get the Memo > > The Department of Justice (DoJ) Inspector General's office > recently released a damning report documenting the FBI > abusing its powers under the PATRIOT Act and violating the > law to collect Americans' telephone, Internet, financial, > credit, and other personal records without judicial > approval. > > It appears that not everyone at the DoJ got the memo. The > DoJ's Life and Liberty website, a site dedicated to > defending the honor of the PATRIOT Act during the re- > authorization process last spring, still reads as if > nothing has changed. Particularly in the light of the newly > revealed truth, many of the quotes now seem (at best) > naive. > > Under the headline of "Examining the Facts," the DoJ > asserts that PATRIOT has a "four-year track record with no > verified civil liberties abuses." The site quotes an op-ed > by former House Judiciary Committee Chairman James > Sensenbrenner: > > "Zero. That's the number of substantiated USA PATRIOT Act > civil liberties violations. Extensive congressional > oversight found no violations. Six reports by the Justice > Department's independent Inspector General, who is required > to solicit and investigate any allegations of abuse, found > no violations." > > Wow, that sure sounds good. Unfortunately, the new report > reveals that it is simply not true: the inspector general > identifies dozens of instances in which extra-judicial > demands for personal information -- known as National > Security Letters -- may have violated laws and agency > regulations. > > Read on for some more choice excerpts: > <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005163.php> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * GoDaddy, Get a Backbone and Protect Your Users' Rights! > > A few weeks back, we wrote about how domain name registrar > GoDaddy took Seclists.org offline based merely on an > informal request and without providing any meaningful > notice to the site's operator. Unfortunately, this isn't > the only instance in which GoDaddy has carelessly ignored > its users' rights. > > In February, EFF was contacted by an anonymous owner of a > parody and criticism website forum that allegedly exposes > the financial corruption and domestic scandal of a local > politician in Birmingham, Alabama. As part of a civil case > in family court, an attorney representing the politician's > girlfriend issued a subpoena to GoDaddy seeking the > identity of the website owner, who was not a party to the > lawsuit. > > With the website owner's right to anonymous speech on the > line, what did GoDaddy do? It caved without any apparent > hesitation, providing its customer with a mere three days > to find a lawyer and decide whether to file a challenge. > GoDaddy also refused to provide a copy of the subpoena, > which included essential information to determine whether > and how to respond. > > GoDaddy promises in its privacy policy to turn over > customers' information only if required by law, but its > lawyers didn't give this subpoena even a shred of scrutiny. > Had they done so, they could have seen it was clearly > invalid -- GoDaddy is located in Arizona and Alabama state > law doesn't permit a subpoena to be issued on someone out > of state. That was the ultimate conclusion of the state > judge who eventually quashed the subpoena, no thanks to > GoDaddy. > > Even putting aside this aspect of GoDaddy's casual > disregard for its customer's interests, the company's > behavior is shameful. The First Amendment limits the > ability of litigants to pierce a speaker's anonymity, > particularly when that person isn't even being sued. > GoDaddy owes its customers meaningful notice, time, and > information so that they can fight back and protect their > rights. > > With the help of lawyer Lewis Page, the anonymous website > operator did manage to move to quash before it was too > late. But GoDaddy's sloppy practices still put an unfair > burden on this user and continue to threaten all of its > customers' rights. > > For what online service providers ought to do to protect > their users, check out our best practice guide: > <http://www.eff.org/osp/> > > For this post and related links: > <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005168.php> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Students Coders: Get Paid to Improve Tor and Protect > Privacy Online! > > Are you a student who knows how to write code or find > security holes? Want to get paid to spend a summer working > to defend anonymity online? Thanks to Google's Summer of > Code, the Tor Project, in collaboration with EFF, has > positions for several students as full-time developers for > the summer of 2007. Apply for your spot before March 24, > and help improve this anonymous Internet communication > tool! More details at: > <http://wiki.noreply.org/noreply/TheOnionRouter/SummerOfCode> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * At ShmooCon? Play the Hacker Arcade and Donate to EFF > > ShmooCon is an annual East Coast hacker convention, and if > you're heading there next week, check out the Hacker > Arcade. It's arcade games just you remember them: play > modded consoles, receive cryptographically secure tokens, > and obtain prizes. And all proceeds go to EFF. > > For more details: > <http://www.shmoocon.org/> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * miniLinks > The week's noteworthy news, compressed. > > ~ Deutsche Telecom Ditches DRM > Musicload, its European music download site says it is in > negotiations to develop alternatives to copy restrictions > because a whopping 75% of user complaints come from DRM! > <http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/86968> > > ~ Lessig: "Make Way for Copyright Chaos" > Is the judiciary taking too central a role in copyright > law? > <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/opinion/18lessig.html?ex=1331870400&en=51ab73d88d4bcf61&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss> > > ~ The Case Against YouTube, by a Viacom Lawyer > "And, above all, copyright law can welcome only those with > pure motives," says a lawyer for the infamously pure > entertainment industry. > <http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-lichtman20mar20,0,7632194.story> > > ~ Is the Internet Killing the Piracy Business? > Physical pirates suffer challenges to their business model > from non-commercial infringers. > <http://torrentfreak.com/p2p-file-sharing-ruins-physical-piracy-business/> > > ~ FBI Had Phone Contracts With AT&T, Verizon and MCI > FBI paid the telcos to harvest phone records from American > citizens. > <http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/03/fbi_confirms_co.html> > > ~ Europe's Broadcast Flag: Will it Get Government Support? > Ars Technica analyzes our report on copy controls in the > European digital video standards. > <http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070314-dvb-broadcast-flag-will-require-government-support-but-may-not-get-it.html> > > ~ Data Retention Begins its Feature Creep > UK plans to check stored phone records after accidents to > detect illegal cell phone use while driving. > <http://www.tjmcintyre.com/2007/02/function-creep-in-action-mobiles-may_27.html#comments> > > ~ Asus Puts the "Analog Hole" to Good Use > Its new sound-card will play PC sound internally, and re- > record it instantaneously. > <http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/03/cebit_2007_asus.html> > > ~ Sony Exec: DRM Should Be "Invisible" > Like the rootkit was invisible to its unsuspecting hosts? > <http://rcrnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070314/FREE/70314009/1007> > > ~ The Smart Card Alliance Thinks Privacy Is Bunk > "Privacy concerns are all perception and hype and no > substance," says spokesman in response to REAL ID worries. > Nice to see industry taking the problems so seriously. > <http://www.techliberation.com/archives/042151.php> > > ~ Consumer Electronics Association: DRM Is Not the Answer > to Piracy > The CEA's Gary Shapiro tells SXSW that "innovation is a > tide that raises all boats." > <http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/03/15/16othertakes_edit.html> > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Administrivia > > EFFector is published by: > > The Electronic Frontier Foundation > 454 Shotwell Street > San Francisco CA 94110-1914 USA > +1 415 436 9333 (voice) > +1 415 436 9993 (fax) > <http://www.eff.org/> > > Editor: > Derek Slater, Activism Coordinator > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Membership & donation queries: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is > encouraged. Signed articles do not necessarily represent > the views of EFF. To reproduce signed articles > individually, please contact the authors for their express > permission. > Press releases and EFF announcements & articles may be > reproduced individually at will. > > Current and back issues of EFFector are available via the > Web at: > <http://www.eff.org/effector/> > > > This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled electrons. -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-list
