-------- Forwarded Message -------- > From: EFFector List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: EFFector List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: EFFector 20.24: CA Action Alert - Support Privacy Protections > in California State IDs! > Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 16:20:46 -0500 (CDT) > > EFFector Vol. 20, No. 24 June 20, 2007 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation > ISSN 1062-9424 > > In the 428th Issue of EFFector: > > * CA Action Alert - Support Privacy Protections in State > IDs! > * Court Protects Email from Secret Government Searches > * Judge Orders FBI to Release NSL Abuse Records > * FBI's Abuse of USA PATRIOT Act Even Worse Than We > Thought > * Senate Committee Sets Subpoena Vote for NSA Docs > * AT&T to Play Copyright Cop, Sell Out Customers > * HR 811: Separating Truth From Fiction in E-Voting Reform > * Blogging WIPO: The New Development Agenda > * Pay-To-Send Mail Spreads > * Get LiveJournal For Life and Donate to EFF! > * miniLinks (11): Bush Administration Attacks 'Shield' for > Bloggers > * 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. > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * California Action Alert - Support Privacy Protections In > State IDs! > > A landmark bill that would require tough privacy and > security safeguards for Radio Frequency Identification > (RFID) tags in state-issued IDs sailed through the > California Senate recently on a broad bipartisan vote. It's > moving forward in the Assembly now, and we need your help > to push it through: > http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=125 > > Without proper protections, RFIDs in IDs can broadcast your > private information to anyone and leave you vulnerable to > tracking and identity theft. That's why EFF, the ACLU, the > Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and other groups have been > working hard to get support for the Identity Information > Protection Act (SB 30). > > Last year, California's legislature passed a similar > version of this bill, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger > issued a shortsighted veto. The Senate's decision to pass > this legislation again by an even bigger margin sends a > clear message that the Governor should not forgo another > opportunity to give Californians control over the personal > information on their own drivers' licenses, library cards, > and other important ID cards. > > Make your voice heard and write to the Assembly and > Governor now: > http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=125 > > For more on the bill, check out this blog entry by Nicky > Ozer of the ACLU of Northern California: > http://aclunc.org/issues/technology/bytes_and_pieces/landmark_rfid_bill_overwhelmingly_passes_california_senate.shtml > > For more information about RFID technology: > http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/RFID/ > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Court Protects Email from Secret Government Searches > > Landmark Ruling Gives Email Same Constitutional Protections > as Phone Calls > > San Francisco - The government must have a search warrant > before it can secretly seize and search emails stored by > email service providers, according to a landmark ruling > Monday in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court > found that email users have the same reasonable expectation > of privacy in their stored email as they do in their > telephone calls -- the first circuit court ever to make > that finding. > > Over the last 20 years, the government has routinely used > the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA) to secretly > obtain stored email from email service providers without a > warrant. But today's ruling -- closely following the > reasoning in an amicus brief filed the by the Electronic > Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other civil liberties groups > -- found that the SCA violates the Fourth Amendment. > > "Email users expect that their Hotmail and Gmail inboxes > are just as private as their postal mail and their > telephone calls," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. > "The government tried to get around this common-sense > conclusion, but the Constitution applies online as well as > offline, as the court correctly found. That means that the > government can't secretly seize your emails without a > warrant." > > Warshak v. United States was brought in the Southern > District of Ohio federal court by Steven Warshak to stop > the government's repeated secret searches and seizures of > his stored email using the SCA. The district court ruled > that the government cannot use the SCA to obtain stored > email without a warrant or prior notice to the email > account holder, but the government appealed that ruling to > the 6th Circuit. EFF served as an amicus in the case, > joined by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center > for Democracy & Technology. Law professors Susan Freiwald > and Patricia Bellia also submitted an amicus brief, and the > case was successfully argued at the 6th Circuit by > Warshak's counsel Martin Weinberg. > > For the full ruling in Warshak v. United States: > http://eff.org/legal/cases/warshak_v_usa/6th_circuit_decision_upholding_injunction.pdf > > For EFF's resources on the case, including its amicus > brief: > http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/warshak_v_usa > > For this release: > http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_06.php#005321 > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Judge Orders FBI to Release NSL Abuse Records > > New Evidence of Misuse Prompts Immediate Response in EFF > FOIA Lawsuit > > Washington, D.C. On Monday, a judge ordered the FBI to > finally release agency records about its abuse of National > Security Letters (NSLs) to collect Americans' personal > information. The ruling came just a day after the > Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged the judge to > immediately respond in its lawsuit over agency delays. > > EFF sued the FBI in April for failing to respond to a > Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request about the misuse > of NSLs as revealed in a Justice Department report. This > week, the Washington Post uncovered more evidence of abuse, > and EFF urged the judge Thursday to force the FBI to stop > stalling the release of its records on the deeply flawed > program. > > "The reports we've seen so far about NSL abuse are just the > tip of the iceberg," said EFF Staff Attorney Marcia > Hofmann. "FBI officials told the Washington Post that there > have likely been several thousand total instances of > misuse. Americans deserve answers about this scandal and > how the FBI has abused its power to spy on ordinary > citizens." > > Under the USA PATRIOT Act, the FBI can use NSLs to get > private records about anyone's domestic phone calls, emails > and financial transactions without any court approval -- as > long as it claims the information could be relevant to a > terrorism or espionage investigation. Without a judge's > oversight, the law is ripe for the abuse that has been > uncovered in these recent reports. > > "The law itself is the source of the problem. It's time for > Congress to repeal these expanded NSL powers and protect > Americans from this abuse of authority," said Hofmann. > > The judge's order requires the FBI to process 2500 pages of > NSL-related records by July 5, and then 2500 pages every 30 > days thereafter. > > For the judge's order: > http://www.eff.org/flag/nsl/bates_order.pdf > > For EFF's supplemental memo: > http://eff.org/flag/nsl/supplemental_memo.pdf > > For the Washington Post article on NSLs: > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061302453_pf.html > > For this release: > http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_06.php#005317 > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * FBI's Abuse of USA PATRIOT Act Even Worse Than We Thought > > According to the Washington Post, "An internal FBI audit > has found that the bureau potentially violated the law or > agency rules more than 1,000 times while collecting data > about domestic phone calls, emails and financial > transactions in recent years, far more than was documented > in a Justice Department report in March that ignited > bipartisan congressional criticism." > > That report painted a horror story, including massive > abuses of so-called National Security Letters (NSLs). > Before PATRIOT, the FBI could only use NSLs to obtain the > records of suspected terrorists or spies. But under > PATRIOT, the FBI can use them to get private records about > anybody without any court approval, as long as it believes > the information could be relevant to an authorized > terrorism or espionage investigation. > > >From the moment PATRIOT was passed, EFF said the NSL power > was unconstitutional and ripe for abuse, and these new > revelations make it more clear than ever that Congress > should repeal PATRIOT's expansion of NSL powers and reform > the USA PATRIOT Act as a whole. > > Take action now and tell Congress to stop the abuse of > surveillance powers: > https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=283 > > For this post: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005314.php > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Senate Committee Sets Subpoena Vote for NSA Docs > > On the heels of Representatives in the House threatening to > subpoena documents related to NSA's domestic spying > program, the New York Times reports that the Senate > Judiciary Committee has now set a vote on whether to > authorize subpoenas. > > Read the New York Times article: > http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/washington/13nsa.html > > For this post: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005310.php > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * AT&T to Play Copyright Cop, Sell Out Customers > > AT&T has announced plans to sell out its customers. > > No, this time we're not talking about spying on telephone > and Internet communications on the government's behalf. > AT&T is now kowtowing to the entertainment industry and > jointly developing undisclosed technical measures in yet > another desperate attempt to stop "piracy." > > AT&T's plan is currently pure vaporware, and it has stated > that "once a technology was chosen, the company would look > at privacy and other legal issues." In other words, the > AT&T Internet traffic cop appears poised to shoot first, > and ask questions about the impact on your civil liberties > and ability to access lawful content and applications > later. > > For the entire post and related links: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005311.php > > See also Alex Curtis' commentary on Public Knowledge's > blog: > http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1009 > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * HR 811: Separating Truth From Fiction in E-Voting Reform > > After years of painstaking lobbying, email and phone > campaigns, congressional hearings, and committee markups > and amendments, Rep. Rush Holt's Voter Confidence and > Increased Accessibility Act finally appears poised for a > floor vote in the House of Representatives. With an > impressive 216 bipartisan co-sponsors, the bill has a real > chance of passing. If signed into law, HR 811 would > dramatically improve the electoral process in both the > short and long term. While it would not solve the immense > shortcomings in the current system, HR 811 would take a > giant step towards returning much-needed transparency and > accountability to the process. > > Not unexpectedly, now that the bill has gained traction in > the 110th Congress, critics have descended onto the bill > with a fury, complaining that it is too weak or too strong, > that its deadlines are too ambitious or too distant, that > it takes too much autonomy away from the states or not > enough. > > EFF strongly supports the passage of HR 811 and hopes that > you will as well. Don't just take our word for it: read the > bill for yourself and then make your own decision. If you > don't think that HR 811 goes far enough, then push for > passage of complementary legislation, either in Congress or > with your own State legislatures. EFF will continue to > support sensible legislative proposals that can build on > the foundation of HR 811. But whatever you do, don't fall > for the false choice offered in the breathless rhetoric of > the "all or nothing" contingent. Don't let the perfect be > the enemy of the good. And HR 811 is good. > > Read the bill: > http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.00811: > > Read EFF Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman's complete analysis > of the bill: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005308.php > > Tell Congress to Support E-Voting Reform: > http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=109 > > Read more about EFF's E-voting work: > http://www.eff.org/Activism/E-voting/ > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Blogging WIPO: The New Development Agenda > > The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) > Provisional Committee finished Development Agenda > discussions in Geneva last Friday. The good news is that it > recommended creating a new WIPO permanent committee to > implement 45 public interest-oriented proposals designed to > turn WIPO into an organization that can help foster > sustainable development in all its Member States. Somewhat > surprisingly, the week's closed-door, non-public > negotiations produced 21 concrete proposals that, if > adopted, will help WIPO safeguard the public interest and > promote innovation and knowledge creation. > > The Development Agenda meetings are really about the future > of WIPO as an international organization. As an agency of > the United Nations, WIPO has an institutional obligation to > facilitate and implement the wider development perspective > of the United Nations' Millennium Declaration. In addition, > as recognized in the 1974 Agreement between the United > Nations and WIPO, WIPO has an institutional mandate to > facilitate the transfer of technology and the building of > technical capacity in developing countries. > > Read the complete session updates and see related links: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005320.php > > To learn more about the WIPO Development Agenda and EFF's > role as a permanent observer: > http://www.eff.org/IP/WIPO/dev_agenda/ > > For the United Nations' Millennium Declaration: > http://www.un.org/millennium/declaration/ares552e.htm > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Pay-To-Send Mail Spreads > > As EFF members will recall, we were part of a large > coalition of groups that raised serious concerns about the > introduction of Goodmail, an email authentication and > certification service that charges those who send email to > guarantee delivery, splitting the money with the ISPs who > are supposed to deliver you your email. > > We were concerned that the trend to such pay-to-send email > would spread and would affect nonprofits and others who run > large mailing lists who would face the choice of paying or > not having their email delivered. We were also worried that > this process was not easily visible to the recipients of > email -- you and me -- who would not then be able to > complain when their ISPs stopped delivering email except > from those willing to pony up. We eventually reached a sort > of detente with AOL and Yahoo about it, including promises > from both that they would maintain their ordinary white > list processes that aren't based on payment but objective > mailing practices. > > Well, Goodmail continues to sign up ISPs, and now has > announced partnerships with Comcast, Cox, Verizon, and > Roadrunner. They join AOL and Yahoo! in the CertifiedEmail > program. > > What will happen now that the program has expanded to > companies whose track record with white and blacklisting is > shadier, and whose incentives to maintain high mail > deliverability are lower? > > Find out in our complete post: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005309.php > > For more information on our campaign against AOL's > Goodmail: > http://www.eff.org/spam/aolmail/ > > EFF would like to hear from noncommercial email senders who > run into problems with their email delivery. Contact us at > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> if you've been unable to resolve > problems with blocking intermediaries when sending your > noncommercial mass email. > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Get LiveJournal For Life and Donate to EFF! > > >From Thursday, June 21, to Thursday, June 28, 2007, > LiveJournal will make you "an offer you can't refuse." LJ > will be holding a rare sale of Permanent Accounts for its > members. The best part of the deal is that if you buy your > LJ lifetime account during the first 36 hours of the sale, > Six Apart will donate $25 from your $125 purchase price > among four worthy organizations: EFF, Creative Commons, > RAINN and Witness. You can also choose EFF as the sole > recipient of the $25 donation. Either way, we want to > thank Six Apart for generously supporting EFF with this > unique event! > > To learn more about the "LiveJournal 4 Life" sale: > http://news.livejournal.com/100432.html > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * miniLinks > The week's noteworthy news, compressed. > > ~ Bush Administration Attacks 'Shield' for Bloggers > Should bloggers have "reporter's privilege"? > http://news.com.com/Bush+administration+attacks+shield+for+bloggers/2100-1028_3-6191053.html > > ~ Which ISPs Are Spying on You? > Wired News asks the major ISPs about what information they > gather on their customers. > http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/05/isp_privacy > > ~ Watchdog Group Slams Google on Privacy > A watchdog group says Google's privacy policies are the > worst on the Internet. > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/09/AR2007060900840.html > > ~ Yahoo's China Policy Rejected > Yahoo shareholders rejected plans for the company to adopt > a policy that opposes censorship on the Internet. > http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6747095.stm > > ~ Censorship Continues in Thailand > Thailand continues to ban YouTube and also blocks the > blogging platform "Blogger". > http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/2007/06/13/beat-the-censors-a-gift-of-freedom-for-thai-internet-users/ > > ~ Politics and Hip-Hop Are Doing a Mash-Up > Mash up artist Girl Talk meets his champion in Congress. > http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19263088/site/newsweek/page/0/ > > ~ AT&T Slammed Over Piracy Plan > AT&T is promising to help Hollywood track down digital > pirates. > http://contentagenda.com/articleXml/LN627585829.html?industryid=45174 > > ~ Michael Moore on Copyright Law > Filmmaker Michael Moore, whose film Sicko has reportedly > been pirated, speaks out on copyright law. > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVYhwKu7J5E > > ~ Can the Music Industry Sue Its Way to Profit? > Publisher Kurt Hanson and attorney Jay Rosenthal debate the > economics of online music. > http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-op-dustup15jun15,0,43795.story? > > ~ Arbitrary Sneakwrap Takes Some Hits > Two recent court decisions side with consumers on > clickwrap/sneakwrap licenses. > http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2007/6/19/0355/71352 > > ~ A Recording Industry EULA, Circa 1909 > Looks like the fine print has always been bad... > http://www.boingboing.net/2007/06/18/record_company_eulas.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: > Julie Lindner, Education Outreach 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
