-------- Forwarded Message -------- > From: EFFector list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Reply-To: EFFector list <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: EFFector 20.25: Ten Years After ACLU v. Reno: Free Speech > Still Needs Defending > Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:47:18 -0500 (CDT) > > EFFector Vol. 20, No. 25 June 25, 2007 [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation > ISSN 1062-9424 > > In the 429th Issue of EFFector: > > * Ten Years After ACLU v. Reno: Free Speech Still Needs > Defending > * Action Alert - Stop the National ID Expansion! > * Dangerous Ruling Forces Search Engine to Log Users > * Congress Set to Uncover Truth About NSA Spying Program > * Travelers Deserve Protection from Baseless Laptop > Searches > * Blogging WIPO: Broadcasting Treaty Deferred Indefinitely > * DVD Home Media Server, We Hardly Knew You > * Viacom Nets, Releases Another Fair Use Dolphin > * miniLinks (14): Former FISA Judge Criticizes Wiretap > Program > * 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. > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Ten Years After ACLU v. Reno: Free Speech Still Needs > Defending > > Online free speech faces many threats today, but the > Internet's incredible abundance and variety of expression > might never have blossomed to begin with if the first major > court battle had gone the wrong way. > > Tuesday marks the ten-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme > Court's landmark decision in Reno v. ACLU, which recognized > that free speech on the Internet merits the highest > standards of Constitutional protection. EFF participated as > both plaintiff and co-counsel in the case, which > successfully challenged the online censorship provisions of > the Communications Decency Act (CDA) of 1996. The Court's > decision -- its first involving the Internet -- was issued > on June 26, 1997. > > The CDA fight was one of the first big rallying points for > online freedom. When the law passed, thousands of websites > turned their backgrounds black in protest. EFF launched its > "blue ribbon" campaign and millions of websites around the > world joined in support of free speech online. Even today, > you can find the blue ribbon throughout the Web. > > EFF Senior Counsel David Sobel, who served as co-counsel in > the case, notes: "The Reno decision defined the First > Amendment for the 21st century. The Court wrote on a clean > slate and established the fundamental principles that > govern free speech issues in the electronic age." > > EFF's work over the past ten years demonstrates that while > the technology might evolve, threats to online expression > persist and core First Amendment principles must be > vigilantly defended. The CDA was a crystal clear case of > unconstitutional government censorship, and the challenges > today are sometimes more complex. EFF's efforts today > include: > > * Intermediaries: EFF fights to protect Internet > middlemen -- like hosting services, search engines, and > ISPs -- from overreaching liability, so that creators of > amazing free speech tools don't have to worry about being > held responsible for everything that Internet users say. > * "Fair Use": EFF defends "fair use" of copyrighted > material, including its ongoing campaign to counter bogus > copyright takedowns on YouTube and elsewhere. > * Bloggers' Rights: EFF promotes bloggers' rights > through litigation and distribution of a comprehensive > legal guide. > * Anonymous speech: EFF supports online anonymity, > primarily through representation of defendants in "John > Doe" lawsuits filed by large corporations and thin-skinned > public officials who want to intimidate their anonymous > critics. > * "Right to Know": EFF uses the Freedom of Information > Act to promote the public's "right to know" and facilitate > informed and open debate on technology and civil liberties > issues. > > The fight against direct government censorship of online > speech continues, too. EFF continues to participate in the > pending litigation against the Children's Online Protection > Act (COPA), a slightly narrower but still gravely dangerous > version of the CDA that the Supreme Court has twice > enjoined. > > While it can sometimes seem that there are more fronts than > ever in the fight for free speech online, the battles we > face today would be much, much harder without that first > victory in ACLU v. Reno. With your help, we'll fight to > make sure that ten years from now, we can look back and see > how today's battles helped pave the way for an even better > future online. > > For the Reno v. ACLU decision: > http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/EFF_ACLU_v_DoJ/19970626_cda.decision > > For a news article on the "Turn the Web" black protest: > http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/4.05/scans.html > > For the Blue Ribbon campaign: > http://www.eff.org/br/ > > For this post and more related links: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005335.php > > Support EFF and become a member today! > http://www.eff.org/support/ > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Action Alert: Stop the National ID Expansion! > > Thousands of individuals and sixteen states have already > told the federal government to dump the privacy-invasive > REAL ID Act, which would standardize drivers' licenses into > a national ID and create databases linking the records > together. But instead of listening to the public, members > of Congress are renewing their efforts to ram the unfunded > mandate down everyone's throats. A provision smuggled into > the major immigration reform bill would effectively force > every American to present a standardized national ID in > order to get a job and establish a huge "employment > verification" system filled with personal information. > > The proposal is set for a floor vote next week -- call your > Senator now to stop the national ID expansion: > http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=303 > > This bill realizes one of our main fears about REAL ID -- > once in place, uses of the IDs and database will inevitably > expand to facilitate a wide range of tracking and > surveillance activities. Remember, the Social Security > number started innocuously enough, but it has become a > prerequisite for a host of government services and been co- > opted by private companies to create massive databases of > personal information. > > The proposed employment verification system is bound to > contain errors impacting millions of Americans, and, along > with inevitable delays implementing REAL ID, that could > present unnecessary hurdles when you apply for a job. The > verification system would also make your private > information more vulnerable to government misuse, security > breaches, and identity theft. > > The more uses created for REAL ID, the harder it becomes to > get the Act off the books entirely. Tell your Senators to > fix this part of the immigration bill by supporting Senate > Amendments 1236 and 1441: > http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=303 > > To learn more about what's wrong with REAL ID, see EFF's > issue page: > http://www.eff.org/Privacy/ID/RealID/ > > For the ACLU's REAL ID webpage: > http://www.realnightmare.org/ > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Dangerous Ruling Forces Search Engine to Log Users > > Public Interest Groups Urge Court to Block Radical > Expansion of Discovery Rules > > San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) > and Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) urged a > California court Friday to overturn a dangerous ruling that > would require an Internet search engine to create and store > logs of its users' activities as part of electronic > discovery obligations in a civil lawsuit. > > The ruling came in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed > by motion picture studios against TorrentSpy, a popular > search engine that indexes materials made publicly > available via the Bit Torrent file sharing protocol. > TorrentSpy has never logged its visitors' Internet Protocol > (IP) addresses. Notwithstanding this explicit privacy > policy, a federal magistrate judge has now ordered > TorrentSpy to activate logging and turn the logged data > over to the studios. > > "This unprecedented ruling has implications well beyond the > file sharing context," said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne > McSherry. "Giving litigants the power to rewrite their > opponent's privacy policies poses a risk to all Internet > users." > > The magistrate judge incorrectly reasoned that, because the > IP addresses exist in the Random Access Memory (RAM) of > TorrentSpy's webservers, they are "electronically stored > information" that must be collected and turned over to the > studios under the rules of federal discovery. > > This decision could reach every function carried out by a > digital device. Every keystroke at a computer keyboard, for > example, is temporarily held in RAM, even if it is > immediately deleted and never saved. Similarly, digital > telephone systems make recordings of every conversation, > moment by moment, in RAM. > > "In the analog world, a court would never think to force a > company to record telephone calls, transcribe employee > conversations, or log other ephemeral information," said > EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "There is no > reason why the rules should be different simply because a > company uses digital technologies." > > The decision also threatens to radically increase the > burdens that companies face in federal lawsuits, > potentially forcing them to create and store an avalanche > of data, including computer server logs, digital telephone > conversations, and drafts of documents never saved or sent. > > The magistrate judge in the case has stayed her order while > TorrentSpy appeals the ruling. The case is Columbia > Pictures Industries v. Bunnell, No. 06-01093 FMC, pending > in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of > California before Judge Florence-Marie Cooper. > > Read the full amicus brief: > http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/torrentspy/EFF_CDT_amicus.pdf > > For this post: > http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_06.php#005334 > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Congress Set to Uncover Truth About NSA Spying Program > > Vote to Authorize Subpoenas Sets Stage for Showdown Over > Illegal Surveillance > > San Francisco - The Senate Judiciary Committee voted > Thursday to authorize subpoenas related to the National > Security Agency (NSA)'s domestic spying program, setting > the stage for a Congressional showdown over the > surveillance of millions of ordinary Americans. The > subpoenas demand certain legal documents that the > Administration has withheld despite repeated requests from > Congress. > > "This subpoena authorization is a critical first step > toward uncovering the full extent of the NSA's illegal > spying and the role that telecommunications companies like > AT&T played in it," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. > "Considering that it's been almost six years since the NSA > started spying on Americans without warrants and over a > year since that spying was revealed publicly, these > subpoenas are long overdue. It's high time for Congress to > get to the bottom of this mess." > > The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is suing AT&T for > illegally assisting in the NSA spying. The government has > asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss > EFF's case, claiming that the lawsuit could expose state > secrets. > > "Our case against AT&T includes evidence from a former > employee that points to a massive spying program impacting > millions of people -- a program far broader than the > government has admitted to," said Bankston. "Americans > deserve to know the truth about the NSA program." > > For more on EFF's class-action lawsuit against AT&T: > http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/ > > For this post: > http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_06.php#005329 > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Travelers Deserve Protection from Baseless Laptop > Searches > > EFF Urges Court to Protect Privacy at Border Crossings > > San Francisco - The government should not search travelers' > computers at border crossings without suspicion, said the > Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Association of > Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) in an amicus brief filed > today in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. > > Over the past several years, U.S. Customs Agents have been > searching and even seizing travelers' laptops when they are > entering or leaving the country if the traveler fits a > profile, appears to be on a government watch list, or is > chosen for a random inspection. The Supreme Court has ruled > that customs and border agents may perform "routine" > searches at the border without a warrant or even reasonable > suspicion, but EFF and ACTE argue that inspections of > computers are far more invasive than flipping through a > briefcase. > > "Our laptop computers contain vast amounts of personal > information about our lives. You may do your banking on > your computer, for example, or send email to your doctor > about health concerns," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Lee > Tien. "Travelers should not be subjected to > unconstitutionally invasive searches of their laptops and > other electronic devices just because they are crossing the > border." > > The case in front of the 9th Circuit, United States v. > Arnold, arose out of a suspicionless "profile" search of > Michael Timothy Arnold's computer at Los Angeles > International Airport. The search uncovered evidence of > alleged child pornography, and Mr. Arnold moved to suppress > the evidence as the product of an unconstitutional search. > The district court ruled that the agents lacked a > reasonable basis to suspect Mr. Arnold of having committed > a crime, and the government appealed the ruling. Mr. Arnold > is represented by the Pasadena law firm of Kaye, McLane & > Bednarski, LLP. The EFF-ACTE amicus brief was prepared by > Arent Fox LLP. > > For the full amicus brief: > http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/US_v_arnold/arnold_amicus.pdf > > For this post: > http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_06.php#005324 > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Blogging WIPO: Broadcasting Treaty Deferred Indefinitely > > Negotiations on the proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty ended > in Geneva on Friday with some welcome news. WIPO Member > States agreed to recommend that the WIPO General Assembly > postpone the high-level intergovernmental Diplomatic > Conference at which the draft treaty could have been > adopted, and move discussions back to regular committee > meetings, down a significant notch from the last two > "Special Session" meetings. > > Apart from pulling the plug on a diplomatic conference that > seemed doomed for failure, Friday's decision also provides a > much-needed opportunity for WIPO to start focusing on other > initiatives, such as facilitating access to knowledge, > evaluating the impact of legally-enforced technological > protection measures on exceptions and limitations, and > Chile's 2004 proposal for mandatory exceptions and > limitations to copyright law for education, the disabled > and libraries and archives. > > Read EFF's briefing paper on the latest treaty draft: > http://www.eff.org/IP/WIPO/broadcasting_treaty/EFF_wipo_briefing_paper_062007.pdf > > Read the Open Letter to WIPO: > http://dearwipo.com/ > > For EFF's WIPO Broadcasting Treaty page: > http://www.eff.org/IP/WIPO/broadcasting_treaty/ > > For the entire update and related links: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005333.php > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * DVD Home Media Server, We Hardly Knew You > > In April, a California court ruled that Kaleidescape did > not violate its contract with the DVD Copy Control > Association (DVD CCA) by distributing a device that rips > and plays DVDs. But now the DRM licensing authority, which > is mostly controlled by movie studios, is planning to > change the contract and more clearly forbid DVD ripping. > > Make no mistake: the VCR, TiVo, iPod, and myriad other > technologies could have faced Kaleidescape's fate if the > entertainment industry had been able to infect TV and music > with DRM sooner. This is also the fate that awaits all > future television technologies if DRM is baked in thanks to > the broadcast flag and CableCARD. > > For EFF's Broadcast Flag page: > http://www.eff.org/IP/broadcastflag/ > > For EFF's page on DRM for Digital Cable and Satellite > http://www.eff.org/IP/pnp/ > > Read the complete post: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005330.php > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Sony Disconnects > > In May 2004, Sony opened up its own store for selling > digital music: Sony Connect. From the start, the service > was plagued with self-inflicted woes. Thanks to Sony's use > of DRM and a proprietary music format (ATRAC), music bought > through Sony Connect could only be played on Sony's > expensive digital music players. And those devices came > loaded with software that was awkward and hard to use. > > Not surprisingly, Sony is rumored to be pulling the plug on > Sony Disconnect, or at least downsizing it. In any case, > the problems of Sony's premiere music service make a point > that deserves emphasis: customers don't like having their > options limited and being herded into using poorly designed > technology. > > Of course, these dangers exist whenever you buy DRMed music > from any vendor. You're locked into the limited array of > players that the DRM is compatible with, and, if that DRM > some day is entirely unsupported, you're out of luck. > > Read EFF Activist Hugh D'Andrade's complete analysis and > related links: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005328.php > > For EFF's "The Customer Is Always Wrong: A User's Guide to > DRM in Online Music": > http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/guide/ > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * Viacom Nets, Releases Another Fair Use Dolphin > > When a company like Viacom sends more than 160,000 DMCA > takedown notices to YouTube, there is a risk that some fair > use "dolphins" will get caught along with the infringing > "tuna." Well, another "dolphin" got caught up in the DMCA > takedown driftnet. > > Last week, Paramount Pictures (a unit of Viacom) apparently > sent a DMCA takedown notice to YouTube, resulting in the > removal of the hugely popular video "10 Things I Hate About > Commandments," an example of the new genre of movie trailer > mashups that has blossomed on YouTube. > > So after the creators contacted EFF, we urged them to test > out the "dolphin hotline," which Viacom created after > getting into hot water for mistakenly taking down > MoveOn.org's "Stop the Falsiness" video. > > Find out what happened in EFF Staff Attorney Fred von > Lohmann's complete post: > http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005327.php > > Watch the video "10 Things I Hate About Commandments" on > YouTube: > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1kqqMXWEFs > > Read more about EFF's lawsuit against Viacom: > http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/moveon_v_viacom/ > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * miniLinks > The week's noteworthy news, compressed. > > ~ Former FISA Judge Criticizes Wiretap Program > Judge Lamberth says "you can't trust the executive." > http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/washington/24judge.html?ex=1340337600&en=17176b6b4f93cc82&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss > > ~ Video of Judge Lamberth's speech: > http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/washevents/woannual/annualconfwo.cfm > > ~ Justice Dept. vs. States on Phone Privacy > Can the feds stop states from investigating whether telcos > helped the NSA spy on Americans? > http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-tap21jun21,1,7897952.story?coll=la-news-a_section > > ~ Google Transparency > Google's new Public Policy Blog discusses... Google's > Public Policy! > http://googlepublicpolicy.blogspot.com/ > > ~ Google Asks Government to Fight Censorship > Are free speech restrictions also trade barriers? > http://www.examiner.com/a-794215%7EGoogle_Asks_Gov_t_to_Fight_Censorship.html > > ~ DRM-Free Sales Boom > EMI reports that sales of some albums are up as much as > 350% now that MP3 tracks without DRM are available. > http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=40443 > > ~ DRM Rises from the Dead > The Blu-ray Disc Association is promoting the use of DRM on > DVDs. > http://www.engadgethd.com/2007/06/20/bd-drm-is-now-available-for-blu-ray > > ~ Googling for Downloads > Music downloaders are circumventing P2P restrictions at > universities by using Google instead. > http://www.slyck.com/news.php?story=1507 > > ~ iPhone Lowdown > Preventng iPhone owners from installing software may hurt > their privacy. > http://www.educatedguesswork.org/movabletype/archives/2007/06/a_very_sweet_so.html > > ~ My Career as a TV Freeloader > A Slate article describes how to tap into the neighbor's > on-demand television. > http://www.slate.com/id/2167389 > > ~ Censorship and the DMCA > How console manufacturers can shut down games they don't > like. > http://www.techliberation.com/archives/042509.php > > ~ An Obituary for Weedshare > A radical way to buy and share music that never took off. > http://www.openbusiness.cc/2007/06/11/weedshare-rip/ > > ~ Vonage and Spam > Vonage is harvesting names from their refer-a-friend > program to send spam promotions. > http://www.damniwish.com/2007/06/vonage-spams-cu.html > > ~ CAN-SPAM With Nifty Web App > Mailinator enables you to retrieve email without providing > any personal data. > http://mailinator.com/ > > : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : > > * 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/ >
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