EFFector Vol. 20, No. 6 February 6, 2007 editor@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
In the 412th Issue of EFFector:
- EFF Tackles New Role in Europe
- EFF Battles Gambit to Freeze Telecom Surveillance Cases
- Audio From ACLU v. NSA Hearing Last Week
- Surveillance of Soldiers' Blogs Sparks Lawsuit
- Car Expo Threatens Online Critics with Bogus Trademark Claims
- Pork Board Saves Own Bacon, Apologizes to Blogger for Trademark Misuse
- Florida Governor Wants to Dump E-Voting Machines
- Microsoft's Vista: Read the Fine Print!
- miniLinks (12): Web Giants Ask U.S. Government to Help Fight Censorship
- Administrivia
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effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired
change.
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* EFF Tackles New Role in Europe
EFF Europe Office Opens in Brussels
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
opened a new office in Brussels yesterday to work with
various institutions of the European Union (EU) on
innovation and digital rights, acting as a watchdog for the
public interest in intellectual property and civil
liberties policy initiatives that impact the European
digital environment.
The new EFF Europe office, made possible by the generous
support of the Open Society Institute and Mr. Mark
Shuttleworth of the Shuttleworth Foundation, will allow EFF
to have an increased focus on the development of EU law.
EFF also plans to expand its efforts in European digital
activism and looks forward to working with many groups and
organizations to fight effectively for consumers' and
technologists' interests. EFF's new European Affairs
Coordinator, Erik Josefsson, will be an on-the-ground
analyst, activist, and educator about critical intellectual
property and civil liberties issues.
"In a networked world, protecting innovation and digital
rights must be a global effort," Josefsson said. "We hope
this new office in Brussels will increase awareness of
European developments and enrich the policy debate."
Josefsson was previously the president of the Swedish
chapter of Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure
(FFII.se). FFII was instrumental in defeating the proposed
Software Patents Directive, which would have brought an
expanded software patent scheme to Europe. Josefsson has
also worked with European Digital Rights (EDRI) and other
European groups in fighting against the European
Parliament's adoption of the Data Retention Directive,
which threatens to undo the existing pro-consumer privacy
protections in Europe. In recent months, Josefsson has been
part of a team of committed FFII activists opposing the
proposed second Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement
Directive (IPRED2), which will impose harsh criminal
sanctions and prison terms for violation of intellectual
property rights, stifling technical innovation and
imperiling consumers if not amended.
"Europe is at the forefront of policy developments that
threaten Internet users' freedom, from unwarranted
copyright term extension to mandatory data retention," said
EFF International Affairs Director Gwen Hinze. "We welcome
the valuable European educational and activism expertise
that Erik brings to EFF Europe, and we are excited about
this new opportunity to represent the public interest in
the formative stages of European policy development."
Josefsson will be supported in EFF's San Francisco office
by Danny O'Brien, EFF's Activism Coordinator, whose past
experience includes digital rights work in the United
Kingdom. Josefsson will be succeeded as president of FFII
Sweden by Jonas Bosson, who was one of the founders of the
organization and will continue to fight new attempts to
make software patents enforceable in Europe.
For more on EFF Europe:
http://www.eff.org/global/europe/
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_02.php#005111
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* EFF Battles Gambit to Freeze Telecom Surveillance Cases
EFF filed suit more than a year ago against AT&T, accusing
the telecom giant of collaborating with the NSA's illegal
spying program. Despite Judge Vaughn Walker's decision
rejecting their motions to dismiss in July, both the
government and AT&T are still working to stall progress in
the case.
On Friday, February 9, at 2 p.m., EFF will argue in a U.S.
District Court that the suit must proceed, regardless of
the government's attempt to overturn Judge Walker's ruling
in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. EFF's suit and
other cases against major telecommunications companies
involve critical, time-sensitive questions, and alleged
violations of the law could still be ongoing. Americans
deserve answers now, not further delays.
For more about the hearing:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_02.php#005112
Congress should also help uncover the truth about the
spying program -- take action to support immediate
investigations:
http://action.eff.org/fisa
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* Audio From ACLU v. NSA Hearing Last Week
Last week, the ACLU urged the Sixth Circuit Court of
Appeals to uphold a lower court ruling that the NSA's
warrantless wiretapping is illegal and unconstitutional. An
audio from the hearing is available here:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/ACLUappealargument.mp3
This case deals with the so-called "Terrorist Surveillance
Program" that the President has publicly confirmed. EFF's
case against AT&T alleges that the program goes beyond what
the President has directly admitted and intercepts the
phone and Internet communications of millions of ordinary
Americans.
For the district court's decision in ACLU v. NSA:
http://eff.org/legal/cases/att/aclu_case_decision.pdf
For more on EFF's case against AT&T:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att
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* Surveillance of Soldiers' Blogs Sparks Lawsuit
Defense Department Withholds Records About Army Blog
Monitoring Program
Washington, D.C. - The FLAG Project at the Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit against the Department
of Defense last week, demanding expedited information on
how the Army monitors soldiers' blogs.
According to news reports, an Army unit called the Army Web
Risk Assessment Cell (AWRAC) reviews hundreds of thousands
of websites every month, notifying webmasters and bloggers
when it sees information it finds inappropriate. Some
bloggers have told reporters that they have cut back on
their posts or shut down their sites altogether because of
the activities of the AWRAC. EFF filed its suit after the
Department of Defense and Army failed to respond to Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) requests about the blog
monitoring program.
"Soldiers should be free to blog their thoughts at this
critical point in the national debate on the war in Iraq,"
said EFF Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann. "If the Army is
coloring or curtailing soldiers' published opinions,
Americans need to know about that interference."
EFF's suit demands records on how the AWRAC conducts its
monitoring, as well as any orders to soldiers about
revision or deletion of web posts. It also demands
expedited processing, as the information is urgently needed
by the public.
"Of course, a military effort requires some level of
secrecy. But the public has a right to know if the Army is
silencing soldiers' opinions as well. That's why the
Department of Defense must release information on how this
program works without delay," Hofmann said.
EFF's FLAG Project uses FOIA requests and litigation to
expose the government's expanding use of technologies that
invade privacy. Previous lawsuits have demanded information
about the FBI's huge database of personal information and
the Department of Homeland Security's program to assign
secret "risk assessment" scores to American travelers.
For the FOIA complaint filed against the Department of
Defense:
http://www.eff.org/flag/awrac/awrac_complaint.pdf
For more on the FLAG Project:
http://www.eff.org/flag/
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_01.php#005103
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* Car Expo Threatens Online Critics with Bogus Trademark
Claims
EFF Backs Parody Protest Site of Chicago Auto Show
Chicago - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) warned
the Chicago Auto Show to back off attempts to muzzle
protestors who posted a parody of the show's website.
The parody site, autoshowshutdown.org, is a clearinghouse
for information about the "Auto Show SHUTDOWN Festival" --
an annual event where hundreds of cyclists parade through
Chicago to raise awareness about global warming and to
promote sustainable transportation. The ride culminates in
a rally at the entrance to the show. But last week, a
lawyer for the auto show sent a threatening letter to the
protestors, claiming that the website amounted to trademark
infringement and that it would seek damages if the parody
was not taken down.
In a letter sent in response last week, EFF reminded the
auto show that trademark infringement must involve some
commercial use, which is clearly not the case in this non-
profit, community-organized protest.
"Auto show organizers can't stop thousands of citizens from
attending the SHUTDOWN Festival. Instead, they have
resorted to baseless trademark claims to silence critics
and interfere with planning for an event that embarrasses
them," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "Both
trademark law and the First Amendment won't allow for
that."
In addition, an EFF investigation found that the auto show
does not actually own the trademark it is claiming was
infringed. Records show that the Chicago Auto Show
abandoned the mark by neglecting to respond to
correspondence from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,
as required by law.
"The auto show seems so scared of fair competition in the
marketplace of ideas that they aren't playing clean," said
protest organizer Dan Korn. "Fortunately, we know our free
speech rights, and we will be exercising them during the
SHUTDOWN Festival, despite their threats."
EFF's letter to the Chicago Auto Show is part of its
ongoing campaign to protect online free speech from the
chilling effects of bogus intellectual property claims. EFF
is currently representing a blogger threatened with
copyright infringement by ABC after criticizing talk radio
hosts. In November, EFF reached an agreement with the
corporate owners of the popular children's television
character Barney the Purple Dinosaur to withdraw meritless
legal threats against a website publisher who parodied the
character.
For the full response sent to the Chicago Auto Show:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/chicagoautoshow/response_letter.pdf
For more on the threat to the SHUTDOWN Festival:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/chicagoautoshow/
For this release
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_02.php#005108
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* Pork Board Saves Own Bacon, Apologizes to Blogger for
Trademark Misuse
The National Pork Board has apologized for threatening to
sue "The Lactivist" blog for using the slogan "the other
white milk." This is no joke, though the Board's legal
theory was laughable.
After warning blogger Jennifer Laycock that using the
slogan on a T-shirt infringed and diluted the Pork Board's
trademark on "the other white meat," perhaps the Board
expected the blogger to cave immediately. Instead, Laycock
took her case to the court of public opinion, blogging
about the letter and asking her readers to contact the Pork
Board to complain about it. Laycock and her readers were
particularly offended by the letter's implication that
Laycock was an advocate of adult breastfeeding.
The Pork Board was hit with calls and emails. Doubtless
realizing that an entity devoted to marketing a food
product should not risk alienating mothers, the Pork Board
promptly contacted Ms. Laycock to apologize.
Kudos to the Pork Board for realizing the error of its
ways. But it's a shame that it didn't spend a little more
time investigating before sending off an improper cease and
desist letter. Like Chicago Auto Show, the Pork Board
decided to shoot first and ask questions later. Laycock
refused to be intimidated, but other bloggers and parodists
may not have the knowledge or resources to fight back to
defend non-infringing uses.
For this post and related links:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005110.php
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* Florida Governor Wants to Dump E-Voting Machines
Florida Governor Charlie Crist says his state should dump
the touch-screen voting systems that were installed after
the disputed 2000 presidential race in favor of more
reliable optical-scanning machines. Voters would mark up a
paper ballot and be able to verify their vote on the spot
with a paper receipt.
"You go to an ATM machine, you get some kind of a record.
You go to the gas station, you get a record. If there's a
need for a recount, it's important to have something to
count," said Crist. The governor plans to ask the Florida
legislature for $20 million to replace the touch-screen
machines.
The current machines provide no paper backup and have been
plagued by irregularities and scandal in recent elections.
EFF and a coalition of voting integrity groups,
representing Sarasota County voters, have filed suit in
state court in Tallahassee asking for a re-vote in
Florida's 13th congressional district. In a high-profile
battle over former Rep. Katherine Harris' seat, the result
was decided by 363 votes, yet over 18,000 ballots cast on
Sarasota County's e-voting machines registered no vote in
the race, an exceptional anomaly in the State.
For this post and related links:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005105.php
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* Microsoft's Vista: Read the Fine Print!
After numerous delays, Microsoft has launched its new Vista
operating system and proclaimed the "Wow starts now."
Thanks for filling us in, Microsoft, but what is there to
be wowed about? Maybe Microsoft's talking about the
collective gasp among consumers who are looking at the
litany of restrictions buried within Vista's End User
License Agreement (EULA).
As law professor Michael Geist explains in a recent
editorial, "In the name of shielding consumers from
computer viruses and protecting copyright owners from
potential infringement, Vista seemingly wrestles control of
the 'user experience' from the user."
For instance, Vista's EULA limits the numbers of copies
that can be made (allowing only one for backup purposes).
The anti-virus program that comes with Vista reserves the
right to delete any programs it deems dangerous without
permission, even though this could mean the removal of
legitimate and useful software (or prevent other software
from working). And the EULA warns users that "you may not
work around any technical limitations of the software."
And that's not all -- read the whole editorial for more:
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/1640/159/
For this post and related links:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005104.php
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* miniLinks
The week's noteworthy news, compressed.
~ Web Giants Ask U.S. Government to Help Fight Censorship
"Censorship should be treated as a trade barrier and be
written into free-trade agreements," says Google's lawyer.
http://news.com.com/Web+giants+ask+for+feds+help+on+censorship/2100-1028_3-6154930.html?tag=nefd.top
~ MPAA v. Canada: Is There Really a Northern Piracy Menace?
The MPAA's curious attack on camcording movies in the
outlaw state of Canada doesn't hold up.
http://techdirt.com/articles/20070205/114410.shtml
~ UK Sex Offenders Must Register E-mail Address, Minister
Suggests
On the Internet, nobody knows you have another hotmail
account.
http://technollama.blogspot.com/2007/02/sex-offenders-must-register-e-mail.html
~ What Caused the Sarasota Undervote?
Ed Felten has some theories, but state officials are still
stonewalling a proper inquiry.
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1115
~ Sony BMG Settles FTC Charges
Sony has to clearly and prominently disclose playback and
copying restrictions on future CDs and pay up to $150 to
affected users.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2007/01/sony.htm
~ 9/11 Commission Report: Copying Is a Crime
The official (and uncopyrighted) PDF has anti-copy-and-
paste DRM turned on.
http://www.techliberation.com/archives/041976.php
~ Turning Off Google Search History
Disgruntled ex-Google employee Nelson Minar shows how to
stop Google from tying your searches to your name (though
there's no guarantee that they can't do that without your
permission).
http://www.somebits.com/weblog/tech/bad/googleSearchHistory.html
~ Old Media Can Trump New Media Through Openness
A vice-president at VH1 explains how newspapers can survive
the Web information explosion.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200612/hirschorn-newspapers
~ Maybe This Will Refresh Your Memory
Secret wiretapping court gets a $3.1 million budget boost
to address a "spike in applications."
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070205/5fbi.htm
~ DNA Sampling Database Set to Expand
"Obviously, the bigger the DNA database, the better," say
supporters.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/05/washington/05dna.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1170696326-JaT2cc/6llJC7MUQeTzQUw
~ Town Fakes Criminal Subpoenas to Uncover Anonymous Voice,
Pays $225,000
Attempts by Colonie city officials to uncover emailer by
demanding his name and account information from ISP were
illegal, court decides.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=555194&category=REGION&newsdate=1/19/2007
~ Piracy Worked for Us, Romania President Tells Bill Gates
"La-la-la, not listening," comments Microsoft spokesperson.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/01/AR2007020100715.html
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* Administrivia
EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
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http://www.eff.org/
Editor:
Derek Slater, Activist
derek@eff.org
Membership & donation queries:
membership@eff.org
General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries:
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