EFFector Vol. 20, No. 18 May 9, 2007 editor@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
In the 422nd Issue of EFFector:
- Spoon-Bending 'Paranormalist' Illegally Twists Copyright Law
- Corporate Critic Fights to Keep Internet Anonymity
- Hearing on Electronic Voting Violations in California Election
- Public Opposition to National ID Floods Government Agency
- CNN To Free Debate Footage for Remixing, Re-Use
- Virtual Classes on Cyberlaw
- Support EFF: New Bloggers' Rights Shirts Now Available
- EFF at Maker Faire, May 19-20
- miniLinks (7): The AACS Number and Human Rights Activism
- Administrivia
For more information on EFF activities & alerts:
http://www.eff.org/
Make a donation and become an EFF member today!
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effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired
change.
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Spoon-Bending 'Paranormalist' Illegally Twists Copyright
Law
Uri Geller Makes Bogus Copyright Claims to Silence YouTube
Critic
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
filed suit Tuesday against Uri Geller -- the
"paranormalist" famous for seemingly bending spoons with
his mind -- on behalf of a YouTube critic who was silenced
by Geller's baseless copyright claims.
EFF's client, Brian Sapient, belongs to a group called the
"Rational Response Squad," which is dedicated to debunking
what it calls irrational beliefs. As part of their mission,
Sapient and others post videos to YouTube that they say
demonstrate this irrationality. One of the videos that
Sapient uploaded came from a NOVA program called "Secrets
of the Psychics," which challenges the performance
techniques of Geller.
Despite the fact that only three seconds of the over
thirteen-minute video contain footage allegedly under
copyright owned by Geller's corporation Explorogist Ltd. --
a classic fair use of the material for criticism purposes -
- Geller filed a takedown demand with YouTube under the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). That violates the
DMCA requirement that copyright holders only send takedown
notices for infringing content.
"Uri Geller may not like it when people question his
paranormal abilities. However, he is not allowed to stifle
public criticism by misusing the law," said EFF Staff
Attorney Marcia Hoffman. "If the publication of a video
does not infringe his copyright, then he cannot block its
use -- it's as simple as that."
Because of Geller's unlawful DMCA notice, Sapient's YouTube
account was suspended, and his videos were not available
for over two weeks. In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, EFF asks
for damages due to Geller's violation of the DMCA, a
declaratory judgment that the NOVA video does not infringe
Geller's copyrights, and that Geller be restrained from
bringing any further legal action against Sapient in
connection to the clip.
"We've seen a rash of people abusing the DMCA lately,
attempting to take down legitimate criticism and commentary
online," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "To allow
thin-skinned public figures like Uri Geller to abuse this
system forces critics to remain silent and creates unfair
hurdles for free speech to thrive online."
This lawsuit is part of EFF's ongoing work to protect
online free speech in the face of bogus copyright claims.
EFF is currently working with Stanford's Fair Use Project
to develop a set of "best practices" for proper DMCA
takedowns. At EFF's suggestion, media giant Viacom set up
an email "hotline" to help users who believe their videos
have been improperly ensnared in a takedown campaign.
For the full complaint against Uri Geller and Explorogist
Ltd.:
http://eff.org/legal/cases/sapient_v_geller
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_05.php#005244
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Corporate Critic Fights to Keep Internet Anonymity
Chemical Company on Quest to Identify Online Speaker
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
and the California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC) have
asked a California appeals court to scrutinize a chemical
company's attempt to strip the anonymity from a participant
in an online message board.
The participant posted information that H.B. Fuller Co.
claims could only have been obtained through a company
"town hall meeting," in violation of an employee
confidentiality agreement. However, the poster has
submitted a declaration to the court swearing that he or
she is not an employee and that the information posted on
the message board could have been gleaned from any follower
of Fuller's business practices.
A lower court ruled the message board poster should be
identified to Fuller. In an amicus brief filed last
Wednesday, however, EFF and CFAC argue that the lower court
undervalued the right to anonymity and set a dangerously
low threshold for stripping Internet users of its
protection.
"Liberal protection for the right to engage in anonymous
communication to speak, read, listen, and associate
anonymously is fundamental to a free society," said EFF
Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. "That is why courts must
strike the appropriate balance between the competing
interests of subpoenaing parties and the anonymous speakers
they seek to unmask, recognizing that once an online user's
anonymity and privacy have been eviscerated, they cannot be
repaired."
EFF and CFAC urged the appeals court to adopt a test for
this case and others that would protect the rights of
Internet critics. That test should include notice to the
anonymous speaker, an assessment of the merits of the legal
claims and other alternatives for finding the source of
harm, and careful consideration of the balance of harms.
For the full amicus brief in Fuller v. Doe:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/fuller_v_doe/fuller_v_doe_amicus.pdf
For more on anonymity on the Internet:
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Anonymity
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_05.php#005232
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Hearing on Electronic Voting Violations in California
Election
Alameda County May Face Sanctions for Failure to Preserve
E-Voting Data
Oakland, Calif. - Last Friday a California judge considered
potential sanctions against Alameda County for failing to
preserve critical voting machine-related data in a lawsuit
challenging the county's recount procedures following a
close race conducted on Diebold electronic voting machines
in the 2004 general election.
Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith ruled last month that
county officials violated both the Elections Code and the
California Constitution when they refused to make audit
logs and other relevant data available for a recount. The
county also returned voting machines to Diebold Election
Systems without preserving the corresponding data, despite
the ongoing the legal battle over the recount for Measure
R.
Measure R, a citizens' initiative, would have addressed the
operation of medical marijuana dispensaries in Berkeley.
The measure lost by under 200 votes. Americans for Safe
Access, a medical marijuana group, and three Berkeley
voters asked to see the copies of the votes stored in the
voting units, the audit logs from those machines, the
results of Logic & Accuracy system tests, and the chain-of-
custody records for system components. Although California
Elections Code provides that a voter may examine "all
ballots ... and any other relevant material as part of any
recount," former Alameda County Registrar Bradley Clark
refused to provide any of this "relevant material."
Americans for Safe Access and the Berkeley voters filed
suit.
"Judge Smith's decision is potent vindication of the
people's right to control their elections and a firm rebuke
of the culture of secrecy surrounding electronic voting,"
said Gregory Luke of Strumwasser & Woocher LLP, attorney
for Americans for Safe Access and the suit's three other
plaintiffs. "Having found that the county violated the
voters' right to a recount, the court must now address the
shocking fact that the county disposed of the electronic
copies of the votes while this lawsuit was still pending."
The voter-plaintiffs have asked the court to order the
county to return the $22,000 they were required to pay for
the recount and, if the county is unable to locate the
electronic copies of the votes, to place Measure R back on
the ballot.
"Requirements to preserve the transparency of the electoral
process are especially important when electronic voting
systems are used," said Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF) Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "Aside from the
widespread problems that have been documented with these
types of machines in the past, without the ability to
review even the limited evidence that these machines
generate, the public would lose further confidence in the
process. The court has flatly rejected the shortsighted
arguments of the county about its election-related
obligations. The county should further be held accountable
for any failures to safeguard the digital record of the
2004 election."
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_05.php#005234
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Public Opposition to National ID Floods Government Agency
Thousands of individuals fought back against a national ID
by sending comments to the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) this week. The groundswell of grassroots opposition
is a crucial step towards stopping the REAL ID Act, which
would force states to standardize drivers' licenses and
create massive, interlinked databases of your personal
information.
And that's not the only good news on this front. This week,
Colorado became the eighth state to officially reject
implementation of this 23 billion dollar federal
boondoggle. It also seems that Congress is starting to get
the message, as the Senate Judiciary Committee held a
hearing focusing on the privacy and civil liberties
concerns raised by the Act on Tuesday.
We need your help to keep the momentum going. Visit our
Action Center and tell Congress to repeal REAL ID now:
http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=275
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CNN To Free Debate Footage for Remixing, Re-Use
When the presidential debates are aired by CNN on June 3rd
and 5th, the public will be able to edit, remix, parody and
publish the footage -- without worrying about copyright
violation. CNN has pledged to make debate footage available
to the public "without restriction":
http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2007/05/cnn-presidential-debate-footage.html
CNN's decision comes on the heels of an open letter from a
broad coalition of scholars, public advocates, and Internet
entrepreneurs calling for the release of all debate footage
under a Creative Commons license. Several major candidates
have also joined the call:
http://lessig.org/blog/archives/003755.shtml
This fight isn't over yet, however. Not all future debates
will be hosted by CNN.If MSNBC's rules concerning re-use of
footage of the May 3rd debate footage get picked up by
other stations, some of the important discourse concerning
the election of our next President will remain locked up by
big media companies:
http://www.buzzmachine.com/2007/04/26/for-shame-nbc-news-stealing-the-debate/
For this post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005240.php
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Virtual Classes on Cyberlaw
Learn cyberlaw without leaving cyberspace through the State
of Play Academy. The Academy offers free classes through
the virtual world There.com. The Spring Semester has
already started and runs through June 8.
The virtual classes will teach you the sort of fascinating
stuff your real college never gets around to offering, like
"Claims of Copyright Misuse based on First Amendment
Interests," "The Viacom-Youtube Lawsuit," and "Election
2008 and the Remix Culture." EFF staff attorney Kevin
Bankston is signed up to teach a class called "Every Move
You Make: Location Tracking and the Law."
More information, including how to log on and participate
in SOPA classes, at:
http://www.stateofplayacademy.com
For this post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005238.php
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Support EFF: New Bloggers' Rights Shirts Now Available
EFF's Bloggers' Rights Campaign has scored some big
victories, and now you can show your support by picking up
one of EFF's new bloggers' rights T-shirts. Shirts are
black, available in women's and men's styles, and come in
all sizes. Buy a shirt for $25 from the EFF shop, or get it
as part of your membership:
http://secure.eff.org/shop
http://secure.eff.org/bloggersjoin
Learn more about the Bloggers' Rights Campaign:
http://www.eff.org/bloggers/
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EFF at Maker Faire, May 19-20
If you're going to O'Reilly's Maker Faire on May 19-20 in
San Mateo, California, be sure to stop by EFF's booth. Grab
some schwag and chat with us about all things digital
rights -- we look forward to seeing you!
For more on the Maker Faire:
http://www.makezine.com/faire/
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miniLinks
The week's noteworthy news, compressed.
~ The AACS Number and Human Rights Activism
Ethan Zuckerman ponders the digital civil disobedience over
the HD-DVD processing key and spreading other important
information across the censored web.
http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=1410
~ Secret Court Wiretap Orders Up, Up, Up
Wired makes a link between the growing numbers of wiretaps
and the new moves on telco immunity.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/05/secret_court_sh.html
~ Mooninites, Meet the Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act
Ridiculous fallout from Boston's lite-brite bomb scare.
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070508-mooninites-meet-the-terrorist-hoax-improvements-act.html
~ Exporting IP
The New Yorker looks at the restrictive IP laws exported by
America's "free trade" agreements.
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2007/05/14/070514ta_talk_surowiecki
~ Privacy International Announces 2007 Big Brother Awards
Winners: Choicepoint, the UK, and the International Civil
Aviation Organization. Losers: everyone else.
http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd%5B347%5D=x-347-553112
~ Congress Threatens Colleges With Anti-P2P Law
Sends questionnaire to 20 schools asking entirely loaded
questions.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117964133.html?categoryid=16&cs=1
~ Why the 09ers Are Upset
Ed Felten spells out the outrage at the AACS-LA legal
threats.
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1154
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Administrivia
EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
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+1 415 436 9993 (fax)
http://www.eff.org/
Editor:
Derek Slater, Activism Coordinator
derek@eff.org
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