EFFector Vol. 20, No. 35 September 06, 2007
editor@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
In the 439th Issue of EFFector:
- Visit StoptheSpying.org and Fight for Your Freedom Now!
- Ex-DOJ Official Pens Tell-All Book on "Flimsy" Legal Basis for Executive Power
- Administration Leaks Confirm AT&T and Verizon's Role in Warrantless Wiretapping
- Microsoft Embraces Machinima...and Maybe the GPL?
- Is it Legal to Unlock Your iPhone?
- Check Out the 7th Annual "Future of Music Policy Summit" in Washington, DC!
- miniLinks (10): At Rapleaf, Your Personals Are Public
- 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.
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* Visit StoptheSpying.org and Fight for Your Freedom Now!
The president is unconstitutionally wiretapping the
telephone and Internet communications of millions of
ordinary Americans. Telecom giants want to block lawsuits
like EFF's case against AT&T and get immunity for their
illegal collaboration with the president's program.
And now Congress is threatening to let them get away with
it.
Stand with EFF as we launch a new campaign to take on
Congress and stop the spying. Tell the government to stop
surveillance of Americans' communications without a
warrant.
Defend your freedom now:
http://www.stopthespying.org
For at least six years, President Bush has authorized the
National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct dragnet
surveillance on our domestic telecommunications networks,
vacuuming up the private communications of millions of
ordinary Americans with no warrants or other meaningful
oversight.
Yet instead of reining in this intolerable attack on your
Constitutional rights, the Democratic leadership caved to
the president's demands for even more spying authority by
passing the so-called "Protect America Act" in August. Now
the Administration wants to make its power grab permanent,
prevent any court from stopping the illegal spying, and
give companies like AT&T a "get-out-of-jail-free" card.
It's going to take massive public outrage to make Congress
grow a backbone and check the president's abuse of power.
The first step is to demand a strong, clear commitment from
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid to protect your rights.
Legislation could be considered this month, so please don't
wait before picking up the phone and making your voice
heard. You can get contact information and talking points
at:
http://www.stopthespying.org
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* Crunch Time for E-voting Reform
If all goes as planned, H.R. 811 -- the Voter Confidence
and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 -- will come to a
floor vote in the House of Representatives on Thursday or
Friday of this week. Despite speculation to the contrary,
it is not at all clear whether the bill, introduced by New
Jersey Representative Rush Holt, will pass or whether a
substantively similar companion bill will then pass the
Senate. Like it or not, with election officials arguing
that they're running out of time to implement wholesale
changes, this likely amounts to Congress's only attempt to
make any serious improvements to the nation's election
procedures ahead of the 2008 presidential election.
Whatever its shortcomings, and whatever its incremental
pace, H.R. 811 offers an important step forward. EFF
continues to call for more ambitious reform than that
offered by the current version of the bill, but we also
recognize that H.R. 811 offers the best immediate
opportunity for meaningful change. It needs your support
today. Without it, be prepared to live with no additional
federal protections for the 2008 election. Any new bill
will be targeted at the 2010 or 2012 general election.
Take action now; tell your Representative to support H.R.
811:
http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=109
For background on the bill, see EFF's article, "HR 811:
Separating Truth From Fiction in E-voting Reform":
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005308.php
See EFF's E-voting page:
http://www.eff.org/Activism/E-voting/
For this post and related links:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005421.php
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* Ex-DOJ Official Pens Tell-All Book on "Flimsy" Legal
Basis for Executive Power
This week, the New York Times released a preview of Prof.
Jack Goldsmith's upcoming book, The Terror Presidency: Law
and Judgment Inside the Bush Administration. Now a
professor at Harvard Law School, Goldsmith was previously
the head of the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Office of
Legal Counsel, an office deeply involved in developing the
legal theories underpinning the Administration's expansion
of Executive power.
According to Prof. Goldsmith's book, the Administration
continues to pull out all the stops in an attempt to
eliminate legal review. It refused the appropriate
clearances for an investigation by the Justice Department's
Office of Professional Responsibility, stonewalled
Congressional subpoenas for the legal memos, concealed FISA
court orders ruling on the legal theories and asserted the
state secret privilege in civil lawsuits trying to stop the
surveillance.
The Administration's thin claims of state secrets can no
longer be allowed to cover up the truth about its illegal
activity. Take action now to fight the warrantless
surveillance and tell Congress to stand up for the rule of
law:
http://action.eff.org/fisa
For the New York Time's article, "Conscience of a
Conservative":
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/magazine/09rosen.html?ex=1347076800&en=426a5f520b57279a&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
See EFF's page on the NSA's Warrantless Domestic
Surveillance:
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/NSA/
For the full post and related links:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005422.php
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* Administration Leaks Confirm AT&T and Verizon's Role in
Warrantless Wiretapping
Last Friday, the Administration filed yet another court
brief contending that the case against AT&T for its
cooperation in the warrantless wiretapping program must be
dismissed, for fear that the bad guys might figure out the
well known fact that AT&T had indeed participated. In
response to the Director of National Intelligence's
admission that the companies that "were being sued" "had
assisted" the wiretapping program, the Administration
attempts to minimize McConnell's admission.
And on the very same day, the Administration went to work
on gathering political support for its proposal to grant
retroactive immunity to the telecommunications giants. Over
a dozen government officials spoke to the Associated Press
"on condition they not be identified because sensitive
negotiations with Congress are ongoing." Despite the oft-
repeated litigation position that naming particular
telecommunications companies was too sensitive:
"One of the officials said the defendants in suits brought
by the American Civil Liberties Union -- Verizon and AT&T --
would be the key beneficiaries of the proposed
legislation."
So how do we explain this apparent discrepancy? Find out in
our full post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005420.php
For National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell's Q&A
transcript:
http://tca-reference-desk.blogspot.com/2007/08/transcript-interview-with-mike.html
For the New York Times article, "Role of Telecom Firms in
Wiretaps Is Confirmed":
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/24/washington/24nsa.html?%3Cbr%20/%3Eex=1345608000&en=4e8428cf3d46306c&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss
For the AP article, "Bush Seeks Legal Immunity for
Telecoms":
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jru-renJE_PhswOokuBfOOx1O_Vg
Read more about EFF's case against AT&T:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att
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* Microsoft Embraces Machinima ... and Maybe the GPL?
The machinima world got some big news recently when
Microsoft announced its "Game Content Usage Rules," which
is a license that explicitly authorizes the creation of
machinima (and other derivative works) using Microsoft game
content. As far as we know, this is the first time a major
commercial game vendor has created a "machinima license" to
facilitate this exciting new genre.
And there's an interesting General Public License (GPL)
intersection with this new Microsoft license that could
potentially be your defense if Microsoft sues you for
infringement.
What is it, you ask? Find out in our post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005419.php
Wikipedia defines the "machinima" hybrid genre here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machinima
Check out Spartan Life's interview of Malcolm McLaren for
an example of the amazing things machinima creators are
doing using Halo:
http://www.thisspartanlife.com/episodes/1003_mod5.php
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* Is it Legal to Unlock Your iPhone?
Well, now that a high-school senior has done it, everyone
wants to know: is it legal to unlock your iPhone?
The answer, as we lawyers like to say, is complicated. But,
we do know who's qualified to offer some direction.
Find out in our complete post:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005418.php
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* Check Out the 7th Annual "Future of Music Policy Summit"
in Washington, DC!
Future of Music Coalition (FMC) is a national nonprofit
that works on the issues at the intersection of music, law,
technology and policy. For the past six years, FMC has
organized an annual Policy Summit that brings an
unprecedented mix of 500 musicians, artists, attorneys and
policymakers together for discussions about issues that are
emerging as the promotion and distribution of music moves
to a global, digital platform.
This year, FMC is back in Washington, DC, to host the 7th
annual "Future of Music Policy Summit" from September 17-
18, 2007. Over the course of two days, panels will cover
such topics as:
* Copyright and licensing issues
* Network neutrality and broadband policy
* FCC's "rules of engagement" on payola
* Sample clearance licensing process
* The explosion of niche market genres
* Wireless/music portability
* The challenges of cultural preservation
* Technologies that are bringing artists and fans closer
together
...and more.
The Summit will also include a special conversation with
Marybeth Peters, Registrar, US Copyright Office, and
keynotes by leading members of Congress.
For general event information:
http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit07/
To see all confirmed panelists:
http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit07/panelists.cfm
To see the summit schedule:
http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit07/matrix.cfm
Online registration is open; the regular 2-day registration
rate is $199 per person. Discounted rates are also
available for students:
https://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit07/regform.cfm
Scholarships are available for working musicians. There are
only a few left, so click here to apply!
http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit07/scholarshipinfo.cfm
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* miniLinks
The week's noteworthy news, compressed.
~ At Rapleaf, Your Personals Are Public
A new generation of search engines scans personal data from social
networking sites.
http://news.com.com/At+Rapleaf%2C+your+personals+are+public/2100-1038_3-6205716.html?tag=nefd.top
~ Open Government Without Shutting Doors
The draft "European Convention on Access to Official Documents" has
serious flaws.
http://www.access-info.org/
~ Ballot Machines Malfunction in Scotland
More than 140,000 ballots were apparently spoilt in Scottish
Parliamentary elections.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/6975346.stm
~ California Blocks RFID Implants in Workers
The State Senate votes to ban "forced tagging of humans."
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/09/03/1847248&from=rss
~ New Business Models in the Recording Industry
The new head of Columbia Records has some interesting ideas.
http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1194
~ Know Your Rights, These Are Your Rights
What should you do when the RIAA comes calling?
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/31/know-your-rights-what-to-do-with-the-riaa-comes-calling/
~ Debating the First Sale Doctrine
EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred Von Lohmann in a podcast discussion
of "promo CD" sales.
http://www.techliberation.com/archives/042738.php
~ Science Fiction Writers of America Abuses the DMCA
A Cory Doctorow novel and other non-infringing works were ordered
taken down by the SFWA.
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/08/30/science-fiction-writ-1.html
~ Is It a Bird, or Is It a Plane?
The UK is using unmanned drone helicopters for festival
surveillance.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/content/articles/2007/08/16/v_festival_drone_feature.shtml
~ Cute, Orwellian Cartoon Cops
Animated virtual cops are policing the web in China.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070828/ap_on_hi_te/china_web_police_1
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* Administrivia
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