minilinks for 2008-12-23

• Obama's Total Information Awareness
  The New Republic says no campaign in history has ever compiled more information on its supporters.
  
• FBI Turning Cell Phones Into Eavesdropping Devices
  By remotely activating the microphone in mobile phones, the FBI has been able to eavesdrop on suspects.
  
• Analysis of the 2nd Circuit Decision on NSLs
  Eugene Volokh goes deep inside the 2nd Circuits decision to ask whether the ruling is good for free speech.
  
• RIAA President Speaks
  In an interview, Cary Sherman answers questions on the new RIAA plan to collaborate with ISPs to block users accused of piracy.
  
• Apple Bans Edgy Books From iPhone
  Apple is refusing to allow what it considers "objectionable content" to be sold through its App Store, even in book form.
  
• Fooling Speed Cameras
  High School students in Maryland have been tricking speed cameras into sending fines to innocent drivers.
  
• NSA on Facebook
  The National Security Administration wants to be your "friend."
  

[Permalink]

minilinks for 2008-12-15

• Obama May Keep CIA Chief
  Michael Hayden, a major player in the Bush administration' wiretapping program, may stay on as head of the CIA under Obama.
  
• Panel to Call for Review of Wiretapping Scholar
  The House Select Intelligence Oversight Panel plans to ask the NSA to open a formal investigation into whether NSA wiretaps were improperly used in the trial of Ali al-Timimi.
  
• Is It "Spam" or Speech?
  A student government leader at Michigan State University was found guilty of "spamming" after emailing faculty to criticize school policies.
• Reselling MP3s: The Music Industry's New Battleground?
  A new music service promises to help digital music customers exercise their first sale rights. But is it legal?
  
• Firms Push for a More Searchable Federal Web
  Google, Microsoft and Yahoo want government data to be more accessible to search engines -- and the public.
  
• Online Rebel Publishes U.S. Court Records for Free
  Carl Malamud is working to make public court documents publicly available online.
  
• Sony Pays $1 Million for Violating Children's Privacy
  The FTC took Sony to court for violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and got a settlement.
  
• Teacher Throws Fit Over Linux
  An Austin teacher berated students and free software activists for distributing what she assumed was pirated software.
  

[Permalink]

Minilinks for 2008-12-05

• Obama's Attorney General Pick: Good on Privacy?
  Eric Holder has an unfortunate history of supporting schemes that broaden law enforcement powers at the cost of privacy and other civil liberties.
  
• Principles for an Open Transition
  Leaders of the open government movement published three principles to guide President-elect Obama's transition team in fostering greater speech and participation.
  
• Music Blogs Face Sudden Censorship Spike
  Blogger has been deleting entire posts from music bloggers' websites without warning or adequate explanation.
  
• Bush Signs Law Promoting Censorship of Kids' Programming
  The Child Safe Viewing Act will require the FCC to investigate "advanced blocking technologies."
  
• How Will the Obama Team Deal with Electronic Spying?
  CQ looks at how President-elect Obama's "team of rivals" will deal with Bush administration policies on wiretapping.
  
• YouTube Tightens Rules on Sexually Suggestive Videos
  The video sharing site has announced new rules limiting access to sexual content in the future.
  
• Harvard Team: Let Consumers Hack Abandonware
  The Berkman Center for Internet and Society says the DMCA should be include an exemption for consumers stuck with DRM-crippled files that
  won't play.
  
• Filesharing Deal for Universities?
  Techdirt reports on rumors that Warner is talking to universities about a voluntary collective licensing scheme.
  

[Permalink]

global minilinks for 2008-12-02

• Citizen Safeguards Struck Out in EU Council
  La Quadrature Du Net analyse the latest moves in Europe's telecoms package - still a mixed bag for protecting rights online.
• Inside Italy's Net Filters
  An overview of the "P-Box" - the bespoke Debian install intended to filter content at Italian ISPs.
• Google's Gatekeepers
  The New York Times investigates who decides when Google is told to block content.
• Internet Users to Expect "Remote Searches" from EU Police?
  The EU's five year cybercrime plan include proposals for government-permitted trojan software and "joint investigation teams" (rightsholders and police working together).
• Nokia Wants Law to Allow Snooping on Finnish Employees
  After lobbying by the phone giant, Finland considers allowing businesses to examine the email logs of workers suspected of leaking secrets.
• Michael Geist - Why Copyright?
  Canadian thinkers, artists and businesspeople speak out on copyright in this film by Michael Geist and Daniel Albahary.
• Studying Chinese Blog Censorship
  Rebecca Mackinnon takes a closer look at what goes on when private companies aid in domestic censorship.
• Anger at Indonesian Tagging Plan
  Country plans to plant RFIDs in "sexually aggressive" HIV positive citizens.
• Obama and IP
  Senior Phillippines IP Attorney hopes Obama will bring change to the international intellectual property policies of the United States.
• Four Google Officials Face Italian Trial for Third-Party Video
  Video upload prompts unknown charges against the employees of the company hosting it.

[Permalink]

global minilinks for 2008-11-06

• French Senate Votes for Three Strikes
  The bill still has to pass the National Assembly, however — and faces a clash with developing European law.
• No Clean Feed - Stop Internet Censorship in Australia
  The battle against the Australian goverment's plans to install compulsory filters on all Internet traffic grows in strength. Electronic Frontiers Australia offers action items for worried Aussie Net users.
• Circumvention in New Zealand
  Content Agenda summarizes what's been happening in NZ copyright law.
• Join the Public Domain Calculators
  The Open Knowledge Foundation is working on a system to determine whether works are in the public domain in your country or not. Join volunteers in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Italy, Norway, Philippines, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and add your country to the calculator.
• Internet and Freedom in Egypt
  Egyptian bloggers talk about how the Net and free speech fare in Turkey.
• UK Net Users Wrongly Accused of File-sharing Infringements
  British games companies are sending threatening letters to Internet users who have never touched a computer game.
• Linking Alone is Not Defamation in Canada, Court Declares
  The British Columbia Supreme Court asserts that websites linking to a document are not "publishing" the document for purposes of libel law. One of the defendants, p2pnet, comments.

[Permalink]

minilinks for 2008-10-23

• Hollywood (Unintentionally) Agrees with EFF
  The MPAA's response to an EFF blog post unwittingly validates our point -- that the MPAA's legal attack on RealDVD is about controlling innovation.
  
• Record Label 'Infringes' Own Copyright
  A donation-based record label that distributes its music for free had its site taken down for copyright "infringement."
  
• Interim Spying Report Kept Secret
  Why did the NSA mark a "public" report on wiretaps as "classified" instead?
  
• NSA Spy Boss: We'll Investigate
  Reports of NSA employees listening in on soldiers' private conversations has let DNI McConnell to launch an investigation.
  
• "Security Theater," With Your Host, Bruce Schneier
  The Atlantic gets tips from Bruce Schneier on how to outwit airport security -- with minimal effort.
  
• Another Win for Cached Content on Search Engines
  In Parker v. Yahoo, a judge rejected claims that the search engine was infringing when it stored copyrighted material in its indexes.
  
• Feds Use Trademark to Seize Gang's Identity
  A crackdown on the Mongols gang barred the gang from wearing their trademarked name.
  
• Privacy of Leaked Documents
  WikiLeaks describes the ways leaked documents can be traced back to
  the leaker.
  

[Permalink]

minilinks for 2008-10-15

• NSA Spying Overseas: Legal or Not?
  Marty Lederman asks whether NSA spying on Americans abroad — as described by new whistleblowers — is a violation of FISA or the 4th Amendment.
• Savage Sued for Takedown
  Stanford's Fair Use Project says the radio host sent a bogus takedown notice to YouTube.
• Police Put Activists on Terror List
  Maryland police illegally entered the names of law-abiding political activists into federal databases that track terrorism.
• Flash Cookies: The Silent Privacy Killer
  Cookies stored with the Macromedia Flash Player aren't controlled by the browser. Here's how to delete them.
• Use Skype -- Go Directly To A Chinese Prison
  Michael Robertson has some questions for eBay and TOM-Skype and a plugin for the security features of Gizmo5.
• Bush Signs Two Online Predator Bills Into Law
  The "Kids Act of 2008" requires registered sex offenders to provide their Internet information to registries and the "Protect Our Children Act of 2008" requires the Justice Department to create a new task force to track predators.
• Is the Palin E-Mail Hack Indictment Legally Flawed?
  Orin Kerr asks whether the felony charge against the hacker who broke into Sarah Palin's email account is legally sound.
• Will Your ISP Stand Up for Your Free Speech Rights?
  Your choice of ISP can make a big difference in whether your legitimate speech is protected in the face of legal threats.
• Lessig on Art, Commerce, and the Hybrid Economy
  Lawrence Lessig says digital technology has made it easy to create new works from existing art, but copyright law has yet to catch up.
• A Game Designer & CEO on the Evils of DRM
  Three Rings' David James explains why using DRM in game design is like beating your customers with a rusty pipe.
  

[Permalink]

global minilinks for 2008-10-11

• A Contentious Meeting with New Zealand's Copyright Minister
  Colin Jackson hits a brick wall when he and others talk to New Zealand ministers about the new copyright act.
• Former Pink Floyd Manager: End the P2P Lawsuits
  Peter Jenner continues to advocate for collective licensing, this time in Berlin.
• EuroISPA on the Recent "Three Strikes" EU Battle
  The ISP association attempts to unpick what Sarkozy thinks he's doing in the EU.
• The Third COMMUNIA Workshop in Amsterdam, Oct 20-21
  European workshop on fair dealing, fair use and its global equivalents.
• Ad-Powered Surveillance: Okay For Citizens, Too Prying for Parliament?
  Is the UK's House of Commons blocking Phorm's prying eyes?
• Malaysian Blogger Goes On Trial
  A "frail" Raja Petra is charged with sedition.
• Hong Kong Consults on Internet Filtering
  The Chinese administrative region is considering blocking sites under the country's obscenity laws.
• Key US Senators Warn Bush Administration On ACTA
  The Judiciary committee is displeased with the secrecy on the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement, especially on liability for internet intermediaries (like ISPs).
• When Wikipedia Met The Great Firewall
  Jimmy Wales meets with China's censorship body.
• Echo in the Dark
  The New Yorker looks at censorship in Russia.
• Does Web Censorship Affect International Trade?
  Nart Villeneuve sees if the Great Firewall of China messes with connections to Western commerce websites.
• Australian Councils use Google to Monitor Citizens
  Using Google Earth and Google Maps to look for planning violations.

[Permalink]

minilinks for 2008-10-03

• Passport Hack Resurrects Elvis
  A hacker was able to access the personal data on an RFID passport, inserting the identity of Elvis Aaron Presley.
• House Limits Constituent Emails
  A massive influx of public input on the bailout bill has led the House to limit emails in an attempt to prevent websites from crashing.
• Schneier Covers Privacy and the Presidential Election
  On Oct. 6, Privacy Guru Bruce Schneier will discuss privacy and its role in the upcoming election at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., joined by other experts in law and technology.
• Congress OKs Research on U.S. Broadband Access
  The Broadband Data Improvement Act requires the government to measure broadband access.
• "Free" Movie Not So Free
  Michael Moore's latest film, "Slacker Uprising," was released free on the Internet -- but now Moore's lawyers are issuing takedown notices.
• The Song (Download Royalty) Remains the Same
  iTunes breathes a sigh of relief as the Copyright Royalty Board rules that download royalties should remain at 9.1 cents per download.

[Permalink]

global minilinks for 2008-09-23

• South Korean Government Seeks to End Anonymity, Allow Arbitrary Content Takedown
  All forum and chat room users will be required to make verifiable registrations using their real names; Web sites can be taken down for 30 days if they receive complaints of fraud or slander.
• Confidential Data on Millions of Norwegians Sent to Media
  CD containing all Norway's tax records (which are public) also included ID numbers (which are not).
• France Scales Back Big Brother Database, But Protests Continue
  The "Evige File" will not contain every French citizen active in politics, just those who "pose a security risk."
• ...Has It Killed Three Strikes Too?
  No sign of the Olivennes proposal on the French Senate schedule; rumor is that the Edvige protests have delayed it indefinitely (Google translation).
• British Police Decline to Investigate Phorm
  Says there was no "criminal intent" in unauthorised scanning of British Telecom subscribers' web traffic.
• Is the ITU Undermining Internet Anonymity?
  Declan McCullough reports on a proposal to more directly track the source of IP traffic, edited by, among others, Cisco, a Chinese ministry, and the NSA.
• Turkey bans biologist Richard Dawkins' Website
  Due to "defamatory" review of Turkish creationist book.
• Tech Companies: Why Doesn't US Champion Fair Use Abroad?
  CCIA points out that US trade negotiators are happy to include strong copyright requirements in trade agreements, but never include fair trade or liability protection for intermediaries.

[Permalink]