"What's HOT in Privacy & Surveillance"
Bulletins

Software Publishers Assoc. vs. ISPs - suits dropped, "Code of Conduct" critiqued
A software industry trade assocation best known as a piracy watchdog filed suit against several Internet service providers for "contributory" copyright infringement because users of the ISPs allegedly engaged in software piracy. No proof was offered, and SPA, in late Nov., had dropped or settled its cases against C2.Net and other ISPs. The point of the legal action may have been to herd smaller providers into adopting the trade association's "ISP Code of Conduct". The code calls for broad monitoring of user communications for "cracker material" by sysadmins-turned-net-cops. The "Code" would invade user privacy, and chill the First Amendment-protected expression of both providers and users. Despite criticism of the "Code", SPA to date has simply changed the name of it (to "ISP Guidelines for Copyright Protection"), without making any changes to its content.

• EFF's detailed analysis of problems with the "Code". (Nov. 20, 1996)
• The current revised version of the SPA "Code" (an older version is also available for comparison)
• EFF statement on the SPA v. C2.Net case and on the "ISP Code of Conduct"
• The SPA's "ISP Code of Conduct" (Nov. 7, 1996)
• A model "Intellectual Property Challenge Policy" for ISPs, created by ISP associations and Electronic Frontiers Georgia in opposition to the SPA "Code". (Nov. 1996)
• Association of Online Professionals alert warning ISPs about the SPA "Code" and why they should not agree to it. (Nov., 1996)

EFF, ACLU and EF-Georgia challenge GA state "Net police" law on constitutional grounds (Sept. 24, 1996)

• Joint press release about the case (Sept. 24, 1996).
• Declaration & Affidavit of EFF Staff Counsel Shari Steele - outlines some of the major privacy, anonymity, and free speech threats posed by the new law, and gives a general backgrounder on the basic technological issues and facts involved.
• Full text of the complaint (lawsuit) filed by ACLU, EFGA, EFF and others against state of Georgia, alledging new law violates First Amendment and threatens online users' privacy & anonymity rights.
• Full text of ACLU/EFGA/EFF/et al. "Brief in support of motion for preliminary injunction" against the GA "Net police" law.
• See the case archive for more declarations and other documents from the case (or see EF-Georgia's HTML versions of the documents.)

EFF announces the Etrust project
Etrust is a joint effort of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and industry representatives to set WWW standards for notification and certification of web site privacy and information-gathering practices. (July 10)
The new PICS-compatible standard calls for graphic symbols depicting site policies on collection of personally-identifiable information, and use of that information, backed up by an auditing & certification process, to protect the consumer.

• EFF press release about Etrust
• Please see the Etrust web site for more information