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EFFector       Vol. 16, No. 19      July 25, 2003

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation     ISSN 1062-9424

In the 258th Issue of EFFector:

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P2P Update: EFF\'s National P2P Ad Campaign, Congress Tries to Make P2P a Felony

EFF Launches File-Sharing Ads

An ad from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) intended for the more than 60 million U.S. residents sharing music files online appeared in Rolling Stone\'s August 9 issue and became available on newsstands on Friday, July 18.

The EFF ad -- part of an ongoing campaign to protect the rights of people sharing music online while compensating artists -- shows several music fans in a police-style lineup accused of sharing files online using peer-to-peer (P2P) technology like Kazaa and Morpheus. The ad copy reads, "Tired of being treated like a criminal for sharing music online?" and "File-Sharing: It\'s Music to Our Ears."

"EFF created the \'Let the Music Play\' campaign to raise awareness about critical changes needed in copyright law and industry practice," explained EFF Executive Director Shari Steele. "We want to make sure artists get paid without making criminals out of the over 60 million music lovers who use file sharing networks in the U.S."

The EFF ad will also appear in Spin, Blender, Vibe, PC Gamer, and Computer Gaming World over the next two months.

Links:

For a print-quality TIFF of the ad, please email ren@eff.org with the words "P2P Ad" in the subject line.

Misguided "Anti-Piracy" Bill Introduced in Congress

Members of the U.S. Congress July 17 introduced the Author, Consumer, and Computer Owner Protection and Security (ACCOPS) Act of 2003, targeting for criminal prosecution the 60 million Americans engaged in Internet file sharing of music and movies.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) criticized the measure as an overbroad and misguided attack on peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing technology.

"Jailing people for file sharing is not the answer," noted EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "Proponents of this bill are casting aside privacy, innovation, and even our personal liberty as collateral damage in their war against file sharing."

The ACCOPS bill was introduced in the House of Representatives today by Representatives Conyers, Berman, Schiff, Meehan, Wexler, and Weiner, all member of the House Judiciary Committee. Write your Congressperson today and urge them to stop this legislation.

Links:

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Security Researchers Discover Huge Flaws in E-Voting System

EFF Supports E-Voting Law

San Francisco - In response to the July 23 release of research about critical security flaws in e-voting systems, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) urged immediate passage of e-voting legislation to prevent election fraud.

Security researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Rice University announced that they have discovered numerous serious security flaws in what they believe is one of the leading e-voting systems in the country -- the Diebold Election Systems\' e-voting terminal.

Among the security flaws discovered were several ways in which individual voters could vote multiple times in a given election. The researchers also uncovered methods permitting voters to "trick" the e-voting machines into allowing them system administrator privileges or even terminating an election before tallying all legitimate votes.

"EFF supports electronic voting, but this report indicates Diebold\'s e- voting system isn\'t ready for prime time," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn, who advised the security researchers. "This report describes how voters, election officials, insiders at e-voting companies, and even custodians at election locations could manipulate elections and defraud the public."

"Only with open review, vigorous security testing, and a voter verifiable paper audit trail can the public have confidence that e-voting machines will provide an actual accounting of the will of the people," said EFF Activist Ren Bucholz. "We urge everyone who cares about democracy to support effective e-voting legislation."

Concerned citizens can voice their support for Representative Holtz\'s bill to require open source e-voting systems and voter verifiable paper audit trails.

Links:

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Electronic Frontier Foundation Renews Copyright Request

Asks Copyright Office to Allow Consumer CD/DVD Uses

San Francisco - The U.S. Copyright Office on July 22 posted comments from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) requesting protection for certain consumer uses of DVDs.

EFF urged the Register of Copyrights and the Librarian of Congress to grant exemptions to the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) ban on circumventing technological locks that prevent consumers from fully enjoying the digital media they have purchased.

"We welcome the Copyright Office\'s interest in understanding the real impact of the DMCA on consumers\' everyday non-infringing uses of CDs and DVDs," stated EFF Staff Attorney Gwen Hinze. "We have urged the Copyright Office to grant exemptions to remove the DMCA\'s chilling effect on consumers\' existing rights and to restore the constitutionally-mandated balance to copyright law."

EFF filed the comments in response to questions posed by the Copyright Office following public hearings held in April and May 2003. In oral testimony and post-hearing comments, EFF asked the Copyright Office to grant exemptions to give consumers guidance about legal uses of the digital media they have purchased.

The Copyright Office asked for further information about how DVD technology works. In particular, it asked if the Content Scramble System (CSS) on DVD movies, along with the ban on bypassing CSS, prevents consumers from legally modifying DVD players to fast forward through "unskippable" advertisements and play foreign movies on U.S. DVD players. The Copyright Office has also asked the RIAA to identify the number and titles of copy- protected CDs released in the U.S.

The comments are part of the Copyright Office\'s tri-ennial review of the impact of the DMCA\'s ban on circumvention of technological protection measures that control access to digital works. The Copyright Register and Librarian of Congress can grant exemptions from the DMCA ban for particular protected works if the Copyright Office finds that the prohibition has resulted in, or is likely to result in, substantial adverse impact on users\' non-infringing uses in the next three years.

EFF asked the Copyright Office to grant DMCA exemptions to allow consumers to:

  1. Play copy-protected audio CDs that malfunction intentionally to prevent playback
  2. View foreign region-coded DVD movies on US players
  3. Fast-forward through unskippable commercials prior to movies on DVDs
  4. Play and make full use of public domain motion pictures

The Copyright Office must make a decision about the requested exemptions by October 27, 2003.

Links:

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Party in the Park at EFF\'s Freedom Fest 2003!

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is proud to host EFF\'s Freedom Fest 2003 on Saturday, August 9, from Noon to 5pm at Golden Gate Park\'s Music Concourse Bandshell. This free event will showcase an eclectic lineup of performers, including award-winning Bay Area musicians and an array of other talented artists.

Hosted by EFF\'s John Perry Barlow, the afternoon is a celebration of Bay Area talent and an opportunity for them to share their music.

"The day is to celebrate freedom, and we can\'t think of a better way to do that than through free music and variety performances in Golden Gate Park," said EFF Executive Director Shari Steele. "We\'re thrilled to have such an impressive lineup for this event. It\'s truly a reflection of the caliber of talent that resides here in the Bay Area."

Rock to Reggae

EFF\'s Freedom Fest 2003 will feature a diverse musical lineup, including:

The performers that were selected for this year\'s event represent an extraordinary combination of Bay Area artists, many of whom have earned critical acclaim and become nationally recognized acts.

"I\'ve known about EFF and its pursuit of digital rights for years," said Tommy Boy/Warner Bros recording artist, Austin Willacy. "When they approached me about performing at EFF\'s Freedom Fest 2003, it struck me as a great way to both share my music with Bay Area residents and educate the community about EFF and all the great work they\'re doing on our behalf."

In addition to the musical performers, EFF\'s Freedom Fest 2003 will also feature a variety of other performers, including:

KFOG 104.5/97.7 morning radio host Peter Finch will be making a special appearance at the event to introduce the bands and host the KFOG booth. Concert attendees can stop by to meet folks from the critically-acclaimed rock station and enter the EFF Freedom Fest 2003 Contest.

Links:

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Digital Mix: A Special BayFF Celebrating Illegal Art

On July 25, the Electronic Frontier Foundation will host a night of music, art, and conversation to celebrate digital culture. Hosted at the Black Box in downtown Oakland, this special BayFF will bring up-and-coming artists of electronica, digital film, and illegal art together with leaders from the cyber-rights movement. Lawsuits and legislation have become the weapons of choice for dealing with file-sharing and cultural recycling ("sampling"); come out and discover what all the hype is about. Between laptop music, hip hop, and industrial performances, you will hear from people who are fighting to protect new forms of expression and cultural distribution from the attacks of the entertainment industry. This is an all-ages event.

Performers:

Speakers:

Sponsored By:

Information:

Where: Black Box at 1928 Telegraph Avenue Oakland, CA
When: Friday, July 25th, 8 p.m. - 2 a.m.
Cost: $5 suggested donation
All ages welcome
Easy BART access @ 19th St. Station in Oakland
Directions available online.

For more information please contact: katina@eff.org

Links:

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Volunteer in our Fight Against DirecTV

EFF needs a volunteer to help defend innocent people being threatened and sued by DirecTV. In the face of a massive campaign to extract money from technology consumers merely for purchasing certain devices, we\'re building a "DirecTV Defense" website to support the fight back. Among the resources on the site will be a database of attorneys with experience defending DirecTV cases, so users can quickly locate someone they can call for help.

We have e-mail questionnaires from about 50 lawyers and need to get their answers into an Excel spreadsheet to take this vital information live. This is where you come in. It\'s an easy but important job: read the questionnaires and input the answers into the appropriate fields. No extra back flips required.

The sooner we post this info, the sooner we can slow the steamroll of DirecTV\'s intimidation campaign. Please lend a hand!

Please send a message to remote-tech@eff.org before Wednesday, July 30 if you\'re interested. 

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Deep Links

Deep Links features noteworthy news items, victories, and threats from around the Internet. 

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Staff Calendar

For a complete listing of EFF speaking engagements (with locations and times), please visit our online calendar. 

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Administrivia

EFFector is published by:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco CA 94110-1914 USA
+1 415 436 9333 (voice)
+1 415 436 9993 (fax)
  http://www.eff.org/

Editor:
Ren Bucholz, Activist
  ren@eff.org

To Join EFF online, or make an additional donation, go to:
  https://secure.eff.org/

Membership and donation queries: membership@eff.org
General EFF, legal, policy or online resources queries: ask@eff.org

Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of EFF. To reproduce signed articles individually, please contact the authors for their express permission. Press releases and EFF announcements and articles may be reproduced individually at will.

To receive EFFector via e-mail please subscribe to our Action Center.

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(Please ask ren@eff.org to manually remove you from the list if this does not work for you for some reason.)

Back issues are available at:
  http://www.eff.org/effector/

You can also get the latest issue of EFFector via the Web at:
  http://www.eff.org/effector/current.php

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