   March 2005 ArchiveMarch 31, 2005A Few Notes From the Grokster Argument
DC appellate attorney/Harvard LLM student Timothy Armstrong's detailed notes and reflections on the day's arguments.
Who's That Guy?
Linda Greenhouse reports on the oral arguments for The New York Times, highlighting the Court's concern for the future innovator -- or as Justice David Souter called him, the "guy sitting in his garage inventing the iPod."
March 30, 2005Who Are You Calling a Journalist?
David Shaw of the LA Times makes an incoherent argument about why bloggers shouldn't get the same protections as traditional journalists. Slate's Jack Shafer rebuts.
Posted at 09:26 PM by Ren Bucholz | Permalink | Other Links:
Free Speech
Alleged Spammer Goes Belly-Up
OptInRealBig.com, a Colorado company that sends 15 million email messages a day, has been forced into bankruptcy by lawsuits from Microsoft and the New York Attorney General's office.
Banks Forced to Come Clean on Privacy Gaffs
Federal finance agencies have issued new rules that force banks to notify customers when their private information has been exposed. That seems obvious -- right, TSA?
TSA Puts Lies in the Sky
A government report has found the Transportation Safety Administration deceived the public and Congress about its role in obtaining the personal information of 12 million air travelers.
FCC Leaving No Monopoly Behind
Only days before the Supreme Court reviewed the FCC's position vis-a-vis cable monopolies, the Commission blocked several states from requiring that telephone companies allow competition on DSL lines.
Justices Like the Look of Brand X?
The Supreme Court seemed open to the idea that cable monopolies shouldn't close their networks to independent Internet service providers.
FL Election Officials Battling Over Machines
Choice quote: "People in Leon County would rather vote on paper than on vapor."
Supreme Court Campout
This Wired.com article has some great pictures of people camping out on the Supreme Court's steps before the oral argument in Grokster.
March 29, 2005Brazil Opens Up
Great piece in the New York Times about the role of open-source software in Brazil's attempt to connect millions of its citizens.
California's Civil War
The LA Times with a great editorial that captures the rift between Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
Post-Argument Coverage of Grokster
The Associated Press with a nice rundown of the day's proceedings.
RFID Passports Broadcast Your Identity
RFIDKills.com questions the "wisdom" of placing radio frequency-IDs in US passports. The tiny chips broadcast your name, nationality, and passport number to anyone with a compatible RFID reader -- including terrorists, who would be able inconspicuously to pick American targets out of a crowd.
March 24, 2005Canada Gears Up for Copyright Reform
Although the proposed legislation has been framed as "Canada's DMCA," Michael Geist suggests that it may be more balanced than expected: "The devil will be in the details but this represents a major shift away from the embarrassingly one-sided Canadian Heritage Standing Committee recommendations issued last May."
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Posted at 08:51 AM by Ren Bucholz | Permalink | Other Links:
Bad Laws
| Copyright
| International IP
Music Sales Rise in US
Even as P2P use blossoms. Hey RIAA - can you spell s-y-m-b-i-o-t-i-c?
March 23, 2005New Indian Patent Law Threatens Human Health
As a condition of joining the World Trade Organization, the country changed its patent laws in a way that will, among other things, reduce the availability of affordable pharmaceuticals, such as AIDS drugs, in poor countries that desperately need them.
Napster Head Calls for Blanket Licensing
This interview at Engadget has the scoop.
Hatch Heads Copyright Panel
Senator Orrin "Induce Act" Hatch has long been at the front (bottom? wrong side?) of the copyright wars, and it looks like he'll continue even though his time is up as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Copyright Claim in Prisoner Abuse Scandal
Citing copyright law, several Navy SEALs have sued the Associated Press for publishing photos of the men in compromising positions with hooded & bloodied Iraqi prisoners.
Free Speech Goes Dutch in Scientology Case
Dutch Attorney General argues that copyright shouldn't trump political discussion.
French News Agency Sues Google
The lawsuit casts a shadow over Internet search engines and fair use, the legal doctrine on which they rely.
Remixing the News
A new study from the Columbia University says of blogs and traditional news media: "In effect, Americans are shifting from being consumers of news to proactive partners in creating their own personalized news account each day, and traditional journalism is only part of that mix."
Consumer Group Study Supports P2P
A new study from the Consumer Federation of America touts the benefits of file-sharing software and sets the stage for a grassroots push against Big Content.
VoIP Lets Strangers Pick Up the Phone
Low- or no-cost Internet phone calls are letting people reach out and touch someone in other countries, even if they've never met.
March 22, 2005CNET Slams Apple
And in covering the court's decision to help Apple hunt journalists, CNET caps the sentiment of journalists everywhere: “With today's ruling, Jobs is in danger of leaving a big black blot on an otherwise remarkable legacy."
The Guardian Slams Apple
I'm sensing a trend: “It remains a mystery as to why Apple should so actively seek to alienate the people who are its fans and customers. … Suddenly this company is asking to be loathed and subverted - which doesn't seem to make much business sense.”
Business Week Slams Apple
A bit of sage advice: “Going after the Web sites or forcing them to divulge their sources will put the company in the middle of a freedom-of-speech firestorm that will be a costly distraction for management, and could tarnish the Apple brand."
Google Shows Love for Open Source
The Benevolent Giant has launched "Google Code," which provides code for many Google products and discussion forums for open source developers.
March 17, 2005The Crown Jewels of Copyright
Professor Michael Geist on why governments shouldn't hold copyrights.
SCO's Silver Lining
Stuart Cohen argues that the suit has forced open-source developers to be more diligent, which will strengthen the movement in the long term.
Microsoft Making Privacy Obvious
The company is standardizing privacy notifications across its sites to encourage user comprehension. We approve.
French Court Rules in Favor of Downloader
The decision seems to say that downloading movies, copying them to discs, and sharing them with your friends is legally defensible. Imagine that!
March 16, 2005Swedish Warez Bust Reviewed for Privacy Gaffs
A recent server seizure at the Swedish ISP Banhof may have gone afoul of the country's strict privacy laws, as the computers contained personal data on more than 20,000 customers.
AOL Revises Privacy Policy for AIM
The new document will drop the "You waive any right to privacy" section.
Spam-To-Go Nets 2 Million Kroner Fine
That's $456k for sending spam to mobile phones.
Apple Tightens DRM Noose
The Register reports on how Apple is digitally managing your rights away.
UK Man Sued for BitTorrent Site
The kicker is that he's being sued by the Motion Picture Association of *America* for owning the domain of a site he never administered and shut down of his own volition several months ago.
"Code v.2" Needs You
Larry Lessig is updating "Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace" by putting it on a wiki and opening it to the public.
CC: A Nation of Millions Has Our Back
This WashPo story looks at the astounding success of Creative Commons, whose licenses have been used for more than 10 million works, including the latest release from Chuck D.
B-Flag Challengers Asked for Clarification
A court reviewing the legality of the FCC's broadcast flag has asked the groups that brought the case (including EFF and Public Knowledge) to explain their interest. The bright side? The court expressed sharp skepticism of the FCC's position, and the request for clarification appears to indicate that the court will be receptive toward arguments for standing.
Aussies to Bar Anonymous Political Blogs
The searing political commentary at sites like MarkLathamSucks.com has apparently drawn the fire of Australian regulators.
March 09, 2005France Fines Programmer for Revealing Security Holes
When all security research is outlawed, only outlaws will conduct security research.
Discontent in the Cult of Mac
Apple's attempts to squelch free speech have left some of the faithful pondering conversion.
ChoicePoint Hires Privacy Chief
It's a little like hiring a quarterback *after* you lose the Super Bowl, but what do we know?
German Court Bans Some Links
A German news site has been banned from linking to a website that provides software for circumventing copy protections.
Filesharer Gets Jail Time Under State Law
A university student in Arizona will be the first to serve jail time under state law for filesharing.
CDT Files Complaint Against Barely Legal Download Sites
The DC-based policy group has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate music download websites that trick consumers with claims of legality.
Kenyan VoIP Ban Lifted by Court
The state-owned Telkom Kenya was ordered to restore the service offered by a private company and was blasted for being anticompetitive.
Biting the Hand That Wants to Feed You
Record companies have asked an Australian judge to block the makers of KaZaA from paying labels that *choose* to use the P2P network for distribution.
Give Someone a Nastygram for Their Birthday
Next time you catch a child singing "Happy Birthday," make sure that the authorities are duly notified. The words are copyrighted, and the copyright holders will be relieved to know that you're looking out for their interests. The good folks at UnhappyBirthday.com have the details.
BitTorrent Could Make Everyone a Broadcaster
That's what a liberal activism group called CommonBits.org aims to do.
Utah Governor's Wacky Interpretation of the First Amendment
Utah Governor Jon Huntsman wants to require ISPs to block sites deemed pornographic. This might be good politics in Utah, but even the state's own legislative counsel says, "the significant restrictions placed on constitutionally protected speech suggest that the adult content registry has a high probability of being held unconstitutional."
Use BitTorrent to Get 2.6 Gigs of Free Music
And you won't get in trouble! The organizers of South by Southwest (SXSW), a popular music/film/Internet conference, are using BitTorrent to distribute thousands of songs from its roster of artists performing next week.
Stop Before You Click
FairTerms.org is a site dedicated to educating people about the terrible things they're agreeing to when they click "I agree" on digital products.
Security Companies Blast Canadian "DMCA"
Canada is currently considering DMCA-like changes to its copyright law, including punishments for people who circumvent technical protection measures. Security professionals are the latest group to say that's a bad idea: "Anti-circumvention rights have anti-competitive applications. These have been well documented and should be familiar to you. We won't dwell on them here."
March 07, 2005Michigan Takes the Blue Pill
State law enforcement officials announced that they'll be dropping out of "Matrix," a controversial interstate crime-fighting initiatives with serious privacy problems.
(Real) Blogger Gets White House Press Credentials
Garrett Graff of FishbowlDC decided to test - and write about - the alleged ease of obtaining White House press credentials.
March 02, 2005Gonzalez Urges PATRIOT Act Renewal in 1st Speech as AG
Not much of a surprise, but a disappointment, nonetheless.
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Posted at 05:41 PM by Ren Bucholz | Permalink | Other Links:
Privacy
| Surveillance
| USA PATRIOT
When to Censor 101
China said it will toughen its already rigid censorship of the Internet during its annual parliamentary session to keep at bay those with "ulterior motives."
Major Labels Want to Raise Download Prices
They're trying to hit the sweet-spot of $18 per album (which is working really well for CDs). The future of music is not for the faint of heart - or light of wallet.
European Commission Ignores Opposition to Software Patents
In a jaw-droppingly arrogant move, the European Commission has decided to push a controversial software patent plan forward over the protests of the public and the EU Parliament.
Breaking Down the Kaleidescape Suit
Kaleidescape makes super high-end DVD jukeboxes, and they even have a license from the cartel that controls DVD hardware. Read on to find out why DVD-CCA is suing.
Lowering the Bar for Digital Privacy
Bruce Schneier on how today's technical realities expose gaps in how the law protects - or fails to protect - your privacy.
Privacy Advocate Forced to Keep Feet on Ground
Great article on EFF Co-Founder John Gilmore's lawsuit over secret security laws.
Democratizing the DJ
This Washington Post article explores the subculture of amateur DJs who use iPods to get the crowd moving.
Poisoning the Well
Ed Felten on a new paper that examines how copyright holders might "poison" P2P networks with bogus files.
Gator to Shed Crocodile Tears for Your Privacy
An executive from Claria, the spyware company formerly known as Gator, will be one of 20 people on the Department of Homeland Security's new federal privacy advisory board.
Costa Rica to Outlaw VoIP?
That's what the state-owned telephone monopoly wants the country to do.
Viva La Television!
Our own Annalee Newitz on activists who are protesting the broadcast flag by building their own high-definition TV toys.
Intel Asks Supremes to Protect P2P
Intel's yearly revenue exceeds that of the entire US movie industry.
Clinton/Boxer E-voting Bill Introduced
The bill requires a paper trail for e-voting machines, and it joins several others in the House and Senate.
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