EFF: miniLinks

December 2005 Archive

December 22, 2005

Leon County, FL Dumps Diebold Voting Machines

Live demonstration given of how to hack a Diebold machine.

» link | Posted at 05:06 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: E-Voting

EU chief criticizes net firms over China's actions

European Commission Vice President Margot Wallstrom complains about Google and Yahoo's complicity in Chinese censorship and surveillance.

» link | Posted at 05:06 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Free Speech

The Security Threat of Unchecked Presidential Power

A great Bruce Schneier summary piece on the unauthorized wiretap scandal.

» link | Posted at 05:06 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Surveillance

Music Industry Failing to Halt Illegal Downloads, UK Poll Finds

The darknet obstinately refusing to fade away.

» link | Posted at 05:06 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: P2P

French Lawmakers Endorse File-Sharing

The otherwise terrible implementation of Europe's DMCA (the EU Copyright Directive) gets amended to permit file-sharing with an $8.50 compulsory license. Expect sparks to fly in the French Senate.

» link | Posted at 05:06 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: P2P

Can GNU Software Support DRM?

Linux Weekly News discusses the dilemmas involved in open source support for DRM.

» link | Posted at 05:06 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: DRM

December 19, 2005

Nintendo Game Character Supports Creative Commons

NYT believes loveable musician puppy character in Animal Crossing is in some way being subversive by giving away copies of his own music.

» link | Posted at 02:23 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

Words Aren't Property, Ms Cheever

Bill Herman takes apart Newsday columnist Susan Cheever's eccentric views on copyright and Google's fair use rights.

» link | Posted at 01:06 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

Merry Christmas from the RIAA

The recording industry files another 751 lawsuits for the end of the year.

» link | Posted at 12:27 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: P2P

Google Uses Links to Lyrics

Google's new detailed support for band names and songs gives extracts and links to lyrics. Joe Gratz writes on how lyrics may be the new hotspot in the copyfight.

» link | Posted at 12:26 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

The Dutch Net vs Scientology

Dutch ISP XS4ALL's decade-long battle against the censoring Scientologists finally reaches the end of the road, with a victory for free speech.

» link | Posted at 12:20 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Free Speech

Trusted Computing--The Rootkit You Can't Uninstall

Phil Windley on increased regulation and control in the computing world, and how that could mean stagnation and decline.

» link | Posted at 12:17 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: DRM

Ars Technica on the Analog Hole Legislation

"This is bad legislation for everyone except Hollywood and its lackeys."

» link | Posted at 12:12 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Bad Laws

December 13, 2005

Telcos Lobby for Two-Tiered Internet

Plan to swap out net neutrality for faster links, better quality-of-service, infinite power.

» link | Posted at 02:09 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links:

SF: The Work of Art in the Age of Digital Reproduction

The San Francisco media group Artists' Television Access hold a benefit with EFF alumna Annalee Newitz, PowerPoint presentation art, and neighbourhood public radio.

» link | Posted at 02:08 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links:

Does Sharing Tastes Leads to a Bigger Market?

Derek Slater looks at how taste-sharing technologies can do the media's marketing work for them.

» link | Posted at 02:08 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

December 12, 2005

The Cultural Commons as Pic-A-Nick Basket

The New York Times (out of Furdlog) notes how Hanna Barbera remixed popular culture to create Yogi Bear.

» link | Posted at 04:11 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

UK Building a Database of Its Own Kids

Britain is planning a $400 million centralized database to hold details of every child in England and Wales.

» link | Posted at 04:11 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Privacy

Who Owns Your CD/DVD Collection?

Pulitzer-winning journalist Michael Hiltzik takes on Hollywood's attempt to control content use.

» link | Posted at 04:11 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

December 08, 2005

French March Toward Worse EUCD Laws Ever

Still difficult to make out the details of the French equivalent of the DMCA, but there do appear to be some really terrible ideas fighting to be included.

» link | Posted at 04:32 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: International IP

Digital Rights Ireland Launches

Irish lawyers, academics and journalists join forces to publicize and defend civil liberties in a digital age.

» link | Posted at 04:32 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Misc.

Oh, You'll Pay. You Will Pay, my Friend.

European publishers claim that search engines' use of publicly available content will require them to pay the originators. Who will start the bidding for instant obscurity?

» link | Posted at 04:32 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

Musicians Against DRM

The lead singer of OK Go explains why he fought against DRM on his CDs.

» link | Posted at 04:32 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: DRM

Court Checks the ID of Secret Air Travel Law

EFF founder John Gilmore gets another day in court in his fight to travel across the US without being required to show ID.

» link | Posted at 04:32 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Privacy

December 05, 2005

Denver Rally for Bus Protestor

Davis, who was charged for not showing ID on a public bus, is being arraigned on Friday 9th: there'll be a rally outside the Denver U.S. Courthouse in support.

» link | Posted at 05:50 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Privacy

Fair Use, Fairwell?

The Free Expression Policy Project takes a look at the threats to fair use.

» link | Posted at 05:50 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

China has Their Number

Chinese mobile phone owners will have to register their phone with the authorities, citing "illegal text messaging practices." Oh yes, and "improper political commentary."

» link | Posted at 05:50 PM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Surveillance

December 02, 2005

National CyberEducation Project

An even-handed look at the issues regarding IP issues online.

» link | Posted at 07:33 AM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

Losing Face with FaceBook

Perceptive college article on the privacy dangers of government access to social software sites.

» link | Posted at 07:33 AM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Privacy

December 01, 2005

Open Hearings on Google's SF Wi-FI Project

City supervisors to hear from the public on December 12 and 16.

» link | Posted at 11:54 AM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Misc.

RIAA vs One More Person

An Oklahoma woman is the next to stand up against the RIAA's lawsuits, claiming she didn't even have a working computer when the RIAA says she was infringing.

» link | Posted at 11:54 AM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Copyright

Pay the Price for Saluting the Broadcast Flag

In the run-up to the 2006 elections, IPac is looking to fund the opponents of politicians who support the MPAA's TV crippling technology.

» link | Posted at 11:54 AM by Danny O'Brien | Permalink | Other Links: Bad Laws