EFFector Vol. 14, No. 34 Oct. 25, 2001 editors@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424
EFFector Vol. 14, No. 34 Oct. 25, 2001 editors@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424
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November 1, 2001 -- The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) releases this week a comprehensive analysis of the surveillance and online activities sections of the USA-PATRIOT Act (USAPA), the "anti-terrorism" law signed by President Bush on Friday, October 26.
The EFF analysis spotlights three areas of major concern: expanded surveillance with reduced checks and balances, overbreadth with a lack of focus on terrorism, and expansion of U.S. foreign intelligence's authority to spy on Americans.
There has been much discussion about how our civil liberties must be sacrificed to increase our safety. But the government has not shown that its previous powers to conduct surveillance or to prosecute computer crime were a significant barrier to investigating or preventing terrorist attacks. Furthermore, if we are going to give law enforcement sweeping new powers, judicial oversight is critical to ensuring that no abuses occur. USAPA eliminates this oversight for many law enforcement activities.
In short, EFF finds this piece of legislation to be extremely troubling and dangerous for civil liberties. We suspect that many in Congress, given the opportunity to actually read the 342-page law, would agree.
The EFF analysis is available at:
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EFF has joined numerous civil liberties, human rights, Arab-American, public access and legal groups in demanding the release of information about the more than 1,000 individuals who have been jailed jailed in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Other than providing a running update on the number of detainees, the government has released very little information about who these people are or why they are being held. A Justice Department spokesperson said that there are three groups of detainees are : a small number of material witnesses; about 180 people charged with immigration violations; and, the largest group, those being held on federal, state or local criminal charges unrelated to the Sept. 11 attacks. She also said that all of those arrested had access to a lawyer.
EFF's commentary on the recently enacted anti-terrorism legislation has been skeptical that this administration intends or can be trusted to exercise its power and discretion without harming civil liberties. Although this mass detention is not obviously related to online civil liberties, and may even be lawful, the administration's refusal to release basic information about what it is doing makes it impossible to tell whether the government is acting lawfully. Accountability is crucial here.
The FOIA request was delivered to the Justice Department, the FBI, and the INS on Monday, Oct. 29. It demands the release of the names and citizenship of those arrested since September 11th, the charges on which they have been detained, the names of their lawyers, the locations where they are being held, and the list of courts that have entered any gag orders.
A copy of the FOIA request is available from:
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WHO:
Lee Tien - Senior Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Seth Schoen - EFF Staff Technologist
WHAT:
BOF Discussion on how the new Anti-Terrorism Legislation will Affect our Civil Liberties
WHEN:
Wednesday, November 7th, 2001 - 6PM
WHERE:
Annual Linux Showcase and Conference
Oakland Marriott City Center
1001 Broadway
Oakland, CA 94607
Toll-free Phone: 1-800-228-9290
Local Phone: 1-510-451-4000
For more information contact Katina: (415) 436 - 9333 x101,
katina@eff.org
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties
organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded
in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and
government to support free expression, privacy, and openness in the
information society. EFF is a member-supported organization and
maintains one of the most linked-to Web sites in the world:
http://www.eff.org/
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Tune into Radio EFF ( http://www.eff.org/radioeff/ ) to hear interviews with EFF staff and board members on our most important issues, BayFF recordings, (O)pen Audio music, and more.
Radio EFF's newest program is a panel discussion on the "Future of Music" online and off. The panel also addresses the ways in which artists and audiences alike will be affected by new laws and technologies.
Event: Future of Music Coalition College Tour
Location: University of California, Berkeley
Moderator: Brian Zisk, Technology Dir, Future of Music Coalition
Panel:
Ted Cohen, VP of New Media, EMI Recorded Music
Fred von Lohmann, EFF Senior Staff Attorney
Jenny Toomey, Executive Dir, Future of Music Coalition
Downloadable MP3 - (O)pen Audio
60 Minutes and 30 Seconds (25MB)
http://radio.eff.org/radio_shows/future1.mp3
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Come see the folks from the EFF at the O'Reilly P2P Conference in Washington D.C. Monday 11/5 through Thursday 11/8. Board member Lawrence Lessig of Stanford Law School will deliver a keynote address on Wednesday afternoon.
Sr. Staff Attorney Fred Von Lohmann will detail the intersection of copyright law and P2P applications on Tuesday morning and will lead a panel discussion with representatives from Music City, Lime Wire, and Aimster on Wednesday morning.
Staff Attorney Robin Gross will be talking on Wednesday morning about EFF's Open Audio License, a general public license for music that allows individuals to copy, share, perform, and adapt songs released under it as long as credit is given to the author. The EFF will also have a booth on the exhibition floor. Come say hi!
For complete details & registration, see:
http://conferences.oreilly.com/p2p/
The Westin Grand, Washington D.C.
2350 M Street NW
Washington, DC 20037
Phone: 202-429-0100
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EFF extends a special thank you to Timothy Barmann and HTMLCAL <http://www.htmlcal.com/> for the kind donation of the web interface calendar software HTMLCAL to EFF.
HTMLCAL is a Web calendar maker and editor that allows you to maintain a group calendar for your Web site or intranet. EFF now uses HTMLCAL on our intranet. It is easy to use, and was easy to install, configure and customize. Thanks again HTMLCAL.
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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/
Editors:
Katina Bishop, EFF Education & Offline Activism Director
Stanton McCandlish, EFF Technical Director/Webmaster
editors@eff.org
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