EFFector Vol. 15, No. 38 December 6, 2002 ren@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424
EFFector Vol. 15, No. 38 December 6, 2002 ren@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424
For more information on EFF activities & alerts: http://www.eff.org/
To join EFF or
make an additional donation:
http://www.eff.org/support/
EFF
is a member-supported nonprofit. Please sign up as a member today!
Dear Friends,
It's hard to believe another year has passed so quickly. The climate at EFF has been pretty intense over the past year. Our government has posed serious threats to freedom with the passage of the USA Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act. These two laws provide unprecedented governmental surveillance of citizens, minus supervisory checks and balances. Equally troubling is the government's Information Awareness Office, which is researching methods for connecting databases in order to compile extensive dossiers on citizens.
In addition, content industries -- record companies and movie studios in particular -- continue attempts to restructure technology that would bolster their current revenue streams. Unfortunately, this systematic redesign has serious ramifications that affect your ability to play CDs or record broadcast television programs. EFF has been attending standards meetings, fighting lawsuits and talking to Congressional and agency staffers about the inherent difficulties in Hollywood's stance.
Ironically, while civil liberties are under serious attack from several fronts, non-profit fundraising has never been more daunting. So, once again, I'm asking for your assistance.
There are currently over 30,000 individuals who receive EFFector. Only 7,500 recipients have taken the next step and become members of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. If we received commitments from even half of all EFFector subscribers, we could double our membership overnight. This is important to us for several reasons. Membership dues are used exclusively to maintain the essential functions of our organization. In addition, a larger membership base increases our influence with Congressional policymakers and within federal agencies.
If you appreciate the work we do, please join now. If you're already a member, please consider showing your support for EFF with an additional gift before the end of the year to help sustain us in 2003.
Both the board and staff of EFF extend a warm "thank you" for all the support you've shown over the past year. Without your generous contributions, our presence and power would be greatly diminished.
Wishing you and yours a happy holiday season,
Shari Steele
Executive Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
- end -
This may sound like science fiction, but Total Information Awareness (TIA) is a *real* threat to your civil liberties. TIA is a Defense Department project that is creating a range of technologies for a surveillance society. Here's a taste of what it plans to do:
~ Expand Communications Surveillance Capabilities - TIA wants computers to look and listen for "interesting" information and patterns in our electronic communications (phone calls, e-mail, instant messaging, websites, etc.) using speech-to-text, language translation and text-mining technologies.
~ Link and Search All Public and Private Databases - TIA wants to build a virtual "meta-base" of information that would include everything from your child's medical history to what groceries you buy. This would also be passively searched for patterns.
~ Biometric Identification - TIA proposes aggressive research into biometric surveillance technology like facial, iris, expression, and gait recognition. This technology would allow your movements to be tracked without your consent or knowledge.
If TIA continues, the government will effectively have wiretaps, dossiers, and tracking devices for every American citizen. But don't worry, it's headed by John Poindexter.
That's right. In a head-shaking lack of institutional memory, TIA is brought to you by Admiral John Poindexter. You may remember him from such classics as "Iran-Contra Affair" and "Felony Conviction for Lying to Congress" (later overturned on a technicality). As Senator Charles Schumer said in a recent New York Daily News interview, "If we need a big brother, John Poindexter is the last guy on the list that I would choose."
Currently, TIA is a proposed set of tools with no concrete policy guidelines. Nobody knows who will have the authority to use these tools, whether they will have to get a warrant, or who they will target.
Senators Dianne Feinstein and Daniel Inouye have recently called for increased scrutiny of TIA and promised to draft legislation freezing its funds pending a full review of the project. Tell Congress that snooping on American citizens like this is, well, un-American. Stop the TIA!
Here's what you can do:
1. Urge Senator Orrin Hatch (likely to be the next Chair of the
Judiciary Committee) to hold public hearings!
http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2347
2. Tell Senator Ted Stevens (likely to be the next Chair of the
Appropriations Committee) to cut TIA funding!
http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2348
3. Join EFF!
http://www.eff.org/perl/join
- end -
Los Angeles - Attorneys argued in federal court recently over a copyright lawsuit brought by entertainment companies against StreamCast Networks, maker of the popular Morpheus peer-to-peer (P2P) software.
Federal District Court Judge Stephen Wilson will likely rule on both sides' motions for summary judgment within the next few weeks.
Major entertainment companies sued the technology companies behind the Morpheus, Grokster, and Kazaa P2P software claiming the technology companies should be responsible for the public's use of the software to infringe copyrights.
The entertainment companies asked that the court rule in their favor without a trial. StreamCast and Grokster filed motions arguing that these software companies are no more liable for copyright infringement than Sony was for distributing the Betamax VCR.
After the two-hour session, Judge Wilson announced that he will issue a ruling shortly, but that the ruling may be a "speaking order" where he will invite the parties to give additional comment before a final ruling. No trial date has yet been set.
"This case is broader than StreamCast and P2P technology," said Steve Griffin, Streamcast's CEO, who attended the hearing. "It is about the rights of consumers to share information freely and technology companies to innovate freely."
"This case is not about stopping piracy; it's about controlling new technologies," said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann. EFF is serving as counsel to StreamCast along with the law firm of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. "The entertainment companies would like to transform copyright law into the power to crack down on technology innovators," said Charles Baker, attorney with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. "We don't think the judge will give them that power and look forward to his ruling."
The case is MGM v. Grokster, CV 01-08541 SVW (PJWx), and is pending before Judge Wilson in the U.S. federal district court for the Central District of California.
Links
For this release:
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/20021202_eff_pr.html
(coming soon)
Documents related to Metro-Goldwyn Mayer v. Grokster case:
http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/MGM_v_Grokster/
- end -
Oslo, Norway - The criminal trial against Jon Johansen, a Norwegian teenager who watched his DVDs on his Linux computer using a DVD descrambling program called DeCSS, will start in Norway this Monday, December 9. The trial is scheduled to last until Friday, December 13.
After a request from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the Norwegian Economic Crime Unit (OKOKRIM) charged Jon Johansen for unscrambling DVDs using DeCSS in 1999 when he was 15 years old.
Johansen is charged with violating the Norwegian Criminal Code section 145(2), which outlaws breaking into another person's locked property to gain access to data that one is not entitled to access.
Johansen's prosecution marks the first time the Norwegian government has attempted to punish individuals for accessing their own property. Previously, the government used this law only to prosecute those who violated someone else's secure system, like a bank or telephone company system, in order to obtain another person's records.
"Jon owned the DVDs and he's never been accused of copyright infringement or assisting in copyright infringement," noted EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Instead, he's facing criminal charges for taking the necessary steps to view his own DVDs on his own computers."
EFF assisted Jon in locating Norwegian counsel and setting up a defense fund.
Johansen's indictment came more than two years after the MPAA initially contacted OKOKRIM prosecutors to request a criminal investigation of the Norwegian teen and his father, Per Johansen, who owned the equipment on which the DeCSS software was stored. The charges against Johansen's father were later dropped.
Representing Jon Johansen in this case is Halvor Manshaus from the lawfirm Schjodt in Norway.
Links:
For this advisory:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DeCSS_prosecutions/Johansen_DeCSS_case/20021206_eff_pr.html
More on the Johansen case:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DeCSS_prosecutions/Johansen_DeCSS_case/
Free Jon email list:
https://owl.eff.org/mailman/listinfo/free-jon
Information on related DVD CCA cases:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DVDCCA_case/
- end -
WHEN: Tuesday, December 10th, 2002, at 7:00 PM Pacific Time
WHERE: Electronic Frontier Foundation
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
No, we're not moving! But we are expanding to include the space next door. It is now the newest addition to EFF Headquarters. Come celebrate our new digs and the spirit of the holiday season with us. We'll have great food, beer, musical madness from the Funkmonsters, and the latest news on EFF from the ever-compelling John Perry Barlow and Shari Steele.
This event is free and open to the general public. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org) is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. For more information, please see EFF's website.
An RSVP is appreciated. Please contact:
katina@eff.org
Let us know you're coming so we don't run out of food and holiday libations.
Update: PGP Key-Signing Session at EFF Holiday Party!
In response to popular demand, EFF will host a PGP key-signing session during the housewarming party. If you are a PGP user, you can help expand the web of trust by signing others' keys and getting others to sign your key.
In order to participate, you will need to have a PGP key. Additionally, you MUST SEND YOUR PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK _IN ADVANCE_ to the keysigning coordinator, Seth Schoen. If you do not send your key block beforehand, you will not be able to collect others' signatures. (Your key block is generated when you "export" your public key, and it begins with "-----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK-----".)
Additionally, you must bring a paper copy of your own key fingerprint, and you should bring identifying information sufficient to convince other attendees of your identity.
If you have never attended a PGP keysigning event, you can see
http://www.cryptnet.net/fdp/crypto/gpg-party.html
for general information on what a keysigning is and how to participate.
Note that EFF will facilitate the keysigning but will not itself sign any keys. Instead, you will collect signatures from fellow attendees.
Again, in order to participate, send your key block to schoen@eff.org BEFORE the party!
- end -
~ An Inside Look at China Filters
Jonathan Zittrain and Benjamin Edelman are back with a great report on China's Internet blockage.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,56699,00.html
~ Madster told to pull the plug
Judge orders embattled file-swapping service to turn off the power.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-975927.html
~ FatWallet Fights Back!
FatWallet is demanding payments for all damages, including costs and
attorneys' fees, incurred in addressing some totally spurious DMCA claims.
http://www.law.berkeley.edu/cenpro/samuelson/news/pressrelease.pdf
~ Civil Rights Safe Zone
Cool grassroots initiative to get local communities to stand up for your civil rights.
http://www.bordc.org/
~ Paranoia Chic
Hilarious video on TIA from Mark Fiore.
http://www.markfiore.com/animation/tia.html
- end -
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:
http://www.eff.org/support/
Membership & 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 & articles may be reproduced individually at will.
To change your address, please visit http://action.eff.org/subscribe/. From there, you can update all your information. If you have already subscribed to the EFF Action Center, please visit http://action.eff.org/action/login.asp
To unsubscribe from the EFFector mailing list, send an email to alerts@action.eff.org with the word "Remove" in the subject.
(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
To get the latest issue, send any message to effector-reflector@eff.org
(or er@eff.org),
and it will be
mailed to you automatically. You can also get it via the Web at:
http://www.eff.org/effector/current.html
Return to EFFector Newsletters Index
Please send any questions or comments to webmaster@eff.org
![[*]](/home_blue_icon.gif){kind=icon}
EFF Welcome Page