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In our 557th issue:

EFF Victory: Appeals Court Holds that Email Privacy is Protected by Fourth Amendment

In a landmark decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the government must have a search warrant before it can secretly seize and search emails stored by email service providers. Closely tracking arguments made by EFF in its amicus brief, the court found that email users have the same reasonable expectation of privacy in their stored email as they do in their phone calls and postal mail.

EFF Animation: 2010 in 8bit

From fighting fiendish copyright trolls, to freeing your smart phones from restrictions against jailbreaking, to helping you take better control of your privacy on Facebook, EFF works tirelessly for your digital rights. What better way to celebrate than to chronicle a few of our biggest fights in 8-bit style? These breakout victories were only possible thanks to individuals like you, so please consider making a year-end contribution if you haven't yet done so.

Constructive Direct Action Against Censorship

The past few weeks have highlighted the vulnerability of centralized information systems to censorship. Sites hosting legitimate speech were caught up in an anti-counterfeiting raid by the Department of Homeland Security, EveryDNS stopped hosting WikiLeaks.org’s DNS, Amazon refused hosting service to WikiLeaks, and independent protesters conducted denial-of-service attacks on businesses refusing service to WikiLeaks. What, then, can digital activists do to protect speech on the Internet? Here's EFF's guide to some of the innovative projects underway right now.

EFF Updates

New Humble Indie Bundle: Pay-What-You-Want for Games and Help EFF, Again!
The Humble Indie Bundle, now in its highly successful second year, lets users pay what they want to purchase a collection of independently produced, DRM-free, cross-platform computer games -- with a portion of the proceeds headed to EFF!

EFF Location Privacy Victory at Third Circuit Stands, With Implications Far Beyond Your Cell Phone
In a victory for consumer privacy, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government's request that it reconsider its September decision regarding government access to cell phone company records that reveal your past locations.

Not-So-Gentle Persuasion: U.S. Bullies Spain into Proposed Website Blocking Law
A set of cables reported on by El Pais make clear that the U.S. government played a key role in Spain’s controversial website blocking bill which the Spanish government is now trying to sneak through in a pre-holiday session this month.

Indian Government Detains E-Voting Researchers
Two of the colleagues who assisted Hari Prasad in exposing serious flaws in electronic voting machines used in India were detained for hours when flying to Delhi for a security conference.

Viacom Round-Up: Still Complaining about YouTube Even as They Profit from It
Viacom and its supporters are seeking a re-write of the DMCA that would put all kinds of online service providers at risk of huge statutory damages for copyright infringement, rather than embracing a profitable new business model.

Knowledge is Power: Facebook's Exceptional Approach to Vulnerability Disclosure
Facebook has set itself apart by publishing a policy intended to make those who discover vulnerabilities more comfortable coming forward to report them.

Lawmakers and Legal Experts Call For Restraint in Wikileaks Hearing
In a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the legal and constitutional issues surrounding Wikileaks' publication activities, committee members repeatedly emphasized the importance of protecting First Amendment rights and cautioned against overreaction.

Human Rights Organizations Worldwide Decry Attacks on Freedom of Expression
In the weeks since cablegate.wikileaks.org was taken down, human rights organizations around the world have condemned the attacks on Wikileaks and have raised their voices to protect freedom of expression online.

A Mixed Ninth Circuit Ruling in MDY v. Blizzard: WoW Buyers Are Not Owners But Glider Users Are Not Copyright Infringers
The Ninth Circuit issued its decision in the second of a trio of cases that raise the critical legal question of whether "magic words" in a end-user license agreement (EULA) slapped onto a consumer product can turn buyers (or gift recipients) into mere licensees, rather than owners.

Commerce Department's Online Privacy Report a Positive Step, But Self-Regulation Isn't Enough
The new Department of Commerce “green paper” on online privacy echoes EFF's concerns about the enormous gap between consumer privacy expectations and business reality in the online environment, but stops short of endorsing enforceable consumer privacy rules.

Season’s Greetings from EFF's International Team
EFF works in a range of international policy venues and with partner organizations worldwide to defend your digital rights; find out how EFF's International Team is working to defend your digital freedom across the globe.

Work With EFF's International Policy Team Next Summer!
If you are you a student who is passionate about protecting online civil liberties, then apply for a Google Policy Fellowship to work with EFF's international policy team next summer!

miniLinks

Your Apps Are Watching You
A new report from the Wall Street Journal shows that application privacy isn't just a Facebook problem; iPhone and Android phones leak personal data to apps, too.

Warner Brothers Won’t Fight ‘Yogi Bear’ Video Parody
This dark parody imagines a dire ending to the 'Yogi Bear' movie - but refreshingly won't be subject to take down by Warner Brothers, according to the studio.

Piracy Fight Shuts Down Music Blogs
Artist-endorsed music blogs are among sites silenced by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Dream Job Alerts!

Criminal Defense Staff Attorney
EFF is seeking a senior staff attorney with a focus on criminal law matters to join our legal team.

Responsibilities will include litigation, public speaking, media outreach, and legislative and regulatory advocacy all in connection with civil liberties and our Coders Rights Project.

For the full announcement and information on how to apply:
https://www.eff.org/about/opportunities/criminal-defense-staff-attorney

Administrivia

ISSN 1062-9424

EFFector is a publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
454 Shotwell Street
San Francisco, CA
94110-1914
USA +1 415 436 9333
+1 415 436 9993 (fax)
eff.org

Editor: Rainey Reitman, Activist
rainey@eff.org

Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org

General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: information@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.

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Announcements

2011 International Consumer Electronics Show

Stop by EFF's booth (space 4909) near entrance N3 and meet Kellie Brownell, Development Associate. Learn more about EFF and pick up some cool swag!
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Date: January 6-9, 2011

EFF at RSA Conference USA 2011

Come to the EFF booth at the 2011 RSA Conference! Support your favorite nonprofit while checking out the latest in the infosec industry.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: February 13, 2011

BSidesSanFrancisco

Join EFF at BSidesSanFrancisco! Security B-Sides is a community driven unconference built for and by information security community members. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: February 13, 2011

SOURCE Boston and SOURCE Seattle

EFF is a proud partner of two SOURCE Security Conferences! In addition to advanced technical talks, SOURCE offers workshops on entrepreneurship, management strategies, job interviewing, presentation skills, and proficiencies and strategies designed for the security industry.
Location: Boston, MA
Date: April 20, 2011
and
Location: Seattle, WA
Date: June 15-16, 2011

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