EFFector Vol. 22, No. 10 April 10, 2009 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 505th issue: * THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION HAS EMBRACED BUSH'S POSITION ON WARANTLESS WIRETAPPING, and goes one step further than the previous administration. In a motion to dismiss Jewel v. NSA, the Obama Administration's Department of Justice (DOJ) made two deeply troubling arguments. First, they argued, exactly as the Bush Administration did on countless occasions, that the state secrets privilege requires the court to dismiss the issue out of hand. They asserted that simply allowing the case to continue "would cause exceptionally grave harm to national security." As in the past, this is a blatant ploy to dismiss the litigation without allowing the courts to consider the evidence. Second, the DOJ claimed that the U.S. Government is completely immune from litigation for illegal spying because the USA PATRIOT Act renders the U.S. immune from suit under the two remaining key federal surveillance laws: the Wiretap Act and the Stored Communications Act. This is a radical assertion that is utterly unprecedented. No one -- not the White House, not the Justice Department, not any member of Congress, and not the Bush Administration -- has ever interpreted the law this way. This isn't change we can believe in. This is change for the worse. For the full blog post: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/obama-doj-worse-than-bush For the press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/04/05 For Kevin Bankston on "Countdown With Keith Olbermann": http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/bankston-on-olbermann For Keith Olbermann on Obama and Wiretapping: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/keith-olbermann-obama-and-wiretapping * EFF AND OTHERS HAVE CALLED FOR OBAMA TO DIVERSIFY IP APPOINTMENTS. Several of the president's recent appointees to positions that oversee intellectual property policy have represented the recording industry or other industries that support overly broad IP protection. But many positions with IP policy responsibilities have not yet been filled. The coalition urged the administration to appoint individuals representing the diversity of stakeholders involved in IP issues, and also called on the president to create new positions dedicated to promoting innovation and advancing the cause of progress in sciences and the useful arts. For the full press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/04/02 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * Disability Access Activists Gather to Protest Kindle DRM Hundreds of people gathered in front of the headquarters of The Authors Guild in New York City to protest the removal of text-to-speech capabilities in Amazon's new Kindle 2. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/protest-kindle-drm * Michigan Rep. Calls for RFID Review Michigan Rep. Paul Opsommer wants to know why Michigan is set to issue new Enhanced Drivers' Licenses that include long-range RFID technology. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/michigan-rep-calls-rfid-review * Stating the Case Against DRM to the FTC EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry testified at the FTC's town hall meeting on DRM, recommending that the FTC study DRM's effect on competition. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/stating-case-against-drm-ftc * AP Invokes DMCA Against Obama "Hope" Poster Artist The AP claims that Shepard Fairey violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in the creation of his famous poster. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/ap-uses-dmca-intimidate-hope-artist * Court Expands Trademark Rights, Restricts Consumer Search The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a trademark owner can sue Google for trademark infringement for selling its mark as a keyword as part of the AdWords program. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/second-circuit-expands-trademark-rights-restricts- * EU Copyright Term Extension Battle Heats Up At least eleven countries' COREPER representatives voted against a proposal to extend sound copyright in the EU -- enough votes to block the proposal. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/every-vote-counts-eu-copyright-term-extension-batt * Observations from the Three-Strikes Rumor Storm Though there appears to be no need for immediate concern that customers could be targeted for disconnection, the rumors and subsequent responses from ISPs reveal important information about the state of play for three strikes. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/observations-three-strikes-rumor-storm * Warner Music Targeting More than YouTube ZDNet columnist Jason Perlow reports that Warner Music came after his wife's video slideshow on Vimeo, another video hosting site. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/warner-music-targeting-more-youtube * iPods, First Sale, Obama, and the Queen of England President Obama reportedly gave an iPod, loaded with 40 show tunes, to England's Queen Elizabeth II as a gift. Did he violate the law when he did so? http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/first-sale-president-obama-and-queen-england * More on Choruss, Pro and Con The public debates about Choruss have begun, with those on both sides contributing valuable thoughts about the advantages and disadvantages of Choruss. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/more-choruss-pro-and-con : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ Social Network Sites "Monitored" in UK The UK government proposed rules that would allow the use of social networking sites to monitor criminal activity. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7962631.stm ~ Freedom on the Net Freedom House takes comprehensive look at government tactics for controlling communications around the world. http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=383&report=79&group=19 ~ "Playmobil Priest" Faces Company's Wrath A priest who transformed Playmobil figures into biblical characters is facing copyright infringement claims. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hJAL_5AKOH4SHJ1rzWy5w8q16Gig For more miniLinks: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/minilinks-2009-04-10 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * Come See EFF at RSA and MySQL! EFF will be at two conferences this April: RSA and MySQL. Come and see us at RSA, April 20-24, or at MySQL, April 21-22. Whichever conference you attend, please visit our booth and grab some EFF swag during exhibit hours. We look forward to seeing you! For more information on RSA: http://www.rsaconference.com/2009/us/index.htm For more information on MySQL: http://www.mysqlconf.com/mysql2009 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Administrivia EFFector is published by: The Electronic Frontier Foundation http://www.eff.org/about Editor: Sara Bassett, Membership Services Assistant sara@eff.org Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org To support EFF: secure.eff.org/donate General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: information@eff.org Back issues of EFFector are available at: http://www.eff.org/effector/
