EFFector Vol. 20, No. 10 March 6, 2007 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 416th Issue of EFFector:
- Acton Alert - Repeal the REAL ID Act!
- 'Electric Slide' Creator Steps on Fair Use
- EFF Pioneer Awards at eTech; Mark Cuban to Keynote Ceremony
- EFFers at EFF-Austin's SXSW Bash, March 12
- miniLinks (5): Congressman Talks FAIR USE Act
- Administrivia
For more information on EFF activities & alerts: http://www.eff.org/ Make a donation and become an EFF member today! http://eff.org/support/ Tell a friend about EFF: http://action.eff.org/site/Ecard?ecard_id=1061 effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired change. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : * Acton Alert - Repeal the REAL ID Act! The federal government took another step last week towards forcing you to carry a national ID in order to get on airplanes, open a bank account, enter federal buildings, and much more. But with state legislatures and Congressional representatives increasingly turning against the REAL ID Act, you can help stop this costly, privacy- invasive mandate -- voice your opposition now: http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=275 On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released draft regulations for implementing REAL ID, which makes states standardize drivers' licenses and create a vast national database linking all of the ID records together. Once in place, uses of the IDs and database will inevitably expand to facilitate a wide range of tracking and surveillance activities. Remember, the Social Security number started innocuously enough, but it has become a prerequisite for a host of government services and has been co-opted by private companies to create massive databases of personal information. REAL ID won't just cost you your privacy. The states and individual taxpayers bear the estimated 23 billion dollar burden of implementing the law, and that figure is probably low given that the necessary verification systems don't exist yet. And what will you get in return? Not improved national security, because IDs do little to stop those who haven't already been identified as threats, and wrongdoers will still be able to create fake documents. REAL ID is fundamentally flawed, and DHS' proposed regulations do nothing to change that. Thankfully, the tide is turning against REAL ID in a big way -- state legislatures around the country are passing or considering legislation rejecting its implementation, and Congress is considering repealing it. The DHS regulations mean that states must have an implementation plan ready by October 2007. Make sure your Congressional representatives support the repeal of REAL ID before it's too late: http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=275 Read the San Jose Mercury News' editorial, "Time to drop expensive, unrealistic ID plan": http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/16843010.htm For more information about the REAL ID Act: http://www.eff.org/Privacy/ID/RealID/ : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : * 'Electric Slide' Creator Steps on Fair Use EFF Lawsuit Battles Bogus Copyright Claims San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit last week against the man who claims to have created the popular line dance "The Electric Slide," asking the court to protect the free speech rights of a videographer who captured a few steps of the dance in a documentary video he posted to the Internet. EFF's client, Kyle Machulis, shot the video at a concert last month. In one ten-second segment, a group of fans in the audience attempts to dance part of the Electric Slide. Machulis later uploaded the video to YouTube. Within just a few days, Richard Silver, owner of www.the- electricslidedance.com, filed a takedown demand under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Silver claimed he owned the copyright to the Electric Slide and that Machulis' video infringed his rights. The removal appears to be part of a broad campaign by Silver to misuse copyright allegations to prevent dancers from performing the dance "incorrectly." "Silver's claim of copyright infringement is absurd and is a classic example of the kind of DMCA abuse that can chill Internet speech," said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. "Even if Silver had a valid copyright in the dance--which is not at all clear--this is a fair use and not infringing." EFF's complaint asks that the judge immediately rule that the video does not infringe any copyright owned by Silver, and that Silver cease his meritless claims towards Machulis. "We spend a lot of time fighting the misuse of copyright law on the Internet, but this situation is particularly outrageous," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "With thousands of videos being uploaded to sites like YouTube every day, free speech is on the line and needs to be protected." For the full complaint: http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/electricslide/complaint.pdf For this press release: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_03.php#005143 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : * EFF Pioneer Awards at eTech; Mark Cuban to Keynote Ceremony Join the Electronic Frontier Foundation in a fundraiser honoring those who have contributed to the health, growth, accessibility, and freedom of computer-based communications. Awarded every year since 1991, the Pioneer Awards recognize leaders who are extending freedom and innovation on the electronic frontier. Past winners include World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners- Lee, Linux creator Linus Torvalds, science fiction writer Bruce Sterling, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, among many others. This year, the 16th Annual Pioneer Awards ceremony will be held in conjunction with the O'Reilly Emerging Technology (eTech) Conference in San Diego, CA, on Tuesday March 27th, 2007. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. HDNet Chairman and NBA Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban will keynote the event. If you're heading to eTech, you should also visit our booth in the Exhibit Hall and grab some EFF swag -- we look forward to seeing you! Tickets to the Pioneer Awards ceremony and Mark Cuban's keynote address are $35. You can buy your ticket in advance at: http://secure.eff.org/pioneerfundraiser For more information about the 2007 Pioneer Awards: http://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer The 2007 Pioneer Awards ceremony is sponsored by Sling Media: http://www.slingmedia.org You can find out more information about eTech here: http://conferences.oreillynet.com/ : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : * EFFers at EFF-Austin's SXSW Bash, March 12 If you're heading down to Austin, Texas, for the South-by- Southwest (SXSW) conference and festival next week, don't miss EFF-Austin's party on March 12. "Futures of the Past: A Steampunk Adventure" features musical performances, vaudeville acts, and a variety of art exhibitions. The party honors EFF, and EFF staff members will be in attendance, so stop by, chat, and grab some schwag. It's $15 at the door with proceeds going to EFF-Austin, and badge holders get in for free. More details here: http://www.effaustin.org/uploaded_images/EFF-futurespast-420-718614.jpg : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : * miniLinks The week's noteworthy news, compressed. ~ Congressman Talks FAIR USE Act Co-author of new copyright reform bill discusses next steps with News.com. http://news.com.com/Tech+Politics+Podcast+The+beginning+of+the+end+for+the+DMCA/2324-12835_3-6164544.html ~ Reconceptualizing Net Neutrality, Part 1 Scholar Kevin Werbach explains the difference between non- discrimination and interconnection, and how both concepts fit into the net neutrality debate. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=964991 ~ Reconceptualizing Net Neutrality, Part 2 Or is neutrality about monopolizing access to customers? Tim Wu explains. http://www.timwu.org/NN_as_pricing.pdf ~ Crowdhacking Manipulating reputation and recommendation systems for fun and profit. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.03/herding_pr.html ~ Onion: "Viacom Demands YouTube Pull 400,000 Ex-TV Viewers From Its Site" Potatoes wanted back on couches immediately. http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/viacom_demands_youtube_pull : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : * Administrivia 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: Derek Slater, Activist derek@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. Current and back issues of EFFector are available via the Web at: http://www.eff.org/effector/ Click here to change your email address: http://action.eff.org/addresschange This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled electrons.
