EFFector Vol. 23, No. 14 June 1, 2010 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired change. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 536th issue: * ACTION ALERT: THE ANTI-COUNTERFEITING TRADE AGREEMENT (ACTA) -- ALLEGEDLY CONCEIVED TO REDUCE THE FLOW OF FAKE PHYSICAL GOODS ACROSS BORDERS -- IS A SHAM! ACTA could, in reality, cut people off of the Internet, turn ISPs into copyright cops, and create a global framework that puts severe restrictions on innovation. Use the link below to see if your member of Congress is on the appropriate committee. Then tell him or her not to be fooled by this chicanery and demand that ACTA be limited to addressing international counterfeiting. To take action on ACTA: http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&id=451 * EFF HAS TAKEN FACEBOOK TO TASK FOR PUSHING USERS INTO UNPRECEDENTED OVERSHARING, joined by a concerned chorus of privacy-conscious users. In response to the firestorm of criticism, Facebook announced a series of privacy changes to the social networking site last week. The changes are improvements, and users should make the most of the new privacy controls, but there are still critical privacy gaps that Facebook should address. For an in-depth analysis of the Facebook privacy changes: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/facebooks-new-privacy-improvements-are-positive For a step-by-step guide to the new privacy options: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/more-privacy-facebook-new-privacy-controls For the Bill of Privacy Rights for Social Network Users: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/bill-privacy-rights-social-network-users For a round-up of reactions to the privacy changes: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/facebook-privacy-changes-inspire-praise-optimism : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * Google Launches Encrypted Search Encrypted search improves user privacy by protecting against various forms of electronic eavesdropping. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/google-launches-encrypted-search * Google's Open Wi-Fi Privacy Mistake Must Be the Last Google's inadvertent collection of unencrypted Wi-Fi data using Google Street View cars is a rookie mistake and a wake-up call for users to beef up their use of encryption on open Wi-Fi. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/time-google-grow-make-open-wi-fi-privacy-mistake * EFF Seeks Attorneys to Help Alleged Movie Downloaders Are you an attorney licensed to practice law in the United States? If you are, EFF needs your help to fight spamigation. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/eff-seeks-attorneys-help-alleged-movie-downloaders * EFF Adds to Massive Archive of Government Records Almost 200 FOIA requests and over a dozen lawsuits have netted us a treasure trove of government records on surveillance, contracts with Google, travelers' complaints, and more. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/05/eff-adds-thousands-of-pages-to-document-archive * Judge Shields Identity of Critic Facing Baseless Lawsuit EFF successfully defended the free speech rights of a user facing a bogus lawsuit from a company criticized on a Yahoo! message board. http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/05/18 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * EFF's DEF CON 18 Getaway Contest Update! Eighty-one participants have raised approximately $2500 so far in EFF's DEF CON 18 Getaway Contest! This week the Holy Handgrenades team remains in first place with a $600 total, followed by Nodes with $500 and individual contestant Evan Keiser with $65. It's still anyone's game, so you're not too late to join the fun! Register for the DEF CON 18 Getaway Contest today and receive a personalized referral link. Send the link to your friends and family, and tell them why they should support EFF. The contestant(s) to raise the most money for EFF between now and June 30, 2010, will win: - two DEF CON 18 Human badges; - a standard room at the Riviera Hotel for the nights of July 29-31; - two tickets to the Vegas 2.0 Party at the Top of the Riv on July 29; - two tickets to the iSEC Partners Party, location and date TBD; and - two badges to the Ninja Networks Party, location TBD, on July 31. There are prizes for second and third place winners, as well. Visit www.eff.org/defcon for more information and official contest rules. Contact contest@eff.org with any questions. See you in Sin City! * Help EFF Go to SouthEast LinuxFest! EFF is looking for donations of airline miles, flight vouchers, and hotel points for travel to SouthEast LinuxFest in Spartanburg, SC, as well as other conferences and speaking engagements. If you have enough airline miles for a free ticket and would like to send an EFF staffer to a conference, let us know, and we will help you with the process of making the reservation. Please note that at this time we are unable to combine miles from multiple individuals. We are also looking for hotel rewards points to help reduce our overall travel costs. As a thanks for your donation, we can offer a free membership and a mention in EFFector (if you'd like). Please contact aaron@eff.org if you can help! * EFF Seeking Staff Intellectual Property Attorney Dream job alert: EFF is seeking an intellectual property staff attorney for its legal team. Responsibilities include litigation, public speaking, media outreach, plus legislative and regulatory advocacy, all in connection with a variety of intellectual property and high technology matters. Qualified candidates should have at least four years of legal experience, with knowledge in patent law and at least one other IP specialty (copyright, trademark, trade secret). Litigation experience is required, including significant experience managing cases, both overall case strategy and day-to-day projects and deadlines. Candidates should have good communication skills and interest in working with a team of highly motivated lawyers and activists in a hard-working nonprofit environment. Strong writing and analytical skills as well as the ability to be self-motivated and focused are essential. Tech savvy and familiarity with Internet civil liberties and high tech public interest issues preferred. This position is based in San Francisco. Interested applicants should submit a resume, writing sample, and references to ipjob@eff.org. * EFF Seeking Webmaster EFF is seeking a full-time webmaster to start immediately. This person will be responsible for managing content and building web features on eff.org, and helping to build and maintain EFF's web initiatives and campaigns. The environment is fast-paced; the work is cutting-edge. A love of technology and familiarity with related civil liberties issues is a must. The ideal candidate will have a broad range of experience in web development, including: * Standards-compliant XHTML/CSS markup * Web scripting languages: PHP, Javascript * Open-source web server technologies: Unix, Apache, etc. *Graphics production, editing and optimization * An eye for clean user-centric web design and layout * Organizing and keeping track of large amounts of complex web content Additional familiarity with any of the following is a plus: * Drupal CMS theming and development * Subversion (or similar concurrent versioning system) * MySQL * Writing blog posts, press releases, web content, etc. Salary $45,000-$50,000 with benefits. To apply, send a cover letter and your resume with links to some samples of your work to webjob@eff.org. Please send these materials in a non-proprietary format. No phone calls please! The job is based out of EFF's offices in San Francisco, CA. Applicants must live in or be able to relocate to the area.
