EFFector Vol. 22, No. 14 May 8, 2009 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 508th issue: * FIGHT GOVERNMENT SECRECY AND REFORM THE STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE! For years, the state secrets privilege was a favorite tool of the Bush Administration. They used it to avoid accountability for both the NSA's warrantless wiretapping program and the CIA's "special rendition" program. Recently, the Obama Administration has begun to use the same tactic -- most notably, to attempt to dismiss Jewel v. NSA, EFF's lawsuit against the NSA for warrantless wiretapping. In light of this continuing abuse, members of Congress have introduced bills to ensure meaningful judicial oversight of state secrets claims. The Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Senators Leahy, Specter, Feingold and Kennedy, will likely be facing a critical vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee any day now. Your support could be the deciding factor! To take action: https://secure.eff.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=431 * THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION IS STILL WITHHOLDING A THOUSAND PAGES OF MATERIAL regarding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). Although the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released 36 pages of material in April, most contain no substantive information, and there are still a thousand pages that need to be released. One of the documents released implies that treaty negotiators are zeroing in on Internet regulation. Other publicly available information shows that the treaty could establish far-reaching customs regulations over Internet traffic in the guise of anti-counterfeiting measures. Litigation to get the rest of the pages continues, with the USTR asking U.S. District Judge Rosemary M. Collyer to uphold its decision to conceal virtually all of the information that EFF seeks concerning the ACTA negotiations. For the full press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/05/06 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * YouTube Restores a Fair Use YouTube has restored another fair use video, this time without keeping it off-line for the standard 10-14 business day counter notice period. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/youtube-restores * AGs v. Craigslist: Putting the Bully Back in Bully Pulpit On Tuesday, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster notified craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster that unless craigslist removes its erotic services section within 10 days, "craigslist management may be subject to criminal investigation and prosecution." http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/ags-v-craigslist-put * Apple's Censorship Makes Case for DMCA Exemptions Trent Reznor's latest version of his Nine Inch Nails-themed application for the iPhone has been rejected by Apple on the grounds that it contained "objectionable content." http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/apples-censorship * White House Photos: Does the Public Need a License to Use? The White House should reconsider its Creative Commons licensing approach and work with Flickr to instead flag its photo stream as work in the public domain. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/white-house-photos : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ Justice Department Finds Flaws in FBI Terror List Surprise! The exponential growth of the terror watch list has led to errors - including 24,000 names included on the basis of outdated or irrelevant information. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/us/07terror.html ~ Libraries Raise Concerns About GoogleBooks Librarians submitted a letter to the court overseeing the Google Book Settlement that raised concerns about how Google's plans for digital books will affect privacy and censorship. http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/05/libraries-warn-of-censorship-privacy-cost-in-googles-digital-library/ ~ CAIR Defends Savage When shock jock Michael Savage was banned from the UK for allegedly hateful comments about muslims, an Islamic group he had previously maligned came to his defense - on free speech grounds. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/06/MN3617FA8K.DTL ~ Facebook's E-mail Censorship Legally Dubious, Experts Say Does Facebook's decision to block Pirate Bay features for their site violate wiretapping laws? http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/05/facebooks-e-mail-censorship-is-legally-dubious-experts-say/ For more miniLinks: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/minilinks-2009-05-08 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * EFF's Web 2.0 Compliance Bootcamp Does your company have to contend with the maze of laws dealing with user privacy and publishing user content? Want to do the right thing by the online community that gives your business value yet fulfills your legal obligations? On May 11, 2009, EFF will reprise its successful one-day session for Internet companies that handle issues arising from users and user-generated content. From DMCA to CDA to ECPA, the law surrounding Internet content can be confusing, especially for the folks who have to decide on the fly whether to let something stay up or take it down, or whether to give their customer's name to the FBI agent on the phone. We will also have additional sessions on open source licensing and employment law for start-ups and small Internet companies. The event is co-sponsored by the Golden Gate University School of Law Intellectual Property Law Center. Topic areas include: * Defamation, harassment, and other accusations of bad behavior * Fair use, free culture, and the right to remix * Copyright take-downs and put-backs * How to respond to cops, crooks, and courts who want your customers' communications and other private information * Anonymous speakers * Porn, predators, and the pressure to police * Open source issues * Employment basics for start-ups Where: Golden Gate University School of Law 536 Mission Street San Francisco CA, 94105-2968 How much: $300. Scholarships may be available. For more information: http://www.eff.org/bootcamp/ To sign up: http://secure.eff.org/bootcamp * Send EFF to a Conference! EFF is looking for donations of airline tickets for the Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference and 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. In exchange for a ticket, we can offer a free membership and a mention in EFFector (if you'd like). Please contact aaron@eff.org if you have a ticket to donate. Thank you to Yost Engineering, whose airline mile donation is helping us to fight for your rights across the country. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : 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/
