EFFector Vol. 22, No. 17 June 5, 2009 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 511th issue: * EFF IS PLANNING NEW LEGAL ACTION after dozens of spying cases were dismissed Wednesday as a result of the "telecom immunity" included in the FISA Amendments Act passed by Congress in 2008. While EFF is deeply disappointed by the dismissal of the cases against the telecoms, EFF and the ACLU are planning to appeal. In addition, the ruling leaves the door open for other legal challenges to warrantless spying, meaning EFF will continue litigating Jewel v. NSA -- EFF's lawsuit against the government for illegal surveillance. For the full press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/06/03 * EFF HAS CREATED A TOOL to help you keep track of the policies that determine how Internet businesses interact with you and use your personal information. These terms of service (TOS) agreements change all the time and have tremendous influence on the freedoms you have while using those services. TOSback tracks changes on some of the most popular websites, with information about what changed and when. For TOSBack: http://www.TOSBack.org : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * Enter Stage Right: The "Cyber Czar" President Obama made initial progress towards improving federal cybersecurity while avoiding the pitfalls of some recent legislation. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/enter-stage-right-cy * Apple Rejects EFF Updates Application A fleeting curse word in a subtitle of a video embedded in an EFF blog post led to the rejection of the iPhone application. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06/oh-come-apple-reject * Taking Copyright Education Seriously Significant shortcomings in the educational materials produced by the film, music, and software industries led EFF to want to provide an alternative. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/05/copyright-education * Why DRM on e-Books Will Fail Conducting optical character recognition on e-books turns out to be about as easy as scanning in text from paper books. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/06/why-drm-will-fail-e- : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ Craigslist Censorship Causes Uptick for Newspapers Newspapers are reporting significant gains in adult classified ad sales after Craigslist was pressured into taking erotic ads offline. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/06/craigslists-forced-censorship-of-erotic-ads-saves-journalism-industry/ ~ Travel Documents Now Required to Exit U.S. Federal regulations effective June 1, 2009, require government-issued travel documents, frequently featuring RFIDs, for exit from as well as entry to the U.S. http://www.papersplease.org/wp/2009/06/01/today-were-all-prisoners-in-the-usa/ ~ Cybersecurity Plans Could Threaten Anonymity "Identity Management" plans suggested by Obama echo a long history of efforts to curb flexibility of identity online. http://www.alternet.org/media/140370/does_obama_want_to_replace_your_facebook_profile_with_your_social_security_card/ : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * EFF at RoboGames in San Francisco See EFF next weekend at the 2009 International RoboGames at Ft. Mason's Festival Pavilion, San Francisco! Stop by and say hello! Booth Hours: Friday, June 12: 12 PM - 6 PM Saturday, June 13: 2 PM - 6 PM Sunday, June 14: 12 PM - 6 PM For more information: http://robogames.net * Help EFF Go to DEFCON! EFF is looking for donations of airline tickets and hotel points for the DEFCON hacking conference, 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! * Nominate a Pioneer for EFF's 2009 Pioneer Awards! EFF established the Pioneer Awards to recognize leaders on the electronic frontier who are extending freedom and innovation in the realm of information technology. This is your opportunity to nominate a deserving individual or group to receive a Pioneer Award for 2009. The International Pioneer Awards nominations are open both to individuals and organizations from any country. Nominations are reviewed by a panel of judges chosen for their knowledge of the technical, legal, and social issues associated with information technology. How to Nominate Someone for a 2009 Pioneer Award: You may send as many nominations as you wish, but please use one email per nomination. Please submit your entries via email to pioneer@eff.org. We will accept nominations until July 15, 2009. Simply tell us: 1. The name of the nominee, 2. The phone number, email address or website by which the nominee can be reached, and, most importantly, 3. Why you feel the nominee deserves the award. Nominee Criteria: There are no specific categories for the EFF Pioneer Awards, but the following guidelines apply: 1. The nominees must have contributed substantially to the health, growth, accessibility, or freedom of computer-based communications. 2. To be valid, all nominations must contain your reason, however brief, for nominating the individual or organization and a means of contacting the nominee. In addition, while anonymous nominations will be accepted, ideally we'd like to contact the nominating parties in case we need further information. 3. The contribution may be technical, social, economic, or cultural. 4. Nominations may be of individuals, systems, or organizations in the private or public sectors. 5. Nominations are open to all (other than current members of EFF's staff and operating board or this year's award judges), and you may nominate more than one recipient. You may also nominate yourself or your organization. 6. Persons or representatives of organizations receiving an EFF Pioneer Award will be invited to attend the ceremony at EFF's expense. More on the EFF Pioneer Awards: http://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer/ * Intern Opportunity! EFF is looking for a summer intern to help in our development and media departments. This is an unpaid, full-time position. Projects will include: -Working on our annual report and contacting major donors and foundations (40% of time); -Assisting with membership fulfillment and bulk mailing (40% of time); and -Identifying and organizing press clippings (20% of time). Excellent writing and editing skills, strong organizational abilities, and the capacity to take instruction and run with it is a must. Interest in development and/or public relations as a career is a plus, as is knowledge and familiarity with EFF's issues. To apply, please send a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to: alyssa@eff.org * Volunteer at EFF! EFF is looking for volunteers to assist with operations in our membership department. If you're quick, organized, detail-oriented, and looking for a hands-on way to support EFF, contact us today! Duties include: * Membership fulfillment * Organizing premiums * Print mailing * support Event assistance Learn about fundraising operations in the nonprofit world while supporting your favorite organization in a tangible way! Interest in grassroots fundraising is a plus, as is knowledge and familiarity with EFF's issues. Send a letter of interest to aaron@eff.org * Open Video Conference in NYC The upcoming Open Video Conference, taking place June 19-20 in New York City, plans to tackle a range of issues surrounding online video -- from codecs to content, to fair use, and beyond. Recent developments like Hulu are pretty good for the user -- but Internet video should be more than just "TV on demand." Internet video has the potential to be a far more dynamic medium that invites clipping, archival, remix, collage, repurposing, and many other uses. Featured speakers include: NYU's Clay Shirky, Harvard's Yochai Benkler, Boing Boing's Xeni Jardin, DVD Jon, Free Press' Josh Silver, EFF's Corynne McSherry, and many more. For the full agenda: http://openvideoconference.org/agenda/ To register for the Open Video Conference: http://openvideoconference.org/registration/ : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : 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: http://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/
