EFFector Vol. 23, No. 18 July 9, 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 540th issue: * EFF CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW ANIMATION BY NINA PALEY This week marks EFF's 20th anniversary! To thank you for your support over these two decades, please enjoy this new animation created especially for us by celebrated cartoonist and free culture activist Nina Paley. The short cartoon highlights some of the reasons why EFF is here: https://w2.eff.org/ninapaley/ * EU ACTION UPDATE: KEY DEADLINE FOR EU DECLARATION ON ACTA EXTENDED Fantastic news! Thanks to the efforts of committed allies and EFF activists in the EU, more than 300 Members of European Parliament (MEPs) have signed the Written Declaration opposing the worst parts of ACTA, helping extend the deadline for obtaining the remaining 69 MEP signatures to 9 September. This victory gives EU citizens much-needed time to urge the European Parliament to take a stand against ACTA -- the infamously secretive effort to curtail freedom on the Internet worldwide. Keep the pressure on! Contact your MEP today: https://www.eff.org/action/eu-action-alert-urge-your-mep-take-stand-internet-acta : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * Fight Against Telco Immunity Continues EFF has filed our reply brief on behalf of the 32 pending lawsuits in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the retroactive immunity provision of the FISA Amendments Act. The brief explains the chief constitutional problem with the law: Congress improperly gave the Attorney General the ability to selectively repeal laws passed to protect telecommunications customers from surveillance, as well as removing the protection of the Constitution from their communications and communications records. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/07/fight-against-telco-immunity-continues-court * Stephen Colbert Speaks With EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn On Monday evening, EFF's Cindy Cohn squared off against conservative pundit, talk-show host and astronaut Stephen Tiberius Colbert. In a hard-hitting in-depth interview, Stephen and Cindy sparred over the most important issues facing the Internet today, including Hitler jokes, the Second Amendment, and Beer Cat. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/07/eff-legal-director-cindy-cohn-colbert-report * CFAA Prosecution of Wiseguys Not So Smart EFF and a coalition of academics and public policy groups are urging a federal judge to dismiss a criminal indictment that could give websites extraordinary power to dictate what behavior becomes a computer crime. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/07/cfaa-prosecution-wiseguys-not-so-smart * Don't Turn COPPA Into Age-Verification Mandate Expanding the age-range for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) could drastically change the way everyone uses the Internet -- not just teenagers. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/07/dont-turn-coppa-age-verification-mandate : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ "Threat of 'Cyberwar' Has Been Hugely Hyped" Renowned security expert Bruce Schneier counters the heated rhetoric about cyberwar with a healthy dose of common sense. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/07/schneier.cyberwar.hyped ~The Twilight Copyright Saga: Forbidden Love and Forbidden T-shirts Yale's Christina Mulligan argues that Twilight fans should be free to remix and remake without facing aggressive lawsuits. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/02/AR2010070202449.html ~ ACLU: America Is Riddled with Politically Motivated Surveillance A new report documents cases where people were put under surveillance "for doing little more than peacefully exercising their First Amendment rights." http://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/30/aclu-america-is-ridd.html : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * Sita Sings The Blues: A Benefit Screening Hosted by Nina Paley on July 20, 2010 Join EFF and the Cartoon Art Museum for a special evening with Nina Paley as we screen her award-winning animated feature film "Sita Sings the Blues," described by the creator as "the greatest breakup story ever told." Paley animated and produced the film single-handedly over the course of five years on a home computer, and will be on hand to take filmgoers behind the scenes. Nina will also screen three of her Minute Memes, a series of animated shorts about intellectual freedom, including the big screen premiere of a new cartoon created by Nina especially for EFF. The benefit screening will take place at the Delancey Street Foundation Screening Room at 600 The Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA 94107, on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Doors open at 6:30 PM. Film begins promptly at 7 PM. Advance tickets may be purchased online for $25 at http://action.eff.org/ninapaley , or for $30 at the door the night of the screening. No food or drink is permitted in the screening room. * EFF at "The Next HOPE" in NYC Join EFF at The Next HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth) conference at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. Keynote speakers include Julian Assange of Wikileaks and security expert Dan Kaminsky, perhaps best known for discovering the 2008 DNS cache poisoning vulnerability. Check out the membership specials at EFF's vendor area booth, and catch the following talks with EFF Staff Technologist Seth Schoen: Friday, 7/16 at 6 PM Tor and Internet Censorship Saturday, 7/17 at 11 AM Behind the Padlock: HTTPS Ubiquitous and Fragile Sunday, 7/18 at 10 AM The Need for a Computer Crime Innocence Project You can register for The Next HOPE at http://store.2600.com/nexthope.html . Admission to the conference is $85 online and $100 at the door. For all of the latest info, keep checking http://www.hope.net and http://wiki.hope.net . You can also subscribe to thenexthope Twitter feed and join the Hope.Net Facebook page. And to participate in an ongoing discussion with all sorts of other people, join the Hope Forums at http://talk.hope.net . July 16-18, 2010 The Next HOPE The Hotel Pennsylvania 401 7th Avenue New York, NY 10001-3412 * EFF at OSCON in Portland, OR Visit the EFF booth at OSCON while you peruse the latest in open source innovation and business! Exhibit Hall Hours: Wednesday, July 21 10:00AM - 4:30PM 6:00PM - 7:00PM - Expo Hall Reception Thursday, July 22 10:00AM - 5:00PM Conference organizer O'Reilly Media is offering 20% off registration for EFF supporters! Please use discount code, os10s20d, when registering at: https://en.oreilly.com/oscon2010/public/register * Nominate a Pioneer for EFF's 2010 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 2010. The International Pioneer Awards nominations are open 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. https://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer/ How to Nominate Someone for a 2010 Pioneer Award: You may submit as many nominations as you wish! This year we've made it possible for you to nominate someone using our online nomination form. We also welcome nominations via email, but please use one form or email per nomination. If emailing entries, please submit your entries via email to pioneer@eff.org. We will accept nominations until August 9, 2010. 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 important, 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. Anyone may nominate a potential Pioneer Award recipient, and you may nominate more than one recipient. You may also nominate yourself or your organization. Please send separate email messages for each nominee. 6. Anyone can receive a Pioneer Award except: - current members of EFF's staff - current members of EFF's operating board - current Pioneer Award judges - past Pioneer Award recipients 7. 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: https://www.eff.org/awards/pioneer/ : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : * Dream Job Alert! EFF is looking to fill the following positions: ~ Senior Copyright Lawyer The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is seeking a senior-level copyright attorney. Responsibilities will include litigation, public speaking, blogging, media outreach, and legislative and regulatory matters related to a variety of high technology legal issues. Qualified candidates will have at least five years of experience working in copyright law, including an in-depth knowledge of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) sections 512 and 1201. Candidates should also have significant experience in at least one of the following specialties: trademark law, trade secret law, and/or patent law. Litigation experience is required, including significant experience managing both overall case strategy and day-to-day projects and deadlines. Candidates should have good communication skills and an 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 savviness and a familiarity with Internet civil liberties and high tech public interest issues is strongly preferred. This position is based in San Francisco. Interested applicants should submit a resume and references to ipjob@eff.org. ~ Open Government Attorney EFF is seeking a staff attorney to join its FOIA Litigation for Accountable Government (FLAG) Project. Responsibilities will include filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests and handling follow-up litigation, public speaking, media outreach, and legislative and regulatory advocacy, all in connection with the FOIA and open government issues. The staff attorney will also directly supervise a deferred associate or volunteer working on the FLAG Project. The ideal candidate will possess these qualifications: - Demonstrated interest in, and knowledge of, civil liberties issues involving emerging technologies. - At least four years of litigation experience, including significant experience managing cases, overall case strategy and day-to-day projects and deadlines. Specific FOIA litigation experience is desirable, but not required. - Excellent writing and communications skills, preferably with a track record of blogging, investigative reporting, or other similar activity. - Ability to manage and organize large quantities of documentary materials. - Familiarity with basic information technology tools. 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. This position is based in San Francisco. Interested applicants should submit a resume, writing sample, and references to FOIAjob@eff.org.
