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EFFector - Volume 24, Issue 3 - Social Media and Law Enforcement: Who Gets What Data and When?

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EFFector - Volume 24, Issue 3 - Social Media and Law Enforcement: Who Gets What Data and When?

 
 
 
EFFector! Electronic Frontier Foundation
 
 

In our 560th issue:

Social Media and Law Enforcement: Who Gets What Data and When?

EFF's ongoing Freedom of Information Act project has brought a new round of revelations about how data collected by social networking sites can be obtained by the government. As part of our request to the Department of Justice and other federal agencies, we asked for copies of the guides social networking sites themselves send out to law enforcement explaining how agents can obtain information about a site’s users. The guides we got back enabled us to make an unprecedented comparison of these critical documents, as most of the information was not available publicly before now.

Sony v. Hotz: Sony Sends A Dangerous Message to Researchers -- and Its Customers

Sony has sued several security researchers for publishing information about security holes in Sony’s PlayStation 3. At first glance, it's hard to see why Sony is bothering; the security flaws, which were made public weeks ago, allow users to run Linux on their machines -- something Sony used to support but recently started trying to prevent. The real point of this lawsuit, it appears, is to send a message to security researchers around the world: publish the details of our security flaws and we'll come after you with both barrels blazing.

EFF Asks Judges to Quash Subpoenas in Porn-Downloading Lawsuits

EFF has asked an Illinois judge to quash subpoenas issued in predatory lawsuits involving alleged illegal downloading of pornography. In a recent amicus brief, EFF argued that adult film companies were abusing the law in order to coerce settlement payments despite serious problems with the underlying claims. When adult film companies file these predatory lawsuits, there is the added pressure of embarrassment associated with pornography -- all of which can result in defendents settling quickly instead of arguing the merits of their case in court.

EFF Updates

Early Lessons from the Tunisian Revolution
The Tunisian revolution showed the incredible power and real risks involved when online activists use social networking tools in repressive regimes.

Don't Sacrifice Security on Mobile Devices
EFF urges users and developers to exert pressure on mobile device vendors in a bid for better security.

Bitcoin - a Step Toward Censorship-Resistant Digital Currency
Bitcoin, a project to create a peer-to-peer digital currency, seeks to allow users to generate and exchange money without traditional third parties.

Know Before You Go, Part 2: Burning Man Improves Ticket Terms But Retains Takedown Powers
The 2011 ticket terms for Burning Man show some reforms but still give Burning Man Organization the right to send take down notices to participants who post photos.

Fuzzy Boundaries: The Potential Impact of Vague Secondary Liability Doctrines on Technology Innovation
Former EFF intern and accomplished photographer Paul Szynol warns that today's vague, secondary liability rules may smother innovation from inventors big and small.

miniLinks

If Wikileaks Scraped P2P Networks for "Leaks," Did it Break Federal Criminal Law?
Prof. Paul Ohm discusses how scraping p2p networks for files is probably not a violation of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act.

EFF and the ACLU Contend Government Needs Probable Cause & Warrant to Track Cell Phones
EFF teamed up with the ACLU in opposing federal government attempts to obtain cell phone users’ historical location data from cell phone service providers without establishing probable cause and obtaining a warrant.

Kindle DRM Broken
Too Smart Guys created a video showing how they removed the DRM from Kindle books using Python and Windows.

Administrivia

ISSN 1062-9424

EFFector is a publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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San Francisco, CA
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Editor: Rainey Reitman, Activist
editor@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.

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Announcements

Electronic Communications Act (ECPA) Revisited

EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston joins a panel discussion about the latest privacy developments in court and Congress. Kevin will cover some of the cases he has litigated and the state of ECPA.
Location: Stanford, CA
Date: January 24, 2011

The Technology of Privacy: When Geeks Meet Wonks

EFF's Senior Staff Technologist Peter Eckersley is participating in a panel discussion on the future of online privacy as part of Data Privacy Day.
Location: Washington, DC
Date: January 28, 2011

SchmooCon 2011 - and the Summit on the Hill

SchmooCon is already sold out -- but don't despair! EFF Senior Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann's talk, "Computer Search and Seizure," will be live-streamed online. If you plan to be DC, come to EFF's fundraiser and meet ShmooCon speakers and VIPs in a private setting.
Location: Washington, DC
Date: January 28-30, 2011

2011 Consumer Protection Conference

Staff Attorney Jen Lynch joins in a panel at the ABA Consumer Protection Conference on “'You've Got a Friend,' But Is It Ethical?"
Location: Washington, DC
Date: February 3, 2011

EFF at RSA Conference USA 2011

Come to the EFF booth at the 2011 RSA Conference! Support your favorite nonprofit while checking out the latest in the infosec industry.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: February 13, 2011

BSidesSanFrancisco

Join EFF at BSidesSanFrancisco! Security B-Sides is a community driven unconference built for and by information security community members. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from participants.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: February 13, 2011

EFF's 21st Birthday Party!

Join us as nerdcore and chiptune artists Dual Core, Crashfaster, Adam WarRock, and Trash80 sling dope rhymes and bangin' bleeps for EFF's 21st birthday at the future-focused BAMM.tv studio in San Francisco.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: February 16, 2011

SOURCE Boston and SOURCE Seattle

EFF is a proud partner of two SOURCE Security Conferences! In addition to advanced technical talks, SOURCE offers workshops on entrepreneurship, management strategies, job interviewing, presentation skills, and proficiencies and strategies designed for the security industry.
Location: Boston, MA
Date: April 20, 2011
and
Location: Seattle, WA
Date: June 15-16, 2011

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