EFFector Vol. 21, No. 30 September 3, 2008 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 483rd issue: * AS THE COUNTRY ENTERS THE MOST "WIRED" ELECTION SEASON TO DATE, EFF and the ACLU of Northern California strongly encourage online service providers (OSPs) and content owners to take special care to safeguard free speech. Copyright claims, trademark claims, and alleged terms of use violations can be misused to silence critics and stifle political dialogue online. Even temporary takedowns can harm open debate, as political speech depends on the spirit of the moment and the rapidly evolving arguments of the participants. The Internet can continue to revitalize our political lives -- but only if service providers, content owners, and users all do their parts. No matter where you stand on the candidates or the issues, we should all agree on one principle: No downtime for online free speech! http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/08/election-approaches-do-your-part-protect-political : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * Computers Seized from Berkeley Activist Space Even with a warrant, it looks like authorities violated a federal law designed to protect freedom of the press. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/08/computers-seized * EFF Urges Copyright Office to Fix Digital Music Mess, but Carefully In making new rules, the Copyright Office must think broadly to avoid spawning more trouble. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/08/eff-urges-copyright-office-fix-digital-music-mess- * Required Reading for "User-Generated Content" Sites: Io Group v. Veoh Scrupulous attention to the DMCA safe harbors can offer strong protection for user-generated content sites, as demonstrated by the ruling in a case against the online video site Veoh. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/08/required-reading-user-generated-content-sites-io-g * The Secret Room: EFF Designer's Cartoon on Illegal Spying Watch a time-lapse video of EFF Designer/Activist Hugh D'Andrade painting a wall-sized political cartoon about the NSA, AT&T, and illegal government spying. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/08/secret-room-eff-designers-cartoon-illegal-spying : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ AT&T Throws Blue Dog Party At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, AT&T threw a big party for Blue Dog Democrats who backed telecom immunity. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080826/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_convention_at_t ~ Joe Biden's Pro-RIAA, Pro-FBI Record The Democratic nominee for Vice President has a history of uncompromising support for Hollywood, the recording industry and the intelligence community. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10024163-38.html ~ Comcast Introduces Bandwidth Caps Customers will be capped at 250 gigabytes per month. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080828-its-official-comcast-starts-250gb-bandwidth-caps-october-1.html ~ Studios Want Interoperable DRM The big movie studios are joining forces to come up with a single scheme for DRM copy protection, in order to encourage greater online sales. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/08/26/movie-labels-to-launch-new-open-market-play-anywhere-scheme-as-last-ditch-effort-to-save-drm/ For more miniLinks: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/08/minilinks-2008-09-03 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * "Born Digital" Book Talk and Reception in San Francisco Join EFF and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society in celebrating the release of Berkman's newest publication, "Born Digital: Understanding The First Generation of Digital Natives" -- an exploration of the key issues at the intersection of new technology and young people, including privacy, safety, creativity, learning, and civic engagement. The book talk and reception will take place on Monday, September 15th at Hotel Vitale on the Embarcadero -- it's free and open to the public. For more about the event: http://www.eff.org/calendar/2008/09/15/born-digital-book-talk-and-reception * Volunteers Needed for San Francisco's OneWebDay Event! Monday, September 22nd, is OneWebDay -- a day of action to defend and support the Internet. In San Francisco, the Department of Telecommunications and Information Services is partnering with SFConnect.org to run several OneWebDay volunteer projects to bridge the digital divide. Teams of volunteers will be setting up computers in community technology centers, as well as setting up wireless hardware to expand free wireless access in parts of the city. To sign up for the San Francisco OneWebDay Projects: http://www.sfconnect.org/projects/viewProject.php?_setFlag=specialevent&_clearFlag=course&_mode=search&_submode=simple&_action=search&ixSpecialEvent=36 For more information about OneWebDay events nationwide: http://onewebday.org/ : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Administrivia EFFector is published by: The Electronic Frontier Foundation http://www.eff.org/about Editor: Richard Esguerra, EFF Activist richard@eff.org Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: information@eff.org Back issues of EFFector are available at: http://www.eff.org/effector/ To unsubscribe or change your subscription preferences: http://action.eff.org/site/CO?i=xAyaxff3uybwBUitiNxVw1z-Tu16Yars&cid=1041 To change your email address: http://action.eff.org/addresschange Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. 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