EFFector Vol. 14, No. 33 Oct. 25, 2001 editors@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424
In the 193rd Issue of EFFector (now with over 29,400 subscribers!):
* EFF Condemns "Anti-Terrorism" Bill
* EFF Protects Scientists' Speech in RIAA Case
* Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism: "National Security" Toll on
Freedom of Expression
* EFF Contest: Announcing the Big Winners!
* Administrivia
For more information on EFF activities & alerts: http://www.eff.org/
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EFF Condemns "Anti-Terrorism" Bill
Legislation Dramatically Curtails Online Civil Liberties
An overreaching "anti-terrorism" bill passed Congress today without
adequate hearings and debate at the urging of the Bush Administration.
Both houses have passed the bill, now called the USA PATRIOT Act. The
president will likely sign it into law by Friday.
EFF is preparing further commentary and analysis for publication on
our website.
The USA PATRIOT Act:
http://www.eff.org/sc/20011025_hr3162_usa_patriot_bill.html
Background information on anti-terrorism legislation:
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/Terrorism_militias/
About EFF:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties
organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded
in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and
government to support free expression, privacy, and openness in the
information society. EFF is a member-supported organization and
maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world:
http://www.eff.org/
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EFF Protects Scientists' Speech in RIAA Case
Government, Record Industry Disagree on Digital Copyright Law
Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release
For Immediate Release: October 25, 2001
Contacts:
Cindy Cohn, EFF Legal Director
cindy@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x108
Robin Gross, EFF Intellectual Property Attorney
robin@eff.org
+1 415-436-9333 x112
Trenton, NJ - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today replied
to the US Department of Justice's request to dismiss a digital
copyright law dispute. EFF explained that the vagueness of the law,
known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), prevents even
the DOJ and the recording industry from agreeing on their
interpretation of the law in the Felten v RIAA case.
The DOJ's dismissal request claims that the DMCA does not preclude
scientists from pursuing and publishing research on digital copy
prevention schemes, while the recording industry seeks to dismiss the
case on grounds that they have withdrawn legal threats against the
scientific papers already written by Felten and his team. These papers
discussed the weaknesses in the music industry's proposed SDMI
technology designed to control consumers' use of digital music.
EFF points out that the case must go forward in spite of both
dismissal arguments. First, the DOJ's argument that the DMCA exempts
scientific research is not binding on them and is not supported by any
court ruling or by the recording industry. Second, although the
recording industry threats against publication of this scientific
research were withdrawn, industry representatives have insisted that
the DMCA permits them to review and censor future research on a
case-by-case basis.
"Since the government and industry cannot agree on what the DMCA
means, it is not surprising that scientists and researchers are
confused and decide not to publish research for fear of prosecution
under the DMCA," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "Regardless of
specific government or industry threats in the past, scientists should
not have to experience the ongoing chilling effects of this vague
digital copyright law."
Together with USENIX, an association of over 10,000 technologists that
publishes such scientific research, Princeton Professor Edward Felten
and his research team have asked the court to declare that they have a
First Amendment right to discuss and publish their work, even if it
may discuss weaknesses in the technological systems used to control
digital music. The DMCA, passed in 1998, outlaws providing technology
and information that can be used to gain access to a copyrighted work.
"Three more independent scientists today joined six other scientists
and the Association for Computing Machinery and the Computer Research
Association in filing declarations explaining to the court the ways in
which scientific inquiry and freedom of speech have been chilled by
the DMCA," said EFF Intellectual Property Attorney Robin Gross. "The
chill continues because neither the recording industry nor the
government has agreed to be bound to an interpretation of the DMCA
that does not threaten normal, scientific publication."
Recording industry attorneys will not agree to stop future threats
against scientists for discussing the insecurities in recording
industry security systems. Even the government admits this
possibility, stating in its brief that: "It is possible that making
available a publication that describes in detail how to go about
circumventing a particular technology, if written or marketed for the
express purpose of actually circumventing that technology, would be
prosecuted under the statute."
The chill felt by researchers working in this scientific discipline
continues to grow. As Plaintiff Scott Craver says in his Supplemental
Declaration, "We do not write and use programs such as tinywarp.c
because we view breaking a technology as an end unto itself. To the
contrary, breaking a technology is nothing more than a crucial step
either in attempting to improve the technology or in attempting to
prove that the technology cannot be made to do what it is supposed to
do. Both, of course, are legitimate research objectives, and in either
case, writing and using tools to circumvent access or copy control
technologies is essential to our work. If we can no longer use the
necessary instruments of science, then our field of scientific work
will be paralyzed."
Oral argument on the both the government and recording industry
motions to dismiss the scientists' case has been scheduled for
November 28 before Judge Garrett E. Brown in Trenton, New Jersey.
For EFF's filing in opposition to the Department of Justice dismissal
motion in Felten v RIAA as well as for other motions and declarations
in the case:
http://www.eff.org/sc/felten/
About EFF:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties
organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded
in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and
government to support free expression, privacy, and openness in the
information society. EFF is a member-supported organization and
maintains one of the most linked-to Web sites in the world:
http://www.eff.org/
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Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism: "National Security" Toll on Freedom of
Expression
Especially now during the US Congress's passage of the most
restrictive measures on online civil liberties yet experienced in the
United States, it is important to note that the right to free speech
faces the strongest challenges during times of crisis. Whether or not
any of us agree about each particular decision made to prevent public
access to sensitive information, it is the Electronic Frontier
Foundation's responsibility to chart any such efforts so that we as a
society are at least aware of what is no longer available to us.
A new EFF web page attempts to convey the chilling effect that
responses to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have had on
information availability on the Internet as well as some sense of the
effect on people trying to provide this information.
Currently, this page tracks websites shut down or partially removed by
governments, ISPs, and website owners, as well as government requests
to remove information, media professionals or other employees
terminated or suspended for exercising free speech in response to
anti-terrorism, and other related incidents and links.
Check out the Chilling Effects of Anti-Terrorism page at
http://eff.org/Censorship/Terrorism_militias/antiterrorism_chill.html
If you know of any anti-terrorism chilling effects that should be
listed, please let us know by email at freespeech@eff.org
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EFF Contest: Announcing the Big Winners!
Despite a technological glitch, the EFF Contest of the Century (or at
least of the week), is proud to announce the following three winners
of vintage EFF T-shirts:
1) Derek Balling
2) Les Earnest
3) Mike Castleman
Those on Netscape web browsers who reported the technological glitch,
we appreciate your support. Instead of suing you like some companies
we know would do, :-) we will reward the first two people who reported
the bug with vintage EFF T-shirts too!
1) Tim Valdez
2) Steve Peltz
Thanks so much to everyone who entered.
You can see the answers to the contest at:
http://www.eff.org/cgi-bin/contest/contest011018.html
Please stay tuned and read the EFFector careful to find out when the
next EFF Contest of the Century (or at least of the week) will reach
your inbox.
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Administrivia
EFFector is published by:
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Editors:
Katina Bishop, EFF Education & Offline Activism Director
Stanton McCandlish, EFF Technical Director/Webmaster
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