EFFector Vol. 22, No. 06 March 4, 2009 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 501st issue: * EFF RELEASES SURVEILLANCE SELF DEFENSE -- an online how-to guide for protecting your private data against government spying. EFF created the site with the help of the Open Society Institute in order to educate Americans about the law and technology of communications surveillance and computer searches and seizures, and to provide the information and tools necessary to keep their private data out of the government's hands. The guide includes tips on assessing the security risks to your personal computer files and communications, strategies for interacting with law enforcement, and articles on specific defensive technologies such as encryption that can help protect the privacy of your data For the full press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/03/03 For Surveillance Self Defense: http://ssd.eff.org * WARNER MUSIC GROUP IS CENSORING A MYRIAD OF FAIR USES by using YouTube's Video Identification tool to send blanket takedown notices, and very few YouTubers are willing to challenge the takedowns. Why? Because our broken copyright system leaves them facing the prospect of paying outrageous statutory damages and even possibly Warner's attorneys' fees if they stand up, fight back and, despite overwhelming odds in their favor, lose. It's time for Warner to take some responsibility and stop the censorship. The best thing would be for Warner to go back to how it treated videos before. At a minimum, Warner should assure YouTubers that the company won't escalate straight to lawsuit after a content ID takedown is disputed without first availing itself of the DMCA takedown option. If Warner doesn't stop on its own, EFF is interested in bringing a good case to challenge this behavior. If you made a fair use video and you want to fight back, we want to hear from you. For our YouTube removal primer: http://www.eff.org/issues/intellectual-property/guide-to-youtube-removals For fair use video takedowns, contact: info@eff.org For the full blog post: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/hey-warner-leave-those-kids-alone For examples of fair use videos taken off YouTube: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/victims-warner-censorship-literal-videos : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * "Open Access" Policies Threatened by Copyright Bill The poorly named Fair Copyright in Research Works Act would foreclose on all the public publishing requirements of National Institutes of Health research and prevent the government from expanding the open access approach to research funded by other agencies. Original post: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/open-access-policies-threatened-copyright-bill Additional information: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/maplight-org-illuminates-anti-open-access-bill-mon * Yes We Scan: Carl Malamud for Public Printer On President Obama's first day in office, he announced his commitment to "an unprecedented level of openness in Government." Appointing Carl Malamud to Public Printer would be an excellent step towards that goal. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/yes-we-scan * EFF Urges Court to Reject Warrantless GPS Tracking EFF and the ACLU urged a U.S. appeals court today to reject government claims that federal agents have an unfettered right to install a Global Positioning System (GPS) location-tracking device on anyone's car without a search warrant. http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/03/03-0 * DOJ Releases Secret Bush Era OLC Memos The Obama Administration has released two previously undisclosed OLC memoranda and seven previously undisclosed OLC opinions written by the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel during the Bush Administration. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/doj-releases-bush-era-olc-memos * Bush Admin. Claimed 4th Amendment Didn't Apply to NSA It turns out that the Bush Administration did think it could spy on Americans in the U.S. without regard to the Constitution. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/bush-administration-asserted-fourth-amendment-did- * Court Denies Government Appeal in Al-Haramain Case The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the government's appeal of Chief Judge Vaughn Walker's January 5, 2009, decision in Al-Haramain v. Obama (formerly known as Al-Haramain v. Bush). http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/ninth-circuit-appeals-court-denies-government-appe * PTO to Reissue Narrowed Version of NeoMedia Patent Thanks to EFF's Patent Busting Project, last July, the USPTO released an initial opinion invalidating a NeoMedia patent that broadly claimed to cover database lookups using things like barcodes. This week, the PTO announced that it intends to reissue a narrower patent to Neomedia. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/patent-office-reissue-narrowed-version-neomedia-pa * White House Responds to Privacy Complaints? The White House has quietly shifted from using YouTube-hosted videos to Flash-based videos hosted on government servers, eliminating the need for viewers to allow third party cookies to be installed on their computers in order to access government-released videos. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/white-house-responds-privacy-complaints * Last.fm and the Diabolical Power of Data Mining Websites that collect and republish seemingly innocuous facts about their users are often vulnerable to data mining. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/last-fm-and-the-diabolical-power-of-data-mining : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ Judge Orders Defendent to Decrypt Laptop A federal judge in Vermont ordered a criminal defendant to provide his PGP passphrase so that prosecutors can examine his computer. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10172866-38.html ~ Applying the 4th Amendment to the Internet Orin Kerr presents some general principals for a technology-neutral translation of 4th Amendment principals from physical space to cyberspace. http://volokh.com/posts/1235671894.shtml ~ RIAA Layoffs Is the coming "bloodbath" the beginning of the end for the organization? http://i.gizmodo.com/5162747/riaa-layoffs-bloodbath-may-be-the-beginning-of-the-end-for-the-evil-organization For more miniLinks: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/03/minilinks-2009-03-03 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * Come See EFF at eTech! EFF be at the O'Reilly Emerging Technologies Conference March 9 - 12 in San Jose, California. Stop by to say hello, and update your membership! Use code et09sed40 to get a 40% discount on registration for eTech. For more information on eTech: http://en.oreilly.com/et2009/public/content/home * New Staff Members at EFF Two new staff members have joined the EFF team. For a quick introduction to EFF's new Systems Administrator and Membership Coordinator: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/02/effs-two-new-staff-members : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : 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: 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/
