EFFector Vol. 22, No. 12 April 24, 2009 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 507th issue: * EFF URGES THE KENTUCKY SUPREME COURT TO UPHOLD FREE SPEECH AND DUE PROCESS in a friend-of-the-court brief filed last week. The brief, filed jointly with other leading public interest and industry trade groups, advocates that the Kentucky Supreme Court uphold an appeals court ruling that blocked state officials from ordering out-of-state registrars to turn over control of over 100 overseas Internet domain names accused of violating state gambling laws. The case began in September when the commonwealth of Kentucky convinced a state court judge to order the seizure of 141 domain names, claiming that the names were "gambling devices" banned under Kentucky law. A Kentucky appeals court later overturned the ruling, but state officials appealed the order. EFF and others argue that the commonwealth's attempt to regulate overseas websites is fatally flawed and, if successful, would violate the First Amendment, the Commerce Clause, and the Due Process Clause. For the press release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/04/20 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * Obama's Transparency Promise: We're Still Waiting The FBI's failure to change course in the Investigative Data Warehouse case is not the only situation in which the Obama administration's actions are not yet living up to its pro-transparency rhetoric. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/obamas-transparency- * Government Rules that Proxies Don't Merit Extra Jail Time The Sentencing Commission has decided, at least for now, not to classify the use of proxies as a sign of sophistication. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/us-governmentt-rules-use-proxies-does-not-merit * Rep. Jane Harman Changes Her Tune on Wiretapping When countless ordinary Americans are being wiretapped without warrants, Harman declares the program "both necessary and legal." But when Harman herself is victim to a court-approved wiretap, she decides it's "a gross abuse of power"? http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/harman-changes-tune * Specter: "The Need to Roll Back Presidential Power Grabs" Senator Arlen Specter published a detailed opinion column proposing "legislation to keep the courts open to suits filed against several major telephone companies that allegedly facilitated the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping program." http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/senator-specter-need * Testing YouTube's Audio Content ID System An enterprising YouTube user has completed a fascinating set of tests to figure out how sensitive the audio fingerprinting tools are in YouTube's Content ID system. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/testing-youtubes-aud * Wikipedia Threatens Artists for Fair Use Wikipedia has demanded that a group of artists give up their domain name (wikipediaart.org) peaceably or it will attempt to take it by (legal) force. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/wikipedia-threatens- * LA Times on Latest Congressional P2P Witch Hunt The L.A. Times Technology Blog hits the nail on the head in responding to government employees and contractors who use P2P software accidentally sharing information on networks like Lime Wire. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/la-times-latest-cong * Doctorow's Law: Who Benefits from DRM? Cory Doctorow recently appeared before leaders of the publishing industry to explain why DRM on digital books is bad for customers, bad for authors, and bad for business. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/doctorows-law * Remembering First Amendment Champion Judith Krug The free expression community lost a giant with the passing last weekend of Judith Krug, longtime director of the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/04/remembering-first-amendment-champion-judith-krug : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ EU Parliament Approves 70 Year Copyright for Recordings Sound recordings would be copyrighted for 70 years under a new proposal passed by the parliament -- not the 95 years that had been sought -- but the Council of Ministers has yet to agree. http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/17744.cfm ~ Where's the Downloadable Movie Service? The technology exists, the demand exists. So why aren't most movies available for instant download for a monthly fee? Slate explains the issue. http://www.slate.com/id/2216328/ ~ Why Open Source Is More Secure Sun Federal COO Bill Vass explains why organizations that require security are turning to open source operating systems. http://blogs.sun.com/BVass/entry/the_no_1_reason_to : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * Send EFF to CFP! EFF is looking for donations of airline tickets for the Computers, Freedom and Privacy conference and other conferences and speaking engagements. We need at least one round trip ticket from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., for CFP, and we'll certainly need additional tickets throughout the year. If you have enough airline miles for a free ticket and would like to send an EFF staffer to a conference, let us know, and we will help you with the process of making the reservation. Please note that at this time, we are unable to combine miles from multiple individuals. In exchange for a ticket, we can offer a free membership and a mention in EFFector (if you'd like). Please contact info@eff.org if you have a ticket to donate. * Seth Schoen at LinuxFest Northwest EFF Technologist Seth David Schoen will be speaking at the 10th Anniversary of LinuxFest Northwest in Bellingham, WA! Seth will be giving two talks (see below) so be sure to stop by and find out what EFF is up to! Event admission is free and open to the public. Saturday, April 25: 1:30-2:15 "Information Security Discovers Physics" Details: http://blug.org/fest2009/spkr-record.dxp?id=10 Sunday, April 26: 1:30-2:15 "An EFF Update" Details: http://blug.org/fest2009/spkr-record.dxp?id=81 For more information: http://linuxfestnorthwest.org : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : 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/
