A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424

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In our 478th issue:

* IN ANOTHER DEFINITIVE WIN FOR FREE SPEECH ONLINE, a US
Court of Appeals struck down the Child Online Protection
Act of 1998 (COPA), an Internet censorship law that would
have violated the First Amendment by restricting protected
speech among adults. This represents the third time that
the Third Circuit has held that COPA violates the First
Amendment after nearly ten years of litigation over the
law's constitutionality. We fully expect the Department of
Justice to seek review by the Supreme Court.

The fight for free speech on the Internet is almost as old
as EFF itself -- and you can count on EFF to continue
fighting for your digital rights!
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/key-internet-censorship-law-struck-down-yet-again

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EFF Updates

* Three Ways to Fight Immunity
Learn more about EFF's ongoing efforts to fight telecom
immunity and illegal spying.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/three-ways-fight-immunity

* Salon's New Revelations on Illegal Spying
A Salon investigative series suggests further indications
of far-reaching domestic surveillance by the NSA and
nascent signs of a Church Committee-style investigation of
executive wrongdoing.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/salons-new-revelations-illegal-spying

* Here We Go Again: Yahoo! Music Throws Away the DRM Keys
A "MSN Music DRM debacle redux" in the making, Yahoo! Music
decides to leave its customers in the lurch by unplugging
its DRM licensing servers.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/here-we-go-again-yahoo-music-throws-away-drm-keys

* EFF Opposes MPAA's Selectable Output Control FCC Petition
EFF joined Public Knowledge and other organizations in
opposing Selectable Output Control (SOC) -- another push by
Hollywood to gain control over your digital media devices. 
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/eff-opposes-mpaas-selectable-output-control-fcc-pe

* More ISPs Decide to Filter Usenet Newsgroups
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo pressured numerous
ISPs to cut off subscriber access to Usenet discussion
groups in a child pornography witch hunt.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/more-isps-decide-filter-usenet-newsgroups

* Library of Congress on DMCA, Copyright Law Troubles
In a new report, the Library of Congress criticizes
antiquated copyright laws and technological protection
measures that get in the way of preservation and archiving.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/library-congress-dmca-copyright-law-troubles

* Why the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) Protects
YouTube and Viacom Employees
The employees of YouTube or Viacom were not explicitly
included in the plan to anonymize YouTube users' viewing
records -- but the VPPA still protects them.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/why-vppa-protects-youtube-and-viacom-employees

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miniLinks

~ Parents to Be Punished for Children's Net Piracy
Households that are suspected of illegal downloads will be
blacklisted and have Internet access curbed under new rules
in the UK.
http://www.openrightsgroup.org/2008/07/24/government-to-consult-on-legislation-to-curb-illicit-filesharing-as-industry-agrees-voluntary-scheme/

~ Senate Bill Asks Attorney General to Investigate Piracy
Senators Leahy and Specter have introduced a new bill that
would allow documents and records to be seized in civil
copyright-infringement suits.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2326397,00.asp

~ ISP Admits Secret Web Snooping in Kansas
An ISP in Kansas admits to eavesdropping on the web surfing
habits of its customers without notifying them.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/07/under-pressure.html

For more miniLinks:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/minilinks-2008-25-17

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Announcements

* Visit EFF at the 2008 Usenix Security Symposium
Join us in San Jose, CA, July 28 - August 1, for the 17th
USENIX Security Symposium.
http://www.usenix.org/events/sec08/sec08.html

* EFF is IN at Black Hat USA 2008!
Look for us or stop by our booth at Black Hat USA, the
world's premier technical security conference, August 2-7
in Las Vegas. We'll be giving out useful legal information
to assist security researchers with intellectual property
and free speech issues that affect their work.  We'll also
be available to consult with individuals or companies who
want more information about how the law might affect their
current research and upcoming presentations. To make an
appointment for a consultation, please email Alyssa
Ralston, Development Assistant, at alyssa@eff.org, or drop
by the table.

EFF supporters receive a $100 discount off the prevailing
registration rate by inserting BHUS8SUAS in the box marked
"coupon" on the web registration page!
http://www.blackhat.com/ 

* Visit EFF at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo from
August 4-7
Thinking about going to the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo
in San Francisco? You can use the priority code "VPL616"
for a Free Exhibit Hall Pass or 20% off the conference
package of your choice. Stop by our booth to say hello and
update your membership!
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/

While you're there, check out the LinuxWorld session "Cold
Boot Attacks on Hard Drive Encryption" with EFF Staff
Technologist Seth Schoen. He will demonstrate attacks in
which encryption keys are recovered from memory chips
quickly taken from powered down computers, and then will
discuss countermeasures that users can take to protect
themselves.
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/conference//tracks/tracksessions/Security/QMONYB00BIQG

* Vegas 2.0 presents theSummit: Fundraiser for EFF and The
Hacker Foundation 
Kick off DEFCON right at the 4th Annual theSummit
fundraiser on Thursday, August 7th, 2008. Organizers plan
to have 50+ featured guests from the hacker community. Past
guests have been DEFCON/Black Hat speakers, high profile
hackers, and security book writers.
https://forum.defcon.org/forumdisplay.php?f=380

* DEFCON 16 "Hackers and Guns" Firearms Training Simulator
Fundraiser for EFF!
Going to DEFCON? Support EFF by pwning baddies in the same
firearms training simulator used by military and law
enforcement personnel! The courseware consists of drills
that allow individual combatants to engage in exercises to
improve target acquisition using laser-based training. The
simulator will be set up in room #103 near Registration and
the Swag booth from 10am to 8pm. All proceeds support EFF
-- fighting for your digital rights since 1990!

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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/