EFFector Vol. 22, No. 26 September 15, 2009 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 518th issue: NATIONAL COALITION OF AUTHORS URGE REJECTION OF GOOGLE BOOK SEARCH DEAL. A coalition of authors and publishers--including best-sellers Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, and technical author Bruce Schneier--is urging a federal judge to reject the proposed settlement in a lawsuit over Google Book Search, arguing that the sweeping agreement to digitize millions of books ignores critical privacy rights for readers and writers. For the full press release: https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/09/08 For a copy of the filing: https://www.eff.org/files/filenode/authorsguild_v_google/File%20Stamped%20Brf.pdf : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * What Information Is "Personally Indentifiable"? Gender, ZIP code, and birth date feel anonymous, but Carnegie Mellon Professor Latanya Sweeney was able to identify specific individuals through this information.It turns out the combination of gender, ZIP code and birthday is unique for about 87% of the U.S. population. In addition, particular data sources, such as voter registration databases, enable researchers to do searches that build on what they already know about someone to learn more. "Anonymized" or "merely demographic" information collected about you on websites and in your daily interactions may be neither. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/what-information-personally-identifiable * Who Controls Data About Public Transportation? How should city transit authorities treat independent software developers who make use of public schedule data? Two models appear to be emerging to answer this question. One, typified by New York City's MTA and Washington DC's WMATA, sees schedule and related data as valuable intellectual property to be zealously protected, licensed and monetized. So far, the results of this approach appear to have been bad press, irate passengers, wasted money and stymied innovation. The other model, typified by San Francisco's SFMTA and Portland's TriMet, holds that encouraging independent developers to make free use of schedule information can both save the city money and foster innovative applications. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/who-controls-data-about-public-transportation * Improving DMCA Takedowns at Blogger, Flickr Over the past couple of weeks, two major online service providers, Blogger and Flickr, announced improvements to their DMCA takedown policies. EFF had a hand in both: Blogger contacted us to discuss their improvements, and we contacted Flickr to raise some concerns we had. We're glad to see these improvements, which make the process more transparent for users and minimize the collateral damage to free speech that can sometimes be the result when a copyright owner sends a takedown notice. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/improving-dmca-takedowns-blogger-flickr * UK Musicians Oppose Draconian Disconnect Policy The UK government continues to consider a policy that would punish those accused of illegal downloading by cutting off Internet access to entire households, saying it wants to "support" the music industry. Now it seems a coalition of the actual British musicians, songwriters and producers behind the music, including superstars Paul McCartney and Elton John, don't want "support" of this kind and view this sort of draconian policy as "extraordinarily negative." https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/09/uk-musicians-oppose-draconian-disconnect-policy : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks ~ Japan to Build Anti-Piracy Software Into Mobile Phones? Japanese wireless carriers are considering mandatory filters to control copyrighted music on the main device on which young Japanese people listen to music. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bc727f48-9f34-11de-8013-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1 ~ Defining "Noncommercial" Creative Commons released a new report about people's understanding of the word "noncommercial" in CC licenses. http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/17127 ~ Copyright Office Slams Google Book Deal "[T]he so-called settlement would create mechanisms by which Google could continue to scan with impunity, well into the future, and to our great surprise, create yet additional commercial products without the prior consent of rights holders." http://arst.ch/7hs ~ Another Objection to Google Book Search Settlement A new voice has joined the opposition: the Free Software Foundation. http://www.fsf.org/news/2009-09-google-book-settlement-objection _ Data Valdez: Facebook's Oops Private Facebook notes are leaked due to a misconfigured webserver. http://bit.ly/sTG3a For more minilinks and other news, follow EFF on Twitter or Indenti.ca! http://www.twitter.com/eff http://www.identi.ca/eff : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * EFF Geek Reading with xkcd's Randall Munroe! The second Geek Reading event to benefit EFF will be held on Monday, September 21, at 111 Minna in downtown San Francisco. The Geek of Honor will be Randall Munroe, creator of the webcomic xkcd. The main event starts at 7:00 p.m., and tickets are $30. For some extra face time with the man behind the most complex stick figures ever drawn, join us at the VIP reception ($100) at 6:00 p.m. Space is limited, so get your tickets now! Monday, September 21, 2009 VIP Reception: 6:00 pm Reading: 7:00 pm 111 Minna Gallery, 111 Minna Street, San Francisco * Help EFF Go to Ohio LinuxFest! EFF is looking for donations of airline tickets and hotel points for Ohio LinuxFest in Columbus, as well as other conferences and speaking engagements. 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 or airlines. We are also looking for hotel rewards points to help reduce our overall travel costs. As thanks for your donation, we can offer a free membership and a mention in EFFector (if you'd like). Please contact aaron@eff.org if you can help! * Volunteer at EFF! EFF is looking for volunteers to assist with operations in our membership department. If you're organized, detail-oriented, and looking for a hands-on way to support EFF, contact us today! Duties include: * Sending out membership packets * Organizing premiums * Printing mailings * Assisting with events Learn about fundraising operations in the nonprofit world while supporting your favorite organization in a tangible way! Interest in grassroots fundraising is a plus, as is knowledge and familiarity with EFF's issues. Send a letter of interest to aaron@eff.org : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Administrivia EFFector is published by: The Electronic Frontier Foundation http://www.eff.org/about Editor: Eva Galperin, Referral Coordinator eva@eff.org Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org To support EFF: http://links.eff.org/emaildonate General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: information@eff.org Back issues of EFFector are available at: http://www.eff.org/effector/
