In our 623rd issue:

• UPDATES
• MINILINKS
• ANNOUNCEMENTS

HTTPS Everywhere 3.0 Protects 1,500 More Sites

EFF has a long-term mission to encrypt as much of the Web as possible -- in fact, to encrypt all of it. We have been making quite a lot of progress.

HTTPS Everywhere, the browser extension we produce in collaboration with the Tor Project and an awesome community of volunteers, is now used by more than 2.5 million people around the world. We released version 3.0 of HTTPS Everywhere, which adds encryption protection to 1,500 more websites, twice as many as previous stable releases. Our current estimate is that HTTPS Everywhere 3 should encrypt at least a hundred billion page views in the next year, and trillions of individual HTTP requests.

Canada-EU Trade Agreement Replicates ACTA's Notorious Copyright Provisions

The shadow of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) is back in Europe. It is disguised as CETA, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada and the European Union.

A comparison of the leaked draft Canada-EU agreement shows the treaty includes a number of the same controversial provisions, specifically concerning criminal enforcement, private enforcement by Internet Service Providers, and harsh damages. These provisions were the key reasons why the European Parliament rejected ACTA. However, given the lack of transparency associated with the CETA discussions, the concerns that CETA may replicate ACTA appear to be very real despite denials from some members of the European Commission.

EFF Updates

The Federal Circuit to Take on Software Patents... Again

In a welcome move, the full Federal Circuit has agreed to revisit a troubling ruling in a case called CLS Bank v. Alice Corp. In light of a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, we think the Federal Circuit has little choice but to throw out dangerous patents in this case and make clear once and for all that ideas that are otherwise abstract cannot be patented simply because they are executed on the Internet or in a computer system.

Highest Court in the EU To Rule On Biometrics Privacy

Courts are investigating the legality of a European Union regulation requiring biometric passports in Europe. The Dutch Council of State (the highest Dutch administrative court) asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to decide if the regulation requiring fingerprints in passports and travel documents violates citizens' right to privacy. The case entered the courts when three Dutch citizens were denied passports and another citizen was denied an ID card for refusing to provide their fingerprints.

Ad Industry's Assault on "Do Not Track" Continues at the W3C Amsterdam Meeting

For more than a year, the W3C Tracking Protection Working Group has been hard at work developing a standard called Do Not Track to provide users with a simple way to opt out of increasingly pervasive and invisible tracking on the web. The group's face-to-face meeting in Amsterdam was unproductive, however, due in large part to an increasingly vocal contingent within the advertising industry.

Digitizing Books Is Fair Use: Author's Guild v. HathiTrust

Good news! In a decision that is likely to help shape the future of online fair use, a federal court in New York has concluded that digitizing books in order to enhance research and to provide access to print-disabled individuals is lawful.

Senate Report: "Fusion Centers" Invade Innocent Americans' Privacy and Don't Stop Terrorism

The Department of Homeland Security's 70 counterterrrorism "fusion centers" produce "predominantly useless information," "a bunch of crap," while "running afoul of departmental guidelines meant to guard against civil liberties" and are "possibly in violation of the Privacy Act." These may sound like the words of EFF, but in fact, these conclusions come from a new report issued by a US Senate committee.

Canada Joins TPP as a Second-Tier Negotiator

Despite protests from civil society organizations, but with applause from the entertainment lobby, Canada announced on October 9th that it has officially joined the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement negotiations. Canada joins the TPP not as an equal partner in the agreement but as a "second-tier" negotiator, which means it will have far less input into the agreement than the countries currently negotiating.

New Zealand Apologizes for Domestic Spying

Imagine this: A government, faced with public evidence that its foreign spy service was conducting domestic surveillance on its residents -- instead of claiming the information is somehow secret and the people responsible are above the reach of the law -- admits in public and in the courtroom that it violated basic rights. That is exactly what happened in New Zealand in the controversial copyright infringement case surrounding Megaupload and its founder Kim Dotcom.

EFF Opposes US's State Secrets Claim (Again) in Warrantless Wiretapping Case

EFF filed its latest brief in the Jewel v. NSA case, aiming to stop the government from engaging in mass warrantless collection of emails, phone calls, and customer records of ordinary Americans. The matter is set for hearing on December 14, 2012 in federal court in San Francisco, on the question of whether these Americans will get their day in court.

miniLinks

Civil Liberties Groups Take On Effects of Surveillance

A number of civil liberties groups from around the world have submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court regarding the persistent effects of surveillance -- and the suspicion of surveillance -- on everyday life.

Publisher Takes Down 1.5 Million Teacher And Student Blogs With One DMCA Notice

In filing a DMCA notice, textbook publisher Pearson took down 1.5 million teacher and student blogs run by Edublogs.

Presidential Campaigns Mining Your Personal Lives

The New York Times reports that both the Obama and Romney campaigns are mining voters' personal data "at a scale never before imagined."

Supported by Members

Our members make it possible for EFF to bring legal and technological expertise into crucial battles about online rights. Whether defending free speech online or challenging unconstitutional surveillance, your participation makes a difference. Every donation gives technology users who value freedom online a stronger voice and more formidable advocate.

If you aren't already, please consider becoming an EFF member today.

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Administrivia

Editor: Adi Kamdar, Activist
editor@eff.org

EFFector is a publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. MiniLinks do not necessarily represent the views of EFF.

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