EFFector Vol. 24, No. 1 January 3, 2011
editor@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424
effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a
desired change.
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In our 558th issue:
* What is Traitorware?
Technology that acts behind your back to betray your
privacy is not a science fiction vision of the future.
Digital cameras are embedding metadata into photos,
printers are incorporating a secret code into every page
they print, and Apple's creepy patent could be used to
record your voice, take a picture of your location, or even
record your heart beat. Traitorware secretly spies on you
and gives your personal data away to a third party.
For more about traitorware:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/what-traitorware
* Chilling Effects Supporters Fight Back Against Perfect 10
Challenge
Adult publisher Perfect 10 is trying to squelch fair use of
copyrighted materials by Chilling Effects -- and EFF is
fighting back. The online intellectual property resource
Chilling Effects gathers and analyzes legal notices
alleging online copyright infringement -- a vital resource
for public education and study. But adult publisher Perfect
10 alleges that Google is infringing on copyright by
sharing its notices. EFF joined other founders and
participants in the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse in
filing an amicus brief to urge the court to reject this
attempt to block Google's contribution to the site.
Read more about the Chilling Effect's fight for fair use:
https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/12/22
* Wikileaks Mirror Taken Down: Host Buckles Under Demands
from Upstream Provider
Wikileaks isn't the only site struggling because service
providers are pulling their support. It appears that at
least one person who wants to provide mirror access to
Wikileaks documents is having the same trouble. EFF was
contacted by a user who mirrored Cablegate documents on his
website -- only to have his hosting provider, SiteGround,
suspend his account. SiteGround explained the decision by
claiming they were worried about potential DDOS attacks.
That's right: they cut off his service for a hypothetical
future event.
For more on the Wikileaks mirror takedown:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/w ... m-provider
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EFF Updates
* Case Closed? Court Issues Final Judgment in NSA Spying
Case, Al-Haramain v. Obama
The court has granted plaintiffs a $2.5 million award in a
long-contested case regarding NSA's warrantless wiretapping
of an Islamic charity's lawyers.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/c ... nsa-spying
* Lawmakers Must Respect Freedom of Expression in Wikileaks
Debate
A broad coalition of advocacy organizations sent an open
letter to U.S. lawmakers calling on them to respect freedom
of expression in the debate over the whistle-blower website
Wikileaks.
https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/12/21
* Sending Money Overseas? The Government Wants to Know.
The rules proposed by the Financial Crimes Enforcement
Network would require banks and money transmitters to
report to the government any cross-border electronic funds
transfer.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/s ... ment-wants
* Genachowski Wins on Net Neutrality, Sort of
After a down-to-the-wire push, the Federal Communications
Commission approved its long-awaited regulatory proposal on
net neutrality -- and, despite good intentions, we may up
with a lose/lose situation.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/g ... -wins-sort
* EFF Announces Intellectual Property Legal Team
We are proud to announce our new lineup of attorneys focused
on intellectual property issues: Director Corynne McSherry,
Attorney Abigail Philips, and Attorney Julie Samuels, with
Senior Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl continuing his dual role
on the civil liberties and intellectual property teams.
https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/12/20
* Help EFF Defend Against Righthaven Trolls
Attorneys! Join EFF in our fight against copyright troll
Righthaven, which has brought over 190 cases against
bloggers, online journalists, and others this year.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/h ... ven-trolls
* New EFF Member Cards
EFF is introducing new annual membership levels and
benefits -- so there's never been a better time to show
your commitment to online civil liberties.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/n ... mber-cards
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2010 Year in Review
Last January, EFF staff made a dozen predictions about what
the coming year would bring for law, technology, free
speech, privacy, and intellectual property. At the close of
2010, our staff revisited each of these predictions and
analyzed how close our prognostications were to what really
occurred over the course of the year. In some cases we
were right -- and in other cases, there was just no way to
predict what happened in 2010. Check out the 12 trends we
identified:
1. Attacks on Cryptography
Our predictions on this front were solid -- technology
researchers in 2010 showed the many ways that encrypted
communications aren't as safe as users expect.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... yptography
2. Books and Newspapers
Copyright troll Righthaven lurched down the RIAA's dark
path by launching hundreds of lawsuits against individual
bloggers, while iPad entered into the fray of digital
books.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... newspapers
3. Global Internet Censorship
Big media corporations are pushing the government to adopt
website blacklists, and the backlash against Wikileaks shows how
informal government pressure can shut down free speech.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... censorship
4. Hardware Hacking
Jailbreaking has become more mainstream and the court found
that violations of license agreements do not always amount
to copyright infringement -- so a good year for hardware
hacking indeed!
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... re-hacking
5. Location Privacy
EFF brought home two major court victories that
strengthened your rights against location tracking by the
government.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... on-privacy
6. Net Neutrality
The FCC approved a final set of regulations concerning net
neutrality -- which may have some worrisome loopholes and
exemptions.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... neutrality
7. Online Video
Consumer interests are overshadowed by the goals of media
corporations that want to perpetuate DRM both online and
off.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... line-video
8. Congress
It's no surprise that civil liberties faced a tough year on
the Hill, but the COICA Internet censorship bill is bad
legislation we couldn't have predicted.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... e-congress
9. Social Networking Privacy
It was a watershed year for social networking privacy --
with Facebook igniting controversy with the Instant
Personalization and Connections features, and EFF
responding with our Social Network Users' Bill of Rights.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... ng-privacy
10. Three Strikes
IP rightsholders and global policy-makers have realized
that Three Strikes automatic disconnection laws and
policies are a short-term measure, and are now focusing
their efforts on Internet intermediary obligations to block
webpages.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... -truth-and
11. Fair Use of Trademarks
Activists, parodists, and online content creators continue
to fight for their rights to fair use against improper
trademark threats.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... trademarks
12. Web Browser Privacy
Advances in hard-to-delete supercookies and browser
fingerprinting leave consumers with few ways to easily
protect their privacy online.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/2 ... er-privacy
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Announcements
* SF4D January Meetup: the Wikileaks Fallout
EFF Staff Activist Rainey Reitman will join a panel
discussion on Wikileaks.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: January 5, 2011
https://www.eff.org/calendar/2011/01/05 ... -city-hall
* 2011 International Consumer Electronics Show
Stop by EFF's booth (space 4909) near entrance N3 and meet
Kellie Brownell, Development Associate. Learn more about
EFF and pick up some cool swag!
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Date: January 6-9, 2011
https://www.eff.org/calendar/2010/01/05 ... onics-show
* Happy Hour with Your Favorite Civil Liberties
Organizations
EFF joins FIRE (Foundation for Individual Rights in
Education), and the First Amendment Project for this event.
You'll find drink specials including $3 beers, $4 glasses of
wine, and $5 mixed drinks. There will also be complimentary
hors d'oeuvres!
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: January 13, 2010
https://www.eff.org/calendar/2011/01/13 ... il-liberty
* EFF at RSA Conference USA 2011
Come to the EFF booth at the 2011 RSA Conference! Support
your favorite nonprofit while checking out the latest in
the infosec industry.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: February 13, 2011
https://www.eff.org/calendar/2011/02/13 ... e-usa-2011
* BSidesSanFrancisco
Join EFF at BSidesSanFrancisco! Security B-Sides is a
community driven unconference built for and by information
security community members. It is an intense event with
discussions, demos and interaction from participants.
Location: San Francisco, CA
Date: February 13, 2011
https://www.eff.org/calendar/2011/02/13 ... nfrancisco
* Source Boston 2011
EFF is a proud partner of two SOURCE Security Conferences!
In addition to advanced technical talks, SOURCE offers
workshops on entrepreneurship, management strategies, job
interviewing, presentation skills, and proficiencies and
strategies designed for the security industry.
Location: Boston, MA
Date: April 20, 2011
https://www.eff.org/calendar/2011/04/20 ... oston-2010
and
Location: Seattle, WA
Date: June 15-16, 2011
https://www.eff.org/calendar/2011/06/15 ... attle-2011
Dream Job Alert!
* Criminal Defense Staff Attorney
EFF is seeking a senior staff attorney with a focus on
criminal law matters to join our legal team.
Responsibilities will include litigation, public speaking,
media outreach, and legislative and regulatory advocacy all
in connection with civil liberties and our Coders Rights
Project.
For the full announcement and information on how to apply:
https://www.eff.org/about/opportunities ... f-attorney
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* Administrivia
EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Shotwell Street
San Francisco CA 94110-1914 USA
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+1 415 436 9993 (fax)
https://www.eff.org/
Editor:
Rainey Reitman, Activist
rainey@eff.org
Membership & donation queries:
membership@eff.org
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Team AMIGA...
The less that I speak, the smarter I sound.