Press Releases: October, 2005
Court Issues Surveillance Smack-Down to Justice Department
No Cell Phone Location Tracking Without Probable Cause
New York - Agreeing with a brief submitted by EFF, a federal judge forcefully rejected the government's request to track the location of a mobile phone user without a warrant.
European Report Threatens Consumers' Rights
EFF Urges Fresh Inquiry Into Ramifications of DRM
London - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has criticized a European Commission group for assuming that digital rights management (DRM) is the only way to foster development of the home audiovisual market.
In comments filed last week, EFF European Affairs Coordinator Cory Doctorow took the Networked Audiovisual Systems and Home Platforms (NAVSHP) group to task for its report on developing a harmonized system of DRM requirements. Doctorow urged NAVSHP to explore approaches grounded in empirical research, not industry mythology.
Secret Code in Color Printers Lets Government Track You
Tiny Dots Show Where and When You Made Your Print
San Francisco - A research team led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recently broke the code behind tiny tracking dots that some color laser printers secretly hide in every document.
The U.S. Secret Service admitted that the tracking information is part of a deal struck with selected color laser printer manufacturers, ostensibly to identify counterfeiters. However, the nature of the private information encoded in each document was not previously known.
Adult Website Lawsuit Threatens Google Image Search
Injunction Could Shut Down Popular Service
Los Angeles - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a brief Wednesday in support of Google Image Search, arguing that a federal district court should reject a request for a preliminary injunction that could shut the service down.
Delaware Supreme Court Protects Anonymous Blogger
Requires Plaintiffs to Meet Strict Standard Before Unmasking Critic
Wilmington, Delaware - The Delaware Supreme Court has protected the identity of a blogger in the case of Doe v. Cahill, finding that the plaintiffs failed to meet the strict standards required by the First Amendment to unmask an anonymous critic. It dismissed the case Wednesday.
This is the first state supreme court to rule on a "John Doe" subpoena or to address bloggers' rights.
EFF Defends Right to Read Public Web Pages Without Getting Sued
Brief Supports Past Court Opponent DirecTV
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a brief this week in support of one of its previous court opponents, DirecTV, arguing that a federal appeals court should throw out a lawsuit against the company for accessing a public website.
EFF Speaks Out on Digital TV Standards to British Lawmakers
Comments to House of Commons Warn About Regulation
London - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has filed comments with the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS) in the British House of Commons about plans for digital television broadcasting in Europe. In comments submitted last week, EFF expressed concern that switching off analog broadcasts could result in new digital television standards that unduly restrict the public and manufacturers.
