Press Mentions: October, 2006
October 31, 2006Red Herring
"Google, YouTube Video Challenge"
An international self-help organization has subpoenaed YouTube and Google Video for the identity of the individuals who uploaded a French-made video that the group believes infringes its U.S. copyright, and that subpoena is being challenged by a U.S. digital rights group...October 26, 2006
"This is a classic example of using a bogus copyright claim to squelch free speech," EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry said in a statement.
Fox News
"U.S. Allies Begin Issuing High-Tech Passports for Travelers"
By Liza Porteus
Countries that have historically friendly relations with the United States on Thursday will begin issuing passports to residents traveling abroad complete with facial-recognition software and digital chips...October 25, 2006
"There have definitely been some improvements in what the government has done. Nevertheless, we're really still not satisfied with the way this is being done," said Lee Tien, senior staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
IDG News Service
"Groups launch Digital Freedom campaign"
By Grant Gross
It's time for consumers, musicians and filmmakers to band together and advocate copyright laws that make sense for them, not for large music labels and movie studios, a group of advocacy groups said Wednesday during the launch of the Digital Freedom campaign.October 24, 2006
Representatives of groups including Public Knowledge, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said they will work for new copyright laws that "restore the balance" between protecting copyright works and allowing consumers to control where to listen to or watch digital works.
Associated Press
"Hacker targets iPod, iTunes restrictions"
By May Wong
A hacker known for cracking the copy-protection technology in DVDs claims to have unlocked the playback restrictions of Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod and iTunes music products and plans to license his code to others...October 23, 2006
Fred von Lohmann, a staff attorney at the privacy-advocacy group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Johansen is treading carefully this time, consulting with lawyers, but isn't necessarily cleared from a legal fight over copy-protection laws.
"There is a lot of untested legal ground surrounding reverse engineering," he said.
Newsfactor
"Maryland Suffers E-Voting Security Breach"
By Jay Wrolstad
Proponents of electronic voting have found themselves again on the defensive following the unauthorized release of software for voting machines used by the State of Maryland and manufactured by Diebold Election Systems...October 20, 2006
Following the 2000 election, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit privacy-advocacy group, pointed to glitches that made it difficult to change votes if people made mistakes. Some electronic machines were not calibrated properly, the EFF said, which made it easy to vote for the wrong person.
National Journal
"Agency explores new tool to connect intelligence dots"
By Shane Harris
The government's top intelligence agency is building a computerized system to search very large stores of information for patterns of activity that look like terrorist planning...October 20, 2006
The apparent lack of privacy protections in Tangram dismayed some experts. "Given the history of TIA and other programs, one would expect the proponents of a system like this would at least pay lip service to privacy issues," said David Sobel, senior counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy watchdog. "The absence of that is a bit surprising."
San Francisco Chronicle
"Feds Keep Losing Your Data"
By David Lazarus
If you can't trust the federal government with your personal information, who can you trust?..October 18, 2006
Marcia Hofmann, a staff attorney with San Francisco's Electronic Frontier Foundation, said she was struck by the prevalence of government-related security breaches and the fact that federal agencies often choose not to notify people affected by an incident.
Associated Press
"EFF sues FBI over investigative database records"
A privacy-advocacy group has sued the U.S. government for information about an FBI database of more than 700 million personal records set up after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks...October 18, 2006
"On the one hand, the FBI has touted the creation of this database, but on the other hand, it hasn't complied with the legal requirements that apply to the creation of something like this,'' David Sobel, EFF's senior counsel in Washington, said Wednesday.
CNET
"EFF wants info on FBI database"
By Anne Broache
Has the FBI been forthcoming enough about a database that reportedly stores hundreds of millions of records designed for use in counterterrorism investigations?October 16, 2006
Definitely not, argued attorneys from the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Washington D.C. outpost in a six-page complaint filed Tuesday with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
eWeek
"Media Titans: YouTube Liable up to $150,000 per Video"
By Steve Bryant
One week after Google announced it was buying YouTube, several media companies have banded together to investigate whether YouTube is vulnerable to legal action over copyrighted material on its site...October 15, 2006
According to the EFF's Fred Von Lohman, YouTube is covered by the safe harbor protections of the DMCA, which says companies that responsibly remove infringing content and do not induce users to upload that content are not liable.
Rocky Mountain News "Prying Eyes"
By Jeff Smith
Consumers had plenty to worry about concerning online privacy before the Hewlett-Packard corporate spying scandal.October 13, 2006
Internet search engines and a variety of Web tools such as "cookies" gather extensive information about a typical person's Web-browsing activities...
"The long and short of it is that search engines shouldn't be collecting all this information about you," said Rebecca Jeschke, spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation in California.
VNUnet.com
"China relaxes block on Wikipedia"
By Shaun Nichols
The Chinese government appears to have partially unblocked access to Wikipedia, according to a notice on the online encyclopaedia's website...October 10, 2006
Even if the block is lifted, it may not facilitate full access to Wikipedia in China, according to Danny O'Brien, activism coordinator at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
"It is possible that China could filter Wikipedia. Wikipedia doesn't need to censor itself, China could do it for them. The trade-off is not as good," he told vnunet.com. O'Brien pointed out that the Chinese government has recently moved from blocking sites to "degrading the connection", causing the site to run slowly or experience frequent downtime and ultimately driving users away.
ZDNet "EFF sues over FBI technology"
The Electronic Frontier Foundation's FLAG project filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice over the department's failure to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request for records concerning two FBI electronic surveillance projects - DCS-3000 and RedHook.October 10, 2006
BusinessWeek
"YouTube's New Deep Pockets"
By Catherine Holahan
The online video star has found a rich parent, but can it ensure that it won't leave Google vulnerable to copyright lawsuits?..October 5, 2006
While such deals may decrease Google's ultimate liability for copyrighted content that will inevitably make it onto YouTube, they do not completely shield the enlarged company from expensive lawsuits, says Jason Schultz, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "It eliminates the threat of these particular copyright owners," says Schultz. "But it is not an absolute get-out-of-jail-free card."
ABC 7 (San Francisco)
"Google & YouTube: Match Made In Heaven?"
By David Louie
It could be a $1.6 billion deal, and another sign the valley is springing back to life. In the same week the Dow hit a record high, a deal is in the works involving two well-known Bay Area sites -- Google and YouTube...October 4, 2006
Jason Schultz, Electronic Frontier Foundation: "You need to respect the rights of copyright holders, but not so much that you restrict user access and freedom on the Internet. And I think Google has done a fairly good job of balancing that, and I think YouTube is headed in that direction as well, which is why they may be a good match."
Red Herring
"3 Reasons YouTube Will Survive"
Watching YouTube these days can leave you cross-eyed. In September, The New York Post reported that video-sharing site YouTube won't sell for less than $1.5 billion. Then, days later, industry watcher Josh Bernoff, an analyst for Forrester Research, wrote in a blog post that "It only takes one unhappy media company... to force [YouTube's] hand." Billionaire investor Mark Cuban echoed the sentiment, musing at an investor conference "only a moron would buy YouTube." So what gives?..October 4, 2006
Electronic Frontier Foundation staff attorney Jason Schultz points out the nine-month-old company is not "inducing" people to break the law by uploading and streaming TV clips, music videos, and other proprietary material.
IDG News
"Appeals court OKs continuing NSA surveillance program"
By Grant Gross
A National Security Agency (NSA) wiretapping program can continue while President George Bush's administration appeals a ruling by a Michigan judge who said the program was illegal...October 4, 2006
In addition to the Michigan lawsuit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Council on American-Islamic Relations and others, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other groups have brought lawsuits being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. A judge there has ruled against the U.S. government and AT&T Inc., which had requested the EFF case be thrown out.
eWeek
"'My Sharona' Creators Sue Yahoo, Apple, Amazon and Run DMC for Copyright Infringement"
By Steve Bryant
Rock band The Knack has sued several online music distributors, including Yahoo, Amazon and Apple, for distributing copies of Run DMC's song "It's Tricky," which contains an unauthorized sample of The Knack's "My Sharona"...October 4, 2006
"This is a good example of how copyright law is outdated for the Internet,' said Jason Schultz, staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who said that offline retailers were probably not sued because they don't make copies of infringing work, whereas online distributors make a new copy every time a song or album is sold. "But distribution has never been addressed clearly online. Apple and Amazon and Yahoo had no idea anything was wrong -- if anything was wrong -- with what they were selling."
San Francisco Chronicle
"Wi-Fi plan gets first hearing"
By Verne Kopytoff
Google and EarthLink got a mixed reaction Tuesday night from San Francisco residents who attended a public meeting to hear about their plans to blanket the city with free wireless Internet access...October 4, 2006
John Gilmore, co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit group that follows privacy issues, and who attended the forum, voiced skepticism about Sacca's response and said the log-in is really an attempt by Google "to force you to look at their ads and landing page."
Out-Law.com
"Broadcast treaty needs sounding out, says WIPO"
A controversial broadcast copyright treaty opposed by podcasters and internet broadcasters has been dealt a blow by the General Assembly of the body behind it...October 2, 2006
"Creating broad new intellectual property rights in order to protect broadcast signals is misguided and unnecessary and risks serious unintended negative consequences," says a protest document signed by the technology companies in a campaign co-ordinated by digital rights activist group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
ZDNet UK
"US joins European cybercrime convention"
By Tom Espiner
The US Government has embraced European legislation that is meant to help the global fight against cybercrime...October 1, 2006
"Our primary concern is that there's no dual criminality within the mutual assistance provisions," Danny O'Brien, activism co-ordinator with the Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco, told ZDNet UK's sister site CNET News.com in August.
Washington Post
"U.S., E.U. Miss Deadline on Data-Sharing Agreement"
By Ellen Nakashima
The United States and the European Union failed to meet a Saturday deadline to conclude a permanent new agreement on the sharing of airline passenger data, an issue that has raised serious privacy concerns in Europe. But both sides said talks will continue and flights will not be affected...
David Sobel, senior counsel of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy organization, said that since Sept. 11, the U.S. government has put an emphasis on the collection of passenger data and has "generally ignored the serious privacy issues that arise both under E.U. law and domestic law."
