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Deeplinks Blog

Deeplinks Blog

Let the Sun Set on Patriot

Apologists justified the broad, civil-liberties corroding powers granted to the government under the USA PATRIOT Act by arguing that they would be used to put terrorists behind bars. Yet several provisions can be used against Americans in a wide range of investigations that have nothing to do with terrorism....

Halloween on the Hill

If you would like to join our jamboree
There's a simple rule that's compulsory
Mortals pay a token fee
Rest in peace; the haunting's free
- The Crypt, Disney's
href="http://www.disneylandreport.com/disneyland_haunted_mansion_script.html">The
Haunted Mansion
Halloween is traditionally the time when the undead walk; preposterous
...

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Attack of the Printing Press!

Printing presses are the prized platform of a public lynch mob spouting liberty but spewing lies, libel, and invective. Their potent allies in this pursuit include Ben Franklin and John Hancock.
Take the tea tax. Revenue was coming, providing much needed funding to help with his Majesty's benevolent aims...

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Leahy Opposes Expansion of CALEA

Senator Patrick Leahy, the chief sponsor of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act CALEA), had a few strong words for the FCC ruling that would expand the CALEA to broadband ISPs and VoIP providers. In a statement Leahy writes "The expansion of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement...

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All Writs Redux

Previously, we wrote about the DOJ's attempts to justify invasive surveillance with the All Writs Act, a federal law that empowers federal courts to issue any "necessary or appropriate" court order. The government was trying to convince Federal Magistrate Judge Orenstein that he could authorize the government to track...

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. Strongly reaffirming an earlier decision, Federal Magistrate James Orenstein in New York...
Tinker Repair

Want to Take a Bite Out of the DMCA? Now's the Time

As part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), Congress instructed the U.S. Copyright Office to consider every three years whether we need exemptions to the DMCA's blanket ban on circumventing "technological protection measures" (aka Digital Rights Management or DRM) used to lock up copyrighted works. So if you want...

More Google Print

Professor Tim Wu has posted a great analysis of the fight between authors and Google Print. Rather than plowing the familiar fair use debate, Tim asks the right question - what will this mean for authors and the public?
Consider what it would mean, by analogy, if map-makers...

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How Far Would You Go For Muni WiFi?

It's hard not to fall in love with the idea of municipal wireless Internet access. No more trudging around with your laptop looking for hot-spots—you could just sit on a park bench, fire up your computer, and jump online. And what an easy way to erase the digital divide. People...

A New Gaming Feature: Spyware

Rejoice gaming fans, for the latest new "feature" of Blizzard Entertainment's smash hit multi-player online videogame World of Warcraft is here! No, it's not a new Sword of Destruction or Staff of Power—it's spyware! Yes, unbeknownst to many gamers, World of Warcraft now has an unwanted special feature—a hidden program...

Your Artist Remuneration Dollars at Work: Broadcast Flag Update #3

The story so far: the MPAA's
href="http://p2pnet.net/story/6629">multi-million dollar travelling
salesmen had descended on Washington, pitching and wheedling to get the
href="http://www.eff.org/broadcastflag/three_minute_guide.php">Broadcast
Flag language, which would give Hollywood control of your digital TV and a
veto on future TV tech, into law.
In...

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