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EFFector - Volume 25, Issue 14 - Local Governments Have the Power to Restrict Drone Surveillance in the U.S.

EFFECTOR

EFFector - Volume 25, Issue 14 - Local Governments Have the Power to Restrict Drone Surveillance in the U.S.

EFFector! Electronic Frontier Foundation

In our 609th issue:

Local Governments Have the Power to Restrict Drone Surveillance in the U.S.

The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that there may be as many as 30,000 drones in the U.S. by the year 2020. The FAA's loosened restrictions -- coupled with the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice issuing grants for local police forces to buy unmanned aircraft -- means it's imperative that local governments act swiftly to ban surveillance drones outright or institute robust safeguards for their citizens. Americans cannot afford to wait for the FAA or Congress to act.

The Netherlands Passes Net Neutrality Legislation

New legislation in the Netherlands makes it the first country in Europe to establish a legal framework supporting net neutrality. Additionally, the law contains language that restricts when ISPs can wiretap their users, and limits the circumstances under which ISPs can cut off a subscriber's Internet access altogether. The Dutch law comes after vigorous campaigning by civil society groups, including influential digital rights group Bits of Freedom.

U.S. Law Professors Cast Further Doubt on ACTA's Constitutionality as State Department Confirms No Pre-Review

Fifty leading U.S. legal scholars have cast fresh doubt on the constitutionality of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) in an open letter to the Senate Finance Committee. At issue is whether the Office of the United States Trade Representative had authority to enter into the controversial IP enforcement agreement on behalf of the United States when the Deputy U.S. Trade Ambassador signed ACTA in October 2011. The law professors say no, and call on the Senators to "exercise your constitutional responsibility to ensure that ACTA is submitted to the Senate for approval as an Article II treaty, or to the Congress as an ex-post Congressional-Executive Agreement."

EFF Updates

With New Privacy Policy, Twitter Commits to Respecting Do Not Track

Under a new privacy policy, Twitter will be suggesting accounts for Twitter users to follow based on data collected from an individual's browsing habits on websites that have embedded Twitter buttons. While this is sure to garner scrutiny from the press and public, Twitter is also taking a pioneering step toward respecting users' privacy choices: it has committed to respecting Do Not Track -- a simple browser setting users can turn on to tell website they don’t want to be tracked.

Swedish Telcom Giant Teliasonera Caught Helping Authoritarian Regimes Spy on Their Citizens

According to a recent investigation by the Swedish news show Uppdrag Granskning, Sweden's telecommunications giant Teliasonera is the latest Western company revealed to be colluding with authoritarian regimes by selling them high-tech surveillance gear to spy on its citizens. Teliasonera has allegedly enabled the governments of Belarus, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Georgia and Kazakhstan to spy on journalists, union leaders, and members of the political opposition.

Hey ITU Member States: No More Secrecy, Release the Treaty Proposals

This December, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will hold the World Conference on International Telecommunications, an all-important treaty-writing event where ITU Member States will discuss the proposed revisions to the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR). But media reports indicate that some proposed amendments to the ITR -- a negotiation that is already well underway -- could potentially expand the ITU's mandate to encompass the Internet.

This Week in Internet Censorship

Iran continues its march towards a "Halal Internet"; Ustream underscores its commitment to freedom of expression and responds to a crippling DDoS attack of expression and adding a Russian-language option; and a Brazilian newspaper uses trademark law to silence a parody website.

miniLinks

Jamming Tripoli: Inside Moammar Gadhafi's secret surveillance network

In Wired magazine: To expose and intimidate dissidents, Gadhafi's spy network tracked every communication in and out of Libya. But the insurgents knew how to fight back.

Supreme Court will hear ACLU case challenging warrantless wiretapping law

The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether plaintiffs represented by the ACLU have the right to challenge the constitutionality of a controversial law that authorizes the National Security Agency to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans' international emails and phone calls.

Exporting copyright: Inside the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership

Ars Technica covers TPP, or "ACTA plus", and what activists and civil society groups are doing to stop it.

Administrivia

ISSN 1062-9424

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Editor: Parker Higgins, Activist
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Announcements

Geek Reading: The Broken E-Voting System with Barbara Simons

An expert on electronic voting, Simons co-authored Broken Ballots: Will Your Vote Count? She'll discuss the recently published book at EFF's next Geek Reading at Parisoma Innovation Loft.
May 30, 2012
San Francisco, CA

OpenITP Summer 2012 Circumvention Tech Summit

EFF Staff Technologist Dan Auerbach will be presenting "Encrypt the Web" at the OpenITP Summer 2012 Circumvention Tech Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The Summit is occurring simultaneously and in partnership with RightsCon Rio.
June 1-2, 2012
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

DMCA Anti-Circumvention Hearings - Open to Public

EFF Senior Staff Attorney Marcia Hofmann and EFF Intellectual Property Director Corynne McSherry will respond to opponents of EFF's DMCA exemption requests regarding the right to jailbreak devices and remix videos.
June 4-5, 2012
Washington, DC

EFF's 5th Cyberlaw Pub Trivia Night

Tech attorneys from throughout the Bay Area will gather to drink beer, eat chicken and waffles, and prove their prowess in summoning obscure tech law minutiae from the very depths of their oversized brains. If you are an attorney and would like to attend, please email Kellie Brownell at kellie@eff.org for details.
June 19, 2012
San Francisco, CA

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