Congress Shouldn't Debate Copyright in a Reality-Free Zone
Just a few days ago, an unusual thing happened in the halls of Congress: somebody made a case for a copyright policy grounded in reality. The Republican Study Committee (RSC) — an organization that represents more than two-thirds of all GOP Congressmembers — issued a report challenging longstanding...
Some Things Never Change: Governments Still Present Biggest Threat to Open Internet
Some things change, but others stay the same. While the types of threats facing Internet users worldwide have diversified over the past few years, from targeted malware to distributed denial of service attacks, one thing has remained constant: governments seeking to exert control over their populations still remain...
Homeland Security Wants to More Than Double Its Predator Drone Fleet Inside the US, Despite Safety and Privacy Concerns
Despite renewed criticism from both parties in Congress that domestic drones pose a privacy danger to US citizens—and a report from its own Inspector General recommending to stop buying them—the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has indicated it wants to more than double its fleet of Predator drones...
Journalism is Not Terrorism: Free Eskinder Nega
Journalism is Not Terrorism: Calling on Ethiopia to #FreeEskinder Nega
UPDATE November 22, 2012: According to news reports this morning, Eskinder Nega's appeal has been postponed until December 19th. A lawyer for another defendant noted: "As they [the Court] scrutinized our ground of appeal they found so many legal and factual irregularities." Judge Dagne Melaku has stated that...
Let’s Close the Deal on a Treaty for Visually Impaired Persons and Persons With Print Disabilities
This week, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is hosting the 25th Session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR/25). The agenda is focused, as it should be, on finalizing a longstanding discussion: the need for an international instrument to protect the rights of visually impaired...
Copyright Surveillance Machine
Trading Away our Digital Rights: More Nations Join TPP as the Next Round of Negotiations Approach
The next round of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement negotiations will take place from December 3-12 in Auckland, New Zealand, and it will be done with the same level of secrecy as the last 14 rounds. And like all of the previous rounds of talks, it will take place...
Social Media, Internet Shutdowns are the Latest Weapons in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Days ago the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation Pillar of Defense, its latest military operation against Hamas in Gaza, firing over one hundred rockets into the Gaza Strip in response to rockets targeting Israel. The attacks prompted two retaliatory rockets launched from Gaza, targeting Tel Aviv and its suburbs....
Google Transparency Report Shows Rising Trend of Government Surveillance
Each year, Google receives thousands of demands from governments around the world seeking information about its users. People who use any of the search engine giant’s free online services – such as Gmail, YouTube, Google+ or Blogger – leave digital footprints behind, and information relating to their accounts is increasingly...
