ECPA Reform
ECPA Reform May Require Warrants for Email, But Hurts Video Privacy
Last week, Senator Leahy proposed detailed language to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), the primary law governing privacy rights for stored email. ECPA is woefully outdated—it was passed in 1986 before ubiquitous cloud computing and archived email even existed—so this is great news. The language will be discussed...
Wednesday Hearing in 9th Circuit Tackles DNA Privacy
Wednesday at 10 am, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear oral argument in Haskell v. Harris, examining crucial questions of DNA privacy. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, this is a unique opportunity to hear debate over how your genetic information can...
We Use the Internet to Save the Internet: An Interview with Steve Anderson About the Stop the Trap Campaign
While US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, who oversees the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP), continues to declare that the trade negotiations are “the most open, transparent process ever,” we are confounded as to what he defines to be "open" or "transparent." They have yet to even provide the public...
Philippines' New Cybercrime Prevention Act Troubling for Free Expression
In the Philippines, where the Internet is free from censorship, President Benigno Aquino III recently signed into law the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, a troubling development for free expression.
The Act, available online in English, covers a range of "offenses,” from the “access of …...
UK Snoopers’ Charter Draws Sharp Critique from Global Advocates
The United Kingdom’s draft Communications Data Bill, more commonly known as the Snoopers’ Charter, has drawn a sharp critique from the Global Network Initiative (GNI). In a submission to the UK Parliament’s Communications Data Bill Joint Scrutiny Committee, the organization outlined serious concerns with the proposed legislation, which...
Professor Michael Geist on TPP and its Effects on Canadian Internet Users
Canada had been lobbying to enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, and its efforts were seemingly paid off with an exclusive invite to the secretive nine-country trade agreement in June. There is no doubt that the TPP will affect many areas of the Canadian economy from agriculture to...
EFF Challenges Tracking-Services Patent Used to Threaten Cities Across the U.S.
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is challenging a dangerous patent used to wrongfully demand payment from cities and other municipalities that employ public tracking systems to tell transit passengers if their bus or train is on time.
Today, EFF with the help of the Samuelson Law,...
