EFF's 2011 Holiday Wish List
With the winter holidays fast approaching, now is the time to make our wish lists. There are plenty of presents EFF would like to receive for the holidays — the defeat of the Internet blacklist bills SOPA and PIPA would make a great start — but here are just a...
Ninth Circuit Puts Lump of Coal in UMG's Stocking, Affirms DMCA Safe Harbors for Veoh
Today the Ninth Circuit handed the Internet a bittersweet and crucial victory by affirming a district court's holding that the safe harbors created by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) protected Veoh, a now-defunct video hosting site, from copyright liability. The case has been pending since 2007, when Universal...
EFF Backs Viacom in Fight Over South Park Parody
San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) backed Viacom Monday in a lawsuit over a parody of a popular online video called "What What (In the Butt)," arguing that South Park's reimagining of the work is a clear case of fair use and that the district court's early dismissal...
This Week in Internet Censorship: DRC, Kazakhstan, and pro-SOPA 'research'
Democratic Republic of Congo bans texting
In the not-so-aptly-named Democratic Republic of Congo, SMS was banned by the government last week in an attempt to maintain public order in the wake of contested elections that have left Kinshasa at a standstill. The country joins a growing list of...
Wrapping Up a Week Of Action Against SOPA
Yesterday and today, the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee has hunkered down in the Capitol for markup sessions of SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. The basic facts looked bleak: this Internet blacklist bill is a disaster that stands at odds with the Constitution, but the deep pockets of...
Chicago-Area Meetup
Local Chicago-area EFF supporters have started an independent social and discussion group for online rights on Meetup.com. If you are tech-savvy, and care about privacy, freedom of speech, innovation, or consumer rights, this Meetup is for you! Meet others like you to discuss the latest in technology and related...
New Developments in Egyptian Blogger Cases
We've written before about Maikel Nabil Sanad and Alaa Abd El Fattah, two Egyptian bloggers under fire. Though their cases differ dramatically--Sanad was arrested for content written on his blog, while Abd El Fattah was charged in relation to his alleged involvement in the October 9 Maspero...
Free Speech's Weak Links Under Internet Blacklist Bills
Judge: Prosecution of Online Critic Under Anti-Stalking Law Is Unconstitutional
San Francisco - A federal district court judge in Maryland today blocked the government's use of a federal anti-stalking law to prosecute a man for posting insults and criticism of a public figure to Twitter, ruling that "the First Amendment protects speech even when the subject or manner of expression...
An Open Letter From Internet Engineers to the U.S. Congress
Today, a group of 83 prominent Internet inventors and engineers sent an open letter to members of the United States Congress, stating their opposition to the SOPA and PIPA Internet blacklist bills that are under consideration in the House and Senate respectively.
We, the undersigned, have played various parts...
