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Slashdot | EFF Report: Four Years Under the DMCA.
kylus writes "The EFF has a pretty nice article entitled "Unintended Consequences." Basically, it reviews the last four years of life under the law, and how use of the "anti-circumvention" clauses have been used to stifle innovation, censor free speech, and threaten academic/scientific research. It ends with a conclusion most on /. have been dicussing for ages: "Four years of experience with the "anti-circumvention" provisions of the DMCA demonstrate that the statute reaches too far, chilling a wide variety of legitimate activities in ways Congress did not intend."" --- You've joined the EFF, right?
LawMeme (Yale) - Google replies to SearchKing lawsuit.
Back in October of last year, LawMeme reported on a lawsuit filed by SearchKing against Google. The lawsuit alleged that changes made by Google to its algorithms reduced the PageRank ratings Google assigned to pages within the "SearchKing Network" and that this reduction was an illegal interference with SearchKing's business. In addition to asking for damages, SearchKing filed a motion with its complaint asking for a preliminary injunction to force Google to restore its PageRanks.
Well, Google has replied, and we have the juicy details right here. First, Google has a response to the complaint (the Response), in which it claims it has done nothing wrong and asks the court not to grant an injunction. And second, Google has gone one step further and filed its own motion to dismiss the lawsuit (the Motion to Dismiss). Google thinks, or at the very least is asserting, that it has a slam-dunk iron-clad defense to SearchKing's claims.
New York Times - free registration required Officials Say Troops Risk Identity Theft After Burglary.
Thousands of military personnel facing deployment for a possible war with Iraq are also confronting a threat on the home front -- the risk of identity theft after burglars stole computerized records from a health care company in Phoenix last month.
The names, addresses, telephone numbers, birth dates and Social Security numbers of about 562,000 troops, dependents and retirees were on laptops and computer hard drives stolen from a nondescript building in an industrial park on Dec. 14, company officials said. Some medical claim records for people on active duty were also stolen from the company, TriWest Healthcare Alliance.
Even without the medical records, the information stolen is enough for criminals to use in creating false identities. TriWest, a Pentagon contractor handling medical claims for military personnel and dependents, warned the 562,000 customers in 16 Mountain and Western states that their identities might be stolen. It also posted a $100,000 reward.
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