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CDT Submits Comments in Music Licensing Rulemaking - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
In comments submitted today to the Copyright Office, CDT, EFF, Public Knowledge, and four other groups expressed support for the goal of providing greater licensing clarity to digital music services. That clarity could assist in the continued growth of the lawful online music market. The comments warned, however, that this goal could be undermined by rules that unnecessarily address controversial questions with important implications outside the music licensing context, such as the legal status of "buffer copies." CDT and its allies instead argued for a narrowly-tailored rule that would serve as a "safe harbor" covering any copies created in the course of providing a digital music service.
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
Limits Needed On DHS Border Crossing and Driver Information Databases - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
In comments filed with the Department of Homeland Security today, CDT highlighted privacy concerns implicated by DHS' new system of databases to record personal information and border crossing history. CDT called on DHS to reduce the 15-year period for retaining records of the date, time and place an American re-enters the United States at the land borders, and to limit the vast array of "routine uses" for which that data can be shared with other government agencies, foreign governments, and the public. In related comments, CDT urged DHS to work with states and other issuers of new "enhanced drivers licenses" to provide the department with access only to personal information about drivers crossing the border rather than information about all those holding EDLs, and to ensure that states do not create their own records of drivers' border crossing activities.
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
Dempsey to Be Nominated to Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
President Bush today announced his intention to nominate CDT Vice President for Public Policy James X. Dempsey to serve a five year term on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent agency within the executive branch that will review the civil liberties impact of anti-terrorism policies and programs, providing advice on policy development and implementation and oversight of government actions relating to terrorism. In legislation adopted last year, Congress reconstituted the Board and made it independent of the White House. The position, which is subject to Senate confirmation, is part-time, so Dempsey, if confirmed, will continue in his position with CDT.
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
FBI Guidelines Makeover in the Making - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
The Department of Justice is about to issue new Attorney General Guidelines that govern FBI criminal and intelligence investigations.
The new Guidelines would reportedly weaken the standards in existing Guidelines for use of some intrusive investigative techniques. Currently, the FBI has to have “reasonable suspicion” of criminality to open a full criminal investigation and it has to have some kind of a lead to start a preliminary inquiry — sort of a mini-investigation to run down the lead and decide whether to open a full criminal investigation. According to recent reports, the new Guidelines would permit the FBI to conduct an “assessment” of possible criminal activity or a threat to national security without having any lead at all. While doing that “assessment,” FBI agents would be empowered to use investigative techniques that had previously been reserved for full investigations and preliminary inquiries when there was evidence of crime: the agents could follow a person around, question friends and business colleagues about the person (and misrepresent themselves as persons other than FBI agents while conducting those interviews), and recruit secret informants to provide information about the person and his or her activities.
If these reports are true, the new AG Guidelines permit conduct the original AG Guidelines were supposed to prevent: investigation of people without an adequate predicate. They would leave room for all sorts of mischief such as spying on people like civil rights leaders based more on their political beliefs than on evidence of crime. read more »
OneWebDay 2008: An E-Democracy Time Capsule - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
We’re just under a month away from OneWebDay 2008, and the Washington, DC OneWebDay planning committee would like to invite you to participate. Susan Crawford started OneWebDay four years ago to promote the Internet and keep it vibrant, in the same way that Earth Day promotes taking care of the environment. The Internet is under a lot of pressure, from inadequate connectivity and the digital divide to censorship. When the Internet is in the news, it is usually to highlight one of the feared aspects of the Internet, rather than the positive transformative power of the Internet. OneWebDay is intended to create a town square of sorts where people far and wide can come together to celebrate and protect the Internet- keeping it innovative, open and free. read more »
Still Big Threats Online, But Slowly Improving - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
The newest State of the Net report from Consumer Reports has concluded that several major online risks- including spyware infections- are declining in precedence. Unfortunately, spyware still cost the country 3.6 billion dollars over the last six months, with over half a million households being forced to replace computers because of spyware.
While this is an intimidating figure, it in fact represents a 54% decline in the rate of serious spyware problems, even though a third of respondents didn’t install anti-spyware programs (about the same as last year). Unfortunately, the rate of serious spyware infections is not falling at the same rate as serious spam and virus incidents.
Consumer Reports credits the progress being made against spyware and other online threats to consumer education, improved user tools, and government involvement. Of course, the spyware developers are working to come up with new ways to circumvent consumer precautions. One in 14 households had a serious spyware incident, and spyware developers are taking advantage of new platforms, such as cell phones.
Like last year, we are pleased to see progress being made in the flight against spyware, and hope that legal and technical solutions to spyware continue to be pursued.
(Read Original Article - Via CDT - PolicyBeta.)
Aligning Words and Deed With Human Rights - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
The Olympics are well into their second week. Although we’ve seem some inspiring performances from athletes like swimmer Michael Phelps and gymnast Nastia Liukin, it’s sad that these games have been mired in controversy from the beginning: the IOC’s lack of will or ability to hold China to its promise to improve its human rights record as a condition of winning the Olympic bid, China’s violent crackdown on Tibetan demonstrators, ugly protests during the global Olympic torch relay, the apparently underage Chinese gymnasts, and – “dear” to CDT’s heart – the surveillance of Beijing hotel guests’ communications and the Chinese government’s unwillingness to make the Internet totally free of censorship for foreign journalists. read more »
Study: State AGs Fail to Adequately Protect Online Consumers - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
State attorneys general received thousands of complaints about online fraud and abuse in 2006 and 2007. Yet, with the exception of several notable standouts, few states brought significant cases in response to those complaints, according to a report released today from the Center for American Progress and the Center for Democracy and Technology. The study finds online fraud and abuse aren't given a high priority by most attorneys general. The report recommends several steps state attorneys general can take to protect online consumers, such as: assess the applicability and adequacy of state laws; develop computer forensic capabilities; train investigators and prosecutors to identify Internet fraud; and devote greater resources to enforcement efforts.
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
Quick Start to “Quiet” Month - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
August is traditionally a slow time in D.C., with Congress out of session and most policymakers looking to escape town for some vacation. But the early part of the month has already seen some significant developments for Internet policy.
First, on August 1, the FCC voted 3-2 to adopt a controversial enforcement action against Comcast for interfering with BitTorrent traffic. As I noted in July, CDT has reservations about the legal basis for the FCC’s assertion of authority to engage in such enforcement. But the kind of tactics Comcast was using pose a real threat to the openness of the Internet, and the FCC’s decision marks the first time the government has stepped in to impose some concrete limits. It’s too early to judge the full impact — in part because the agency has not yet released the actual text of the order — but clearly this is a landmark development in the public debate over Internet neutrality and network management.
Second, on August 4, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an important decision in the case involving Cablevision’s proposed “remote storage” digital video recorder (DVR). CDT helped organize an amicus brief in the case back in 2007, because the lower court ruling that the DVR would infringe copyright threatened to cast a major cloud of copyright risk over services that provide data storage remotely.
Fortunately, the Appeals Court strongly rejected the lower court’s flawed reasoning, which dangerously blurred the line between direct and secondary liability read more »
Constitution Protects Location Information, CDT Argues - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
In a July 31 amicus brief filed in a federal court in Pennsylvania, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, joined by CDT, ACLU and the ACLU of Pennsylvania, argued that cell phone location information is protected by the Fourth Amendment. The brief argues that a court should require the government to obtain a warrant based on probable cause in order to gain access to cell site location information stored by a cell phone company.
Amicus brief in In Re Application of United States [PDF] July 31, 2008
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
Appeals Court Reverses "Remote DVR" Decision - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed a lower court decision that, as CDT and a number of others argued in a 2007 amicus brief, had the potential to chill innovation in products that use the Internet to provide storage and computing functions from remote locations. The lower court ruling had blocked Cablevision from rolling out a digital video recorder (DVR) system that stores recorded television programs on remote servers instead of in set top devices in the customers' homes. CDT applauds today's decision, which finds that providing such a remote DVR does not constitute direct copyright infringement. CDT also welcomes the court's finding that transitory data held in buffers for a mere 1.2 seconds do not constitute "copies" for purposes of the Copyright Act.
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
Consent No Cure For Health Info Privacy Issues - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
An article in the Washington Post today reported on the use by health and life insurers of identifiable prescription drug records to make coverage decisions. This data is actually acquired by companies that act as data brokers or analysts on behalf of insurers, and individuals applying for insurance consent to having their prescription drug data gathered and used for this purpose. The article further notes that the gathering of this data will be even easier when this information is stored in electronic health records. read more »
FCC Reprimands Comcast in Traffic Management Dispute - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
The FCC today voted 3-2 to reprimand Comcast for interfering with some of its subscribers' BitTorrent uploads and failing to disclose the action. The ruling is a major development in the long-running debate over "Internet neutrality" and "network management." CDT agrees with the ruling's apparent premise that broadband providers should not target specific applications for inferior treatment and should be much more transparent about network management practices. CDT has serious concerns, however, about the potential breadth of the Commission's assertion of authority and the risk that it could open the door to greater FCC regulatory involvement in Internet issues. The full impact of the ruling will depend on the actual text of the order, which is not yet available.
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
Broad Laptop Search Authorities Claimed At the Border - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
Newly released documents confirm that U.S. government border officials assert authority to rifle through the contents of laptop computers, cell phones and flash drives that travelers bring into the United States, even when officials have no suspicion that a device contains evidence of a crime. Devices can be taken from travelers, removed to a remote location, examined by officials unknown to the travelers, and returned days, weeks, or even months later.
U.S. CBP Border Search Policy [PDF] July 16, 2008
U.S. ICE Border Search Policy [PDF] July 16, 2008
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
CDT Policy Post: A Primer on Behavioral Advertising - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
CDT issued a policy post today on the emerging practice of online behavioral advertising. Behavioral advertising involves the compilation of detailed information about an Internet user’s online activities. That data, when collected, can be turned into detailed consumer profiles including articles read, web sites visited, and items purchased. Ad networks contract with web sites to determine what type of advertising shows up on a consumer's web browser based on those profiles. In efforts to obtain more complete consumer profiles, some ad networks are now contracting with ISPs to buy the full web streams of the ISP's subscribers. That ad network-ISP model raises privacy concerns discussed in this policy post.
Policy Post: A Primer on Behavioral Advertising July 31, 2008
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
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