Privacy Digest

FBI Targets Internet Archive With Secret 'National Security Letter', Loses - Via Threat Level:

The Internet Archive, a project to create a digital library of the web for posterity, successfully fought a secret government Patriot Act order for records about one of its patrons and won the right to make the order public, civil liberties groups announced Wednesday morning.

On November 26, 2007, the FBI served a controversial National Security Letter on the Internet Archive, asking for records about one of the library's registered users, asking for the user's name, address.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Internet Archive's lawyers, fought the NSL, challenging its constitutionality in a December 14 complaint (.pdf) to a federal court in San Francisco.  read more »

The Freenet Project - Freenet 0.7.0 release candidate 2 now available:

24th Apr, 2008 - Freenet 0.7.0 release candidate 2 now available

Freenet version 0.7 Release Candidate 2 is now available for public testing. Release Candidate 2 features many bugfixes and a number of usability improvements.

Freenet is a global peer-to-peer network designed to allow users to publish and consume information without fear of censorship. To use it, you must download the Freenet software, available for Windows, Mac, Linux and other operating systems. Once you install and run Freenet, your computer will join a global, decentralized P2P network. You will be able to publish and consume information anonymously, either through your web browser, or through a variety of third party applications.  read more »

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Genetic Privacy - Via ACLU Blog - Privacy & Technology:

Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 493, the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), and the bill is now headed to President Bush for his signature.
This is a victory for all Americans who value their genetic privacy: GINA prevents employers and health insurance companies from discriminating against applicants based on their genetic code, which, thanks to modern science, reveals a lot about your body's predisposition towards illness and disease.  read more »

Gay students claim principal outed them - Via UPI on DailyIndia.com :

MEMPHIS, May 2 (UPI) -- Students at a Memphis high school said their principal outed several gay students when she compiled a list of couples at the school and posted it publicly.

The students claim Principal Daphne Beasley of Hollis F. Price Middle College High School compiled a list of all couples at the school, homosexual and heterosexual alike, after receiving complaints about public displays of affection in school hallways, ABC News reported Friday.

"I really feel that my personal privacy was invaded,"  read more »

Protect Digital Privacy at the Border and Beyond! - Via EFF Action Alerts:

Join a broad coalition of groups in urging key congressional committees to take action to protect travelers' digital privacy rights!

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued an opinion in the caseU.S. v. Arnold holding that the Fourth Amendment does not require government agents to have reasonable suspicion before searching laptops at the border, including international airports. Meanwhile, a number of national newspapers have documented unnerving reports from travelers whose electronic devices have been seized as they crossed U.S. borders.  read more »

How free is "free"? - Via rare pattern:

TANSTAAFL

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

The idea behind this is that there's always some sort of exchange happening, even if it's not in cash. If I buy you lunch, I'm getting something out of it -- the pleasure of your company, a chance to boast or commiserate, an opportunity to share a new restaurant discovery, freedom from an otherwise mundane meal, relief from a spiritual debt acquired when you bought me lunch last week, whatever.

And yet when I buy you lunch, it does not imply that you now are entitled to inspect my purse, or peruse the messages in my iPhone, or rummage through my dresser. Those things are considered private to most of us, right?  read more »

Defending Anonymity Online: Legislation Would Give Does a New Weapon in Battle Against Frivolous Lawsuits - Via EFF: Deep Links:

The California Assembly took a crucial first step yesterday towards closing a significant gap in protection for anonymous speech online. One of the most pernicious threats to anonymity is the filing of bogus lawsuits as an excuse to force ISPs to reveal speakers’ identities. Once such a lawsuit is filed, speakers who want to protect their anonymity must find a way to pay a lawyer to go to court and prevent disclosure of their personal information. That can be a real hardship—in fact, even the threat of having to go to court may intimidate many people from speaking out in the first place.

Fortunately, Assembly member Paul Krekorian with co-authors Sally Lieber and Anthony Portantino introduced AB 2433 to help answer this problem.  read more »

Senate Approves Vital Health Privacy Bill - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:

CDT applauds the Senate's passage of HR 293, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 (GINA) by unanimous consent. The House is expected to quickly pass the measure. The bill represents a significant step forward in protecting health privacy because it prohibits the use of genetic information by employers when making hiring decisions or by health insurers when making coverage decisions or adjusting premiums. Under GINA, employers and insurers also would not be allowed to impose genetic testing requirements. CDT is urging the President to quickly sign the bill into law.

(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)

ASC Behavioral Targeting Working Group Launched - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:

The Anti-Spyware Coalition has created a new internal working group to review privacy concerns raised by partnerships between behavioral targeting advertising companies and ISPs. The concerns stem from instances in which these business relationships result in all, or substantially all, user Web traffic being passed to advertisers with little or no notice. In many instances the activities raising privacy concerns are taking place by exploiting "borderline" acceptable practices in order to skirt anti-spyware products. The new working group will convene to specifically review current guidelines and recommend changes if needed.

(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)

FBI, politicos renew push for ISP data retention laws - Via The Iconoclast - CNET News.com:

WASHINGTON--The FBI and multiple members of Congress said on Wednesday that Internet service providers must be legally required to keep records of their users' activities for later review by police.

Their suggestions for mandatory data retention revive a push for potentially sweeping federal laws--which civil libertarians oppose--that flagged last year after the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the idea's most prominent proponent.

FBI Director Robert Mueller told a House of Representatives committee that Internet service providers should be required to keep records of users' activities for two years.  read more »

ACLU Says Fusion Centers Remain Problematic - Via American Civil Liberties Union:

Washington, DC – As a Senate subcommittee met today to get a "progress report" on fusion centers, the American Civil Liberties Union once again voiced its concerns with the intelligence-gathering institutions. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on State, Local, and Private Sector Preparedness and Integration heard testimony from government and intelligence officials on a recent report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) regarding the centers. Though several recent reports have confirmed fusion centers’ growing role in law enforcement and revealed their expanding ties to private industry, including relationships with massive data-brokering companies, no third parties were set to testify. The ACLU released a report last year outlining serious concerns with fusion centers.

"Fusion centers have the potential to be privacy nightmares," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "Every inch of privacy we surrender gives the government a mile of latitude to invade it further. There’s simply too much we don’t know. Strict guidelines must be put in place and enforced. We urge the subcommittee and all of Congress to keep a close eye on those who are keeping a close eye on us."  read more »

Wi-Fi users to be monitored in Russia - Via Network World on Privacy:

Business travellers to Russia might want to keep their laptops and iPhones well-concealed - not from muggers,necessarily, but from the country's recently formed regulatory super-agency, Rossvyazokhrankultura (short for the Russian Mass Media, Communications and Cultural Protection Service).

In the U.K., Ofcom made deregulation one of its first priorities upon coming into existence, but the Russian equivalent is doing just the reverse, including an ominous-sounding policy of requiring registration for every Wi-Fi device and hotspot, according to a report this week from news agency Fontanka.

Rossvyazokhrankultura's interpretation of current law holds that users must register any electronics that use the frequency involved in Wi-Fi communications, said Vladimir Karpov, the deputy director of the agency's communications monitoring division, according to an English commentary provided by website The Other Russia.  read more »

Suit accuses Blockbuster, Facebook of privacy law violations - Via Ars Technica :

A class-action lawsuit is brewing over Facebook's controversial Beacon tool and Blockbuster's involvement with it. Texas native Cathryn Elaine Harris has filed a lawsuit against Blockbuster, alleging that the company is actively and knowingly violating the Video Privacy Protection Act by reporting users' activities back to Facebook. The suit seeks to be certified as a class action, and asks that Blockbuster pay out $2,500 per incident in which it disclosed personally identifiable information.  read more »

A Federal Shield Law for Journalists. Now, OK? - Via ACLU Blog - Free Speech:

Earlier this week, Senators John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama all signaled their support for a federal shield law. Hopefully, the combined voices of three presidential nominees will spur Congress into action. Last year the House passed its version of a federal shield law for journalists, the Free Flow of Information Act, by an overwhelming and bipartisan vote. The Senate…well, the Senate is taking its time with a version of the bill that fails to provide the same level of protection, particularly in the national security arena. Without those protections, the current administration’s overzealous efforts to intimidate reporters will be more likely to continue unabated.  read more »

NIH to crack down on encryption - Via FCW - Federal Computer Week:

The director of the National Institutes of Health has notified employees to expect random computer audits as the agency works to ensure full compliance with its security policies. NIH discovered that a stolen laptop PC belonging to NIH contained medical data and Social Security numbers of 1,200 patients involved in medical research.

The theft of the unencrypted laptop was a major violation of NIH’s commitment to protect the confidentiality of patients, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, the agency’s director, said in a memo sent to all NIH employees.  read more »

FTC Should Strengthen Behavioral Advertising Principles - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:

The Federal Trade Commission's proposed behavioral advertising principles aren't strong enough on their own to adequately protect consumers, according to comments filed jointly today by CDT, Consumer Action and Privacy Activism. Although the principles represent a solid first step in the process, protecting consumer privacy interests in this space will require a rigorous mix of self-regulation, enforcement of existing law, and the passage of new general privacy law. The comments include CDT's finding that there are several practices of concern occurring on the Internet today that remain unaddressed by current self-regulation. Based on this research and other industry developments, CDT, Consumer Action, and Privacy Activism recommend ways for the FTC to bolster several of its proposed principles. The groups also urge the Commission to explain how it will ensure industry compliance with the principles.

Comments of CDT, Consumer Action, and Privacy Activism [PDF] April 11, 2008

FTC Proposed Principles [PDF] April 11, 2008 [off-site]

(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)