Privacy Digest

Ominous Signs of a Forthcoming "Compromise" on Telco Immunity - Tell the House To Stand Firm - Via EFF: Deep Links:

This morning, CongressDaily reported that Senator Jay Rockefeller is now privately circulating a new "compromise" proposal on surveillance legislation, only a day after it was reported that the telecoms themselves have begun shopping their own "compromise" proposals around the Hill. You may remember Sen. Rockefeller as the force behind the surveillance bill passed by the Senate in February, which included blanket retroactive immunity for phone companies like AT&T that are alleged to have participated in the National Security Agency's illegal warrantless wiretapping program.

Although the details of the Rockefeller proposal are still unclear, indications are that the so-called "compromise" on telco immunity may well be nearly identical to the original Senate immunity provision, with only a few cosmetic changes.  read more »

A New Look at the Hub of AT&T's Spying Program - Via EFF: Deep Links:

Our class action lawsuit against AT&T for collaborating with the National Security Agency in the massive, illegal program to wiretap and data-mine Americans' communications includes powerful evidence of a secret room in San Francisco.

But the hub of the spying program may be just outside of St. Louis, in a Missouri town called Bridgeton. A special report from local station KMOV puts the pieces together in a comprehensive and disturbing story about this dragnet surveillance, with the help of AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein. Watch the video on the KMOV site for a fresh look at a key piece of this spying puzzle.

(Read Original Article - Via EFF: Deep Links.)

Daily Kos: Another victory for the anti-Real ID rebels - Via ACLU's diary in Daily Kos:

By Larry Frankel, State Legislative Counsel, ACLU Washington Legislative Office

The anti-Real ID movement just took a big step forward, with the Arizona Senate’s 21-7 vote to bar implementation of Real ID in Arizona. The bill (H.B. 2677) still has to go back to the Arizona House for another vote and then on to Governor Janet Napolitano for her signature. But as of this writing, Arizona is poised to join the growing number of states who have recognized that Real ID is an expensive and unworkable invasion of our privacy.

The good work of a bipartisan group of Arizona legislators contrasts with what happened last week in Minnesota. Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed a transportation bill that passed the Minnesota legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support because the members of the Minnesota legislature had the audacity to say no to the federal Real ID Act. The governor’s veto message reads like a set of talking points from the Department of Homeland Security.  read more »

Backroom FISA Deal in the Making? - Via ACLU Blog - Government Spying:

There was chatter on the blogs last week that FISA compromise was in the works, but it wasn't until late Friday night that our lobbyists confirmed that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is working on a compromise bill with Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) — yes, the same senator known for taking thousands of dollars of campaign contributions from the telecom companies he's angling to protect with immunity. Hoyer and Rockefeller may try to lock in a deal within the next few days.  read more »

Letters Give C.I.A. Tactics a Legal Rationale - Via New York Times:

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has told Congress that American intelligence operatives attempting to thwart terrorist attacks can legally use interrogation methods that might otherwise be prohibited under international law.

The legal interpretation, outlined in recent letters, sheds new light on the still-secret rules for interrogations by the Central Intelligence Agency. It shows that the administration is arguing that the boundaries for interrogations should be subject to some latitude, even under an executive order issued last summer that President Bush said meant that the C.I.A. would comply with international strictures against harsh treatment of detainees.

While the Geneva Conventions prohibit “outrages upon personal dignity,” a letter sent by the Justice Department to Congress on March 5 makes clear that the administration has not drawn a precise line in deciding which interrogation methods would violate that standard, and is reserving the right to make case-by-case judgments.  read more »

FCC Hearings at Stanford: Towards a Consensus on ISP Transparency? - Via EFF: Deep Links:

Yesterday, the FCC held a second hearing in its investigation of Comcast's use of forged RST packets to interfere with BitTorrent and other P2P applications. Free Press has a page linking to written testimony, statements, and audio and video recordings from the Stanford hearing.

At the previous hearing at Harvard Law School, Comcast attracted criticism for filling the auditorium with paid attendees. This time around, the telcos declined to participate at all. They sent proxies in their place: a conservative think tank called the Phoenix Center, freelance tech pundit George Ou, and one ISP: Lariat.net of Wyoming. It's a pity that ISPs aren't willing to participate in public debate about their own practices.  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 »

FBI General Counsel Questioned on EFF NSL Report - Via EFF: Deep Links:

At a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee today, FBI General Counsel Valerie Caproni faced tough questions about the EFF Report on the abuse of a National Security Letter (NSL) to North Carolina State University at Raleigh.

In her testimony, Caproni speculated that this misuse of the NSL might have been the result of a "miscommunication." According to a 2007 report by Caproni's Office of the General Counsel, however, the FBI Charlotte Division "acted upon the advice and direction of FBIHQ [and] Charlotte personnel sought legal advice prior to the service of the NSL." FBI documents show that the NSL at issue was reviewed by the Senior Supervisory Special Agent for the Raleigh office, and then reviewed by the Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Division before being signed.  read more »

EFF Issues Report on Abuse of National Security Letter - Via EFF: Deep Links:

Today, EFF published a report on the misuse of a National Security Letter to seek educational records from North Carolina State University at Raleigh in 2005. The NSL authority does not allow the government to seek educational records.

The detailed report stems from EFF's Freedom of Information Act request for records about NSL abuse. FBI documents show that, over the span of three days in July 2005, the Charlotte Division of the FBI first obtained educational records pursuant to a grand jury subpoena, and then -- at the direction of FBIHQ -- returned the records and sought them again pursuant to an improper NSL.

The improper NSL was refused by the university, but the FBI finally obtained them pursuant to a second grand jury subpoena. Later in July 2005, FBI Director Robert Mueller used the delay in obtaining these particular records as an example of why the FBI needed administrative subpoena power instead of NSLs in testimony.  read more »

More Questions Swirl Around Mukasey's Emotional Plea for Warrantless Wiretapping - Via EFF: Deep Links:

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that lawmakers are still looking for answers about Attorney General Michael Mukasey's strange tale of an unmonitored terrorist phone call. Mukasey gave the account at a speech in San Francisco last month as part of an emotional plea to legalize warrantless wiretapping. But House Judiciary Committee members say this is the first they have heard of such a call.  read more »

Lawmakers Proposing Millions for Elementary School Surveillance Cams - UPDATE - Via Threat Level:

Call it the No Child Left Unsurveilled Act.

On Thursday, federal lawmakers will hold a hearing on a proposal to let public schools use millions in federal grants to blanket the halls of learning with surveillance cameras.

Those grants have typically been used to install metal detectors, lights and locks, as well as paying for security training for students and employees.

The bill adds closed circuit surveillance cameras to the list of items eligible for Justice Department Safe School grants, ups the funding to from $30 million annually to $50 million and increases the feds share of any outlays to 80%, up from the current 50-50 split.  read more »

Bush Wonders: What's the Big Deal? - Via ACLU Blog:

In the introduction to their book, Administration of Torture, ACLU attorneys Amrit Singh and Jameel Jaffer quote President Bush:

"Let me make very clear the position of my government and our country. We do not condone torture. I have never ordered torture. I will never order torture. The values of this country are such that torture is not a part of our soul and our being."

Flash forward to this past week, when ABC News revealed that orders to torture prisoners arrested in the so-called "war on terror" came from the very top of the Bush administration cabinet. On Friday, in an interview with ABC News' Martha Raddatz, Bush said of the news:

…[Y]es, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved. I don't know what's new about that; I'm not so sure what's so startling about that.  read more »

A Dual Challenge to National Security Letters - Via ACLU Blog - Privacy & Technology:

This afternoon, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing on the government's use — and abuse, we argue — of National Security Letters (NSLs). Jameel Jaffer, Director of our National Security Project, will testify. Yesterday, Mandy Simon of our Washington, D.C. Legislative Office, gave a preview of what will be discussed at today's hearing, and sums up the status of our current lawsuit against the NSL provision of the Patriot Act in our DailyKos Diary.  read more »

Music Label's Copyright Argument is Rubbish - Via Threat Level:

Tossing it like a Frisbee is OK. The kids, cat and dog scratching the hell out of it is just fine.

But throwing away that CD is copyright infringement.

According to UMG Recordings, that's true insofar as the label's promotional CDs are concerned: those thousands of unaccounted for discs the label mails out each year to reviewers, radio stations and others.

The record label says throwing away such CDs is a no-no because it claims it has an eternal right of ownership to them.  read more »

Online Symposium: Voluntary Collective Licensing of Music - Via Freedom to Tinker:

Today we’re kicking off an online symposium on voluntary collective licensing of music, over at the Center for InfoTech Policy site.

The symposium is motivated by recent movement in the music industry toward the possibility of licensing large music catalogs to consumers for a fixed monthly fee. For example, Warner Music, one of the major record companies, just hired Jim Griffin to explore such a system, in which Internet Service Providers would pay a per-user fee to record companies in exchange for allowing the ISPs’ customers to access music freely online. The industry had previously opposed collective licenses, making them politically non-viable, but the policy logjam may be about to break, making this a perfect time to discuss the pros and cons of various policy options.

It’s an issue that evokes strong feelings — just look at the comments on David’s recent post.  read more »