Privacy Digest

Senators Ask FBI to Explain Flawed 'National Security Letter' to Internet Archive - Via Threat Level:

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is asking FBI head Robert Mueller to explain why the feds sought records from the Internet Archive, a digital library, using a controversial administrative subpoena known as a National Security Letter, which is intended for a communications service providers.

The Internet Archive, a digital library of the web and media, beat the November 26 NSL with the help of attorneys at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union. In April, the FBI agreed to withdraw the request for records on a Internet Archive user and lift the gag order that typically attaches to such requests.

The six senators sent Mueller a letter Thursday, asking him to explain what happened and to find out if the FBI reported the  incident to an oversight board as a possible violation of federal law.  read more »

Entertainment Industry Leaned On Los Angeles Politicos to Declare Piracy a 'Public Nuisance' - Via Threat Level:

A Los Angeles County ordinance adopted last week giving authorities the legal muscle to shutter property used to produce counterfeit DVDs and CDs was the result of intense pressure from Hollywood and the recording industry.

Additionally, the so-called nuisance abatement ordinance was based, in part, on exaggerated piracy figures provided by the entertainment industry, which also gave the measure's key political backer thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, according to an examination by THREAT LEVEL.

The ordinance, similar to a New York City regulation, expands the definition of a nuisance property from those infested with drugs, gangs, gambling and prostitution to include a property producing, selling or storing counterfeited content. The entertainment industry is calling it an important milestone in combating piracy, though the measure's phrasing is focused primarily on professional pirates who produce DVDs and CDs that resemble authentic disks, and not downloaders.  read more »

FISA: Deal or No Deal? - Via ACLU Blog - Government Spying:

Here in Washington, rumors are swirling about a deal on FISA being brokered by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Ranking Intelligence Committee Member Senator Kit Bond. We’re taking the news to heart and getting ready for the other shoe to drop in this saga. Letting the Protect America Act expire in February was a brave act and since then the House has continued to do the right thing by doing nothing. Now with a Hoyer/Bond deal about to drop and news that Senate Intel Chairman Jay Rockefeller is floating his own proposal, we’re getting back into the trenches.

It should be clear that deal that’s being worked out and ultimately agreed upon by Bond and Hoyer will be likely very, very close to the unconstitutional bill passed by the Senate in February. Since it’s implied that Bond is speaking for the White House — as he has throughout this process — the proposal will likely include attempts to soften the idea of blanket immunity for the telecoms by allowing the FISA court to determine whether cases can go forward. Bad idea.  read more »

Report: Government's Cyber Security Plan Is Riddled With New Spying Programs - Via Threat Level:

Major elements of the Bush administration's proposed $17 billion "cyber security" initiative have little to do with protecting government networks, and a lot to do with spying, according to a budget report released by the Senate Armed Services Committee this week.

The so-called National Cyber Security Initiative is also wrapped in unnecessary secrecy, and would spend billions on unproven, embryonic technology, and possibly illegal or ill-advised projects, according to the analysis -- which is part of a broad look at the proposed 2009 defense budget.  read more »

Air Force Aims for 'Full Control' of 'Any and All' Computers - Via Wired News: Security Blanket:

The Air Force wants a suite of hacker tools, to give it "access" to -- and "full control" of -- any kind of computer there is.  And once the info warriors are in, the Air Force wants them to keep tabs on their "adversaries' information infrastructure completely undetected."

The government is growing increasingly interested in waging war online.  The Air Force recently put together a "Cyberspace Command," with a charter to rule networks the way its fighter jets rule the skies. The Department of Homeland Security, Darpa, and other agencies are teaming up for a five-year, $30 billion "national cybersecurity initiative."  That includes an electronic test range, where federally-funded hackers can test out the latest electronic attacks.  "You used to need an army to wage a war," a recent Air Force commercial notes.  "Now, all you need is an Internet connection."  read more »

NBC-Vista copy-protection snafu reminds us why DRM stinks - Via Ars Technica :

Handfuls of Windows Vista Media Center users found themselves blocked from making recordings of their favorite TV shows this week when a broadcast flag triggered the software's built-in copy protection measures. The flag affected users trying to record prime-time NBC shows on Monday evening, using both over-the-air broadcasts and cable. Although the problem is being "looked into" by both NBC and Microsoft, the incident serves as another reminder that DRM gives content providers full control, even if by accident.

Vista MCE users began reporting problems on Monday evening, starting with posts on the popular DVR-enthusiast forum on The Green Button. While trying to record shows like American Gladiator and Medium, Vista users were presented with an error that read, "Recording cancelled. [TV show] cannot be recorded. Restrictions set by the broadcaster and/or originator of the content prohibit recording of this program." The Green Button user justinjas posted a screenshot of the error on his blog.  read more »

NBC Activates Broadcast Flag - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:

I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "NBC activated the 'broadcast flag' on a number of shows this week, ranging from American Gladiator to Medium, which prevented compliant programs like Windows Media Center from recording them. The matter is being 'looked into,' but that doesn't tell us whether it was an accident or a ploy to see how outraged viewers would be at being stripped of the time-shifting rights they've enjoyed ever since Sony v. Universal. Just in case it's the latter, it wouldn't hurt to let them know what you think."

(Read Original Article - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online.)

Arlen Specter Demanding Probe Of 'Spygate' - Via Threat Level:

Arlen Specter, the Republican leader of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday demanded an independent investigation into "Spygate."

The announcement came three years after it was first disclosed President Bush had authorized a secret electronic eavesdropping program on Americans without warrants in the wake of the September 11 terror attacks.

But Specter wasn't referring to that.

Instead, the Pennsylvania senator is demanding an inquiry into the New England Patriots' secret videotaping of opposing NFL coaches' signals on the sidelines -- an affair sports writers have dubbed "Spygate."

We are not making this up. Specter said such behavior, a violation of NFL rules, is damaging to the sport. Call it Specter's own Patriot Act.  read more »

Sony BMG Sends YouTube Ads Instead of Takedown - Via Wendy's Blog: Legal Tags:

As reported on Valleywag and picked up by Slashdot, Sony BMG has been testing an alternative to copyright takedowns of unauthorized music videos on YouTube: inserting a link to the band’s official page instead.

An eagle-eyed Valleywag tipster with a taste for Modest Mouse spotted an interesting new feature on YouTube. Uploads of music videos from the band by non-official sources now carry a link reading “Contains content from Sony BMG,” which leads users to the official Modest Mouse page on the site.

Commenter Mr. E discovers that the “claim” link is added automatically, by Google’s YouTube Video ID Tool, when a matching video is spotted on upload.  read more »

DHS Can’t Admit Its Own Mistakes - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:

Back in April, I blogged about how Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff was “dead wrong” when he testified before the Senate that personal information can’t be “skimmed” from an unencrypted barcode, which all driver’s licenses will have under the REAL ID program. Chertoff completely denied that there are any privacy risks associated with the REAL ID card’s “machine-readable zone.”

Sen. Feingold, D-WI, was right to question Chertoff’s testimony that day and followed up with a letter asking the Secretary to further explain why he thought citizens’ personal information wasn’t at risk or why they couldn’t be tracked by scanning REAL ID cards during a multitude of transactions. Just this week, DHS responded to Sen. Feingold via letter. The Department again shirked responsibility for ensuring that Americans’ personal information stored on REAL ID cards is protected and not accessible by unauthorized parties – businesses and government agencies alike.  read more »

Charter to Insert Ads into Web Pages Its Broadband Customers Visit - Via Threat Level:

Charter Communications, one of the nation's largest ISPs, plans to track the web surfing habits of its customers in order to insert its own ads into web pages being visited by its customers, making it the first large American ISP to inject content into traffic its customers pay them to deliver.

In letters being sent to its 2.7 million high speed internet customers, Charter is billing its new ad insertion program as an 'enhancement' for customers' web surfing experience. The letters were first reported by BroadbandReports.com user on Sunday.

Browsing the web can become more like flipping through your favorite magazine, where you see ads that are appealing to you and enhance your enjoyment and the utility of the experience.

Users can opt out of the system, but have to give their full name and address to get an opt-out cookie. The process would have to be repeated for every browser on every computer in a home to block the service, and would have to be reset if cookies are ever deleted.

Charter is entering tricky legal and political territory. The company claims that the program won't show users more ads than they saw before – which means that Charter plans to overwrite the ads from sites like Wired.com. Such a move could easily lead to lawsuits.  read more »

Five IRS Employees Charged With Snooping on Tax Returns - Via Threat Level:

Five workers at the Internal Revenue Service's Fresno, California return processing center were charged Monday with computer fraud and unauthorized access to tax return information for allegedly peeking into taxpayer's files for their own purposes.

"The IRS has a method for looking for unauthorized access, and it keeps audit trails, and occasionally it will pump out information about who's done what," says assistant United States attorney Mark McKoen, who's prosecuting the cases in federal court in Fresno. "In general terms, IRS employees are only authorized to access the accounts of taxpayers who write in. They're not allowed  to access friends, relatives, neighbors, celebrities."

With tax return information just a few keystroke away, IRS employees succumb to curiosity often enough that the agency has its own word for such browsing: UNAX, (pronounced you-nacks) , for "unauthorized access." In congressional testimony last month, a Treasury Department investigator  said employee prying was on the rise, with 430 known cases in 1998, and 521 last year.  read more »

FBI Practices Need Strict Oversight, ACLU Says - Via American Civil Liberties Union:

Washington, DC – As FBI Director Robert Mueller appeared before Congress today, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the House Judiciary Committee to ask him the “hard questions.”

“Director Mueller has plenty to answer for,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “The FBI’s track record of late has been dismal. Members of the committee should take this opportunity to push for real answers to questions about National Security Letters, delays in the naturalization process and the FBI’s role in torture and anti-terrorism policies set by the administration.”  read more »

ACLU Applauds Senate Scrutiny of Overbroad NSL Authority - Via American Civil Liberties Union:

Washington, DC – As an overbroad and often-abused power is examined today by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the American Civil Liberties Union urged members of the committee to thoroughly question its witnesses before marking up legislation aimed at fixing the problem. The "National Security Letter Reform Act" introduced by committee member Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI), would narrow the scope of National Security Letters (NSLs) and curb abuse by federal law enforcement. NSLs are used to obtain access to personal customer records from Internet Service Providers, financial institutions and credit reporting agencies. Recipients of the NSLs are generally forbidden, or "gagged," from disclosing that they have received the letters.

"As we’ve seen, the broader the NSL statute is, the more likely it is to be abused," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "Senator Feingold’s bill will narrow the reach of NSLs, preserve judicial oversight and put the burden on the government to prove that secrecy is needed before imposing draconian gag orders.  read more »