Paul Hardwick: Media

Administrivia: Now we have a overheated CPU ( 60 degrees centigrade )

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:39:01 GMT

OK, if the DDOS attack wasn't enough. Now our server went down with a temperature overload. We were up to 60 degrees centigrade when we shut down. The CPU and a broken fan have been replaced.

Administrivia: Our data-center was hit by a DDOS attack today.

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:19:59 GMT

Sorry for being either very slow or off the net for a while recently. The data-center we are part of was hit by a DDOS (Distributed Denial Of Service) attack recently. At the moment it looks to be under control, but we are keeping an eye on things.

Judge Refuses to Release Critical Documents in AT&T Surveillance Case.

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:56:51 GMT

Judge Refuses to Release Critical Documents in AT&T Surveillance Case.

Klein Declaration and Other Internal Documents to Stay Sealed for Now

San Francisco - A federal judge in San Francisco today denied requests from media groups to unseal critical evidence in the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) class-action lawsuit against AT&T.

EFF's suit accuses the telecom giant of collaborating with the National Security Agency (NSA) in illegal spying on millions of ordinary Americans. The sealed evidence includes a declaration by Mark Klein, a retired AT&T telecommunications technician, as well as several internal AT&T documents and portions of a declaration from EFF's expert witness. Some of the evidence was previously released in redacted form, while other evidence is still completely unavailable to the media and the public.

"We're disappointed that the court did not choose to unseal all of the documents that include or refer to the evidence presented by Mark Klein and our expert, J. Scott Marcus. The government has already agreed that the evidence is neither classified nor a state secret, and is only being held under seal because of AT&T's weak trade secrecy claims," said Cindy Cohn, EFF's Legal Director. "Given that the privacy of millions of Americans is at stake, we strongly believe that the public would benefit from seeing this evidence for themselves."

Today's order is in response to a December hearing on the sealing issue. U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker granted the media groups' request to intervene in the case, and said that he might revisit the unsealing motion at a later date.

For Judge Walker's full order:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/order_media_unsealing.pdf

For more on EFF's case against AT&T:
http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/att/

Contacts:

Cindy Cohn
Legal Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
cindy@eff.org

Rebecca Jeschke
Media Coordinator
Electronic Frontier Foundation
press@eff.org

[EFF: Breaking News]

Free Speech group EFF needs videographer in Syracuse (CraigsList)

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 03:26:39 GMT

Date: 2007-02-15, 9:12PM EST

we are looking for someone who has a good-quality Mini-DV camera and can produce good lighting (natural is fine) and sound (onboard is fine, it just has to be very clear) for a brief videotaped statement.

this is to support an online free speech case.

details here:
http://www.10zenmonkeys.com/2006/11/01/eff-crook-dmca-lawsuit/

the subject to be shot is in/around Syracuse. we may be able to pay expenses for travel by car. if you respond to this note, EFF lawyers will contact you with more info.

this video will be distributed widely across the webernets and we can offer a prominent production credit, as well as the warm, fuzzy feeling that you've helped EFF's ongoing defense of digital free speech.

please respond with with your availability over the next week or so.

(IN)SECURE Magazine Issue 10.

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 00:35:00 GMT

(IN)SECURE Magazine Issue 10. Articles in this issue include: Microsoft Windows Vista: significant security improvement?, Review: GFI Endpoint Security 3, Interview with Edward Gibson, Chief Security Advisor at Microsoft UK, Top 10 spyware of 2006, The spam problem and open source filtering solutions, Office 2007: new format and new protection/security policy, Wardriving in Paris, Interview with Joanna Rutkowska, security researcher, Climbing the security career mountain: how to get more than just a job, RSA Conference 2007 report, ROT13 is used in Windows? You're joking! and Data security beyond PCI compliance - protecting sensitive data in a distributed environment. [(IN)SECURE Magazine Notifications RSS]

To Media Companies, BitTorrent Implies Guilt.

Sat, 10 Feb 2007 22:23:16 GMT

To Media Companies, BitTorrent Implies Guilt. kripkenstein writes "The big media companies immediately assume you are guilty by your mere presence on a BitTorrent swarm, an investigation by a university security worker reveals. Turns out companies like BayTSP (which the media companies employ) will send shutdown notices to ISPs without any evidence of copyright infringment; all they feel they need is an indication that you are reported by the tracker to be in the swarm." From the post: "For my investigation, I wrote a very simple BitTorrent client. My client sent a request to the tracker, and generally acted like a normal Bittorrent client up to sharing files. The client refused to accept downloads of, or upload copyrighted content. It obeyed the law... With just this, completely legal, BitTorrent client, I was able to get notices from BayTSP. To put this in to perspective, if BayTSP were trying to bust me for doing drugs, it'd be like getting arrested because I was hanging out with some dealers, but they never saw me using, buying, or selling any drugs." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Congress Hears From Muzzled Scientists.

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 03:05:52 GMT

Congress Hears From Muzzled Scientists. BendingSpoons writes "More than 120 scientists across seven federal agencies have been pressured to remove the phrases 'global warming' and 'climate change' from various documents. The documents include press releases and, more importantly, communications with Congress. Evidence of this sort of political interference has been largely anecdotal to date, but is now detailed in a new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held hearings on this issue Tuesday; the hearing began by Committee members, including most Republicans, stating that global warming is happening and greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are largely to blame. The OGR hearings presage a landmark moment in climate change research: the release of the 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC report, drafted by 1,250 scientists and reviewed by an additional 2,500 scientists, is expected to state that 'there is a 90% chance humans are responsible for climate change' -- up from the 2001 report's 66% chance. It probably won't make for comfortable bedtime reading; 'The future is bleak', said scientists." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

US Attorney General Questions Habeas Corpus.

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 22:32:22 GMT

US Attorney General Questions Habeas Corpus. spiedrazer writes "In yet another attempt to create legitimacy for the Bush Administration's many questionable legal practices, US attorney General Alberto Gonzales actually had the audacity to argue before a Congressional committee that the US Constitution doesn't explicitly bestow habeas corpus rights on US citizens. In his view it merely says when the so-called Great Writ can be suspended, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the rights are granted. The Attorney General was being questioned by Sen. Arlen Specter at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Jan. 18. THe MSM are not covering this story but Colbert is (click on the fourth video down, 'Exact Words')." --- From the Baltimore Chronicle and Sentinel commentary: "While Gonzales's statement has a measure of quibbling precision to it, his logic is troubling because it would suggest that many other fundamental rights that Americans hold dear (such as free speech, freedom of religion, and the right to assemble peacefully) also don't exist because the Constitution often spells out those rights in the negative. It boggles the mind the lengths this administration will go to to systematically erode the rights and privileges we have all counted on and held up as the granite pillars of our society since our nation was founded." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

EFF - miniLinks for 2007-01-23.

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 21:32:47 GMT

miniLinks for 2007-01-23.

Andy Griffith Stands Up to Warrantless Wiretapping
Mayberry's privacy rights more secure than the modern United States.

How Do New NSA Spy Warrants Work? One Expert Speculates
Jim Dempsey tries to work out what it might mean.

Your Privacy Law Role-Call
All the new privacy bills on their way to Congress, as collected by PogoWasRight.

Brewster Kahle's Orphan Works Case Denied
Professor Chris Sprigman offers legal analysis.

Music Industry Wants to Sue Euro ISPs
Litigation against third-parties expected "in weeks rather than months."

VirginMega Adopts DRM-Free MP3 on its Music Store
France is first country in which major store switches from WMA to MP3.

German, French Orgs Unite Against DRM
Consumer groups claim iTunes' FairPlay is anti-competitive.

eMusic Surpasses 250,000 Subscribers...
...while unencumbered music sales go up and up.

[EFF: Deep Links]

Slashdot | Slashback: Net Neutrality, Bugged Coins, and Pawns

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 06:01:50 GMT

Bugged Canadian coins. Lars T. writes in a journal article, "A recent Slashdot story asked: Bugged Canadian Coins?. Now The Globe and Mail has an update on the story -- or rather the non-story. '[A] U.S. agency that investigated the complaint found no evidence of any secret transmitters, or of any other tampering. It's not clear why this information failed to find its way into the released U.S. Defense Security Service report.' So you can all pack in your tin-foil hats -- at least that's what they want you to believe."

Newspaper Publisher Tries to Thwart First Amendment.

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:59:45 GMT

Newspaper Publisher Tries to Thwart First Amendment.

The Santa Barbara News-Press needs a lesson in the First Amendment. Insisting that an anonymous comment posted for a few hours on a news blog skewed a labor unionization vote, the publisher of the newspaper is demanding that Google disclose the blogger's account information.

It all started last September. Three months after several editors walked off the job amid allegations that News-Press owner and co-publisher Wendy McCaw had improperly interfered in editorial decisions, the employees that remained were struggling to form a union to negotiate with McCaw. McCaw did not take kindly to the unionization effort or even commentary about it--in fact, she has sued two newspapers based on their coverage of the labor dispute and threatened defamation suits against individual citizens who posted pro-union signs in their windows. The legal campaign has made headlines around the country.

Enter pseudonymous blogger Sara de la Guerra. Sara reports and comments on current events in Santa Barbara and has been critical of McCaw's anti-union tactics. In early September, a third party submitted a comment advocating various acts of cybersabotage against News-Press management. The comment was taken down within hours, but News-Press later issued a press release quoting and complaining about the comment.

When the employees then voted to form a union, News-Press filed objections with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing that the comment had influenced the election. Three months later, just a few days before the hearing on the objections, News-Press issued a subpoena to Google seeking information relating to Sara's account.

News-Press has apparently forgotten a basic principle of the journalistic profession--respect for the First Amendment, which protects the right to anonymous speech. Court after court has recognized that discovery requests that seek to pierce the anonymity of online speakers must be carefully scrutinized in order to prevent the improper use of the discovery process to unmask anonymous speakers. Moreover, courts have recognized the need for a particularly high level of protection when the discovery request seeks information about a nonparty.

Such protection seems especially important here, given McCaw's proclivity for retailiating against critics. Sara's important but fragile anonymity interests must be shielded unless News-Press can show that its claims are viable and that the requested evidence is necessary to advance those claims.

And therein lies the rub: The hearing to which the information would be relevant was held last week, with no reference to the subpoena. Thus, even assuming the information was relevant to some claim, the need for that information has passed.

EFF has written a letter to the NLRB judge explaining the free speech interests at stake and asking him to confirm the subpoena is moot. Here's hoping that the judge will bring a quick end to this dangerous skirmish in the News-Press' anti-union campaign.

[EFF: Deep Links]

Political Bloggers May Be Forced to Register.

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 03:21:40 GMT

Political Bloggers May Be Forced to Register. Thebes writes "Under Senate Bill S.1, political bloggers with a readership of over 500 who comment on policy matters or hope to incite 'grassroots' action amongst their readers would be forced to register with the Federal Government as lobbyists." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]Political Bloggers May Be Forced to Register. Thebes writes "Under Senate Bill S.1, political bloggers with a readership of over 500 who comment on policy matters or hope to incite 'grassroots' action amongst their readers would be forced to register with the Federal Government as lobbyists." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

The Return of the Fairness Doctrine?

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 20:52:51 GMT

The Return of the Fairness Doctrine? Slithe writes "Last week at the National Conference for Media Reform, Ohio congressman Dennis Kucinich (a long-shot candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination) stated that the Fairness Doctrine may be reinstated. Kucinich will be heading up a new House subcommittee that will focus on issues around the FCC. The Fairness Doctrine was an FCC regulation that required broadcast media to present controversial issues in an honest, equal, and balanced manner. The FCC repealed it in 1987 -- Democrats at the time tried to forestall this move but were ultimately thwarted by a veto by President Ronald Reagan. Critics of the Fairness Doctrine have stated that it was only used to intimidate and silence political opposition. At the convention, Kucinich said, 'We know the media has become the servant of a very narrow corporate agenda. We are now in a position to move a progressive agenda to where it is visible.'" In the interest of fairness, here is a Republican, free-market perspective on the return of the Fairness Doctrine. [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

2006 Privacy Year in Review. michaelzimmer.org

Sat, 13 Jan 2007 04:31:11 GMT

2006 Privacy Year in Review.

Both CNet and EPIC have released their Privacy Year in Review for 2006.

Some highlights from CNet[base ']s 2006: A privacy and surveillance year in review:

Gonzales: NSA may tap [OE]ordinary[base '] Americans[base '] e-mail (February 6, 2006): During Senate hearing, attorney general declines to offer reassurances about a secret surveillance program.

Judge: Google must give feds limited access to records (March 17, 2006): Privacy-aware ruling says search giant must turn over a swath of indexed URLs[^]but not users[base '] queries.

Appeals court upholds Net-wiretapping rules (June 9, 2006): Bush administration[base ']s Net surveillance plans receive boost from appeals court, which refused to overturn rules.

Feds appeal loss in NSA wiretap case (July 31, 2006): Bush administration asks the 9th Circuit to halt a lawsuit that accuses AT&T of illegally opening its network to the NSA.

AOL[base ']s disturbing glimpse into users[base '] lives (August 7, 2006): Release of three-month search histories of about 650,000 users provides rare glimpse into their private lives.

RFID passports arrive for Americans (August 14, 2006): State Department to begin handing out RFID-equipped passports despite lingering security, privacy concerns.

FBI director wants ISPs to track users (October 17, 2006): Robert Mueller becomes latest Bush administration official to call for ISPs to store customers[base '] data.

FBI taps cell phone mic as eavesdropping tool (December 1, 2006): Agency used novel surveillance technique on alleged Mafioso: activating his cell phone[base ']s microphone and then just listening.

And EPIC[base ']s Top 10 Privacy Stories of 2006:

Millions of Military Records Go Missing: In 2006, a stolen laptop with the records of 27 million American veterans and active duty military personnel gripped the nation and produced Congressional hearings, new legislation, and new policies for government employees who take their work home with them. Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson tried to explain to Congress why it took almost two weeks before he was notified about the missing data which included information on 1.1 million active service members, 430,000 National Guardsmen, 645,000 Reserve members and the names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of about 26 million people, most of them veterans.

Identity Theft Keeps Top Spot: The Federal Trade Commission [michaelzimmer.org]

wikileaks.org

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 03:29:37 GMT

Wikileaks is developing an uncensorable Wikipedia for untraceable mass document leaking and analysis. Our primary interests are oppressive regimes in Asia, the former Soviet bloc, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, but we also expect to be of assistance to those in the west who wish to reveal unethical behavior in their own governments and corporations. We aim for maximum political impact; this means our interface is identical to Wikipedia and usable by non-technical people. We have received over 1.1 million documents so far from dissident communities and anonymous sources.

We believe that transparency in government activities leads to reduced corruption, better government and stronger democracies. Many governments would benefit from increased scrutiny by the world community, as well as their own people. We believe this scrutiny requires information. Historically that information has been costly - in terms of human life and human rights. Wikileaks will facilitate safety in the ethical leaking movement.

Wikileaks opens leaked documents up to a much more exacting scrutiny than any media organization or intelligence agency could provide. Wikileaks will provide a forum for the entire global community to examine any document for credibility, plausibility, veracity and falsifiability. They will be able to interpret documents and explain their relevance to the public. If a document comes from the Chinese government, the entire Chinese dissident community can freely scrutinize and discuss it; if a document arrives from Iran, the entire Farsi community can analyze it and put it in context.

EFF - miniLinks for 2007-01-10.

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 03:15:46 GMT

miniLinks for 2007-01-10.

Sununu: FCC Tech Mandates Must Be Banned
Republican Senator proposes law that would stop broadcast, audio flags in their tracks.

How to Save the Classics
If libraries dump the classics, the real solution is the public domain.

Sealand for Sale
One used crypto-utopia, going cheap.

Studios OK DeCSS on Movie Downloads
Requires new blank DVDs, new burners - and probably reprogramming of the audience's wishes.

Eight Internet Losers in 2006
With the Goodmail furor and its Data Valdez, AOL tops the charts, beating even Senator Stevens.

Face Recognition for Photo Searches Sparks Privacy Fears
Growing concerns over new pattern-matching technologies.

Music Business Set to Relax Digital Restrictions
More indications that DRM has reached its high-tide mark: though the flood damage will take years to fix.

New Lawsuits Challenge Apple's DRM
Antitrust versus DRM.

Ed Felten's World of the (Near) Future
He and his team give their predictions for 2007.

Gerald Ford: Privacy Godfather?
President Ford's mixed attempts to fix privacy in the United States.

Italian Law Mandates Content Blocking
Italian ISPs are required to block sites within six hours of being told to do so -but is that compatible with EU law?

Sony Fined by French Court for DRM Music
Sony's use of its ATRAC DRM on its online music store was an illegal tying practice, says French court.

[EFF: Deep Links]

PrivSec News Briefing (1/9/07).

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 02:27:42 GMT

PrivSec News Briefing (1/9/07).

RFID Strategy -- RFID Privacy And Security Issues: A look at the evolving state of tag security.
By Paul Faber
(Industryweek.com, 1/9/07)

Technology Companies Are Exposed to Security Breach Litigation.
Some Cyber Policies, By Themselves, Can Leave Gaps in Protection
(PRNewswire, 1/8/07)

Airport scanners allow some to skip security lines -- for a price.
By Stephen Majors
(The Associated Press, Published in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, 1/8/07)

Is privacy important?
Posted by Ed Burnette
(zdnet.com, 1/8/07)

Identity bandits.
By Bob Keefe
(Cape Cod Times online, 1/9/07)

Risks unknown for `registered traveler' participants
By Jeff Jonas
(San Jose Mercury News, 1/7/07)

Adapt, Change Or Die: The Sept. 11 Proposals Are Just a Start.
By Tim Roemer
(Washington Post, 1/9/07)

[Privacy and Security Law Blog]

ABC/Disney Shuts Down Blog Exercising Fair Use.

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:11:06 GMT

ABC/Disney Shuts Down Blog Exercising Fair Use. An anonymous reader writes "A blogger named Spocko had his blog shut down by ABC/Disney lawyers because he had posted clips from an ABC Radio-affiliated program and commented on their content, as well as informed show advertisers of what exactly they were paying for. Spocko merely pointed out the content that station KSFO was broadcasting, and as a result Visa pulled their advertising from the station. More companies were reportedly considering pulling their ads. A YouTube video summary is available. From the Daily Kos article: 'How'd he do it? He did it the way it's always done - by working within the law, identifying points of weakness, exploiting them and being absolutely tenacious ... It appears to me as if Disney is attempting to bully a little guy in an unethical manner. Any media lawyer worth the air she breathes knows that Spocko's use was well protected.'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Computers, Freedom and Privacy - Montreal, May 1-4 2007

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 00:41:06 GMT

Come to CFP2007 in Montreal, May 1-4 2007. There's a lot at stake.

Computers, Freedom and Privacy 2007 - Call For Proposals

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 00:37:58 GMT

Call For Proposals - The deadline for proposals is January 20, 2006

The Program Committee of the Seventeenth Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy (CFP2007) seeks your proposals for innovative conference sessions and speakers.

FTC Moves to Unmask Word-of-Mouth Marketing - washingtonpost.com

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 22:09:57 GMT

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday said that companies engaging in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships.

In a staff opinion issued yesterday, the consumer protection agency weighed in for the first time on the practice. Though no accurate figures exist on how much money advertisers spend on such marketing, it is quickly becoming a preferred method for reaching consumers who are skeptical of other forms of advertising.

[...]

As the practice has taken hold over the past several years, however, some advocacy groups have questioned whether marketers are using such tactics to dupe consumers into believing they are getting unbiased information.

In October 2005, Commercial Alert, an advertising and marketing watchdog group in Portland, Ore., petitioned the FTC to consider taking action against word-of-mouth marketers. The group called for the FTC to issue guidelines requiring paid agents to disclose their relationship to the company whose product they are promoting, including any compensation.

The group cited a 2002 Wall Street Journal article on a marketing campaign by Sony Ericsson Mobile for its T68i mobile phone and digital camera. The initiative, called "Fake Tourist," involved placing 60 actors posing as tourists at attractions in New York and Seattle to demonstrate the camera phone. The actors asked passersby to take their photo, which demonstrated the camera phone's capabilities, but the actors did not identify themselves as representatives for Sony Ericsson.

FTC To Investigate 'Viral Marketing' Practices.

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 22:06:33 GMT

FTC To Investigate 'Viral Marketing' Practices. mcflaherty writes "The Federal Trade Commission has stated that it is going to investigate the use of 'Viral Marketing' by corporations. This is the type of advertising that seeks to start a word of mouth campaign for the product via consumers themselves. Previously, consumers themselves set the buzz. But lately advertisement firms are stepping up to the plate themselves, seeding the market with buzz that looks independent of the company, but is in fact funded by them. The crew at Penny Arcade contend that corporate generated buzz is not Viral Marketing, and perhaps Guerrilla Marketing would be a more apt term. Either way, it appears to be a profitable advertising model." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

LiveScience.com - White House Tightens Publishing Rules for USGS Scientists

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 21:57:19 GMT

The Bush administration is clamping down on scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, who study everything from caribou mating to global warming, subjecting them to controls on research that might go against official policy.

New rules require screening of all facts and interpretations by agency scientists. The rules apply to all scientific papers and other public documents, even minor reports or prepared talks, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Top officials at the Interior Department's scientific arm say the rules only standardize what scientists must do to ensure the quality of their work and give a heads-up to the agency's public relations staff.

"This is not about stifling or suppressing our science, or politicizing our science in any way,'' Barbara Wainman, the agency's director of communications, said Wednesday. "I don't have approval authority. What it was designed to do is to improve our product flow.''

Some agency scientists, who until now have felt free from any political interference, worry that the objectivity of their work could be compromised.

"I feel as though we've got someone looking over our shoulder at every damn thing we do. And to me that's a very scary thing. I worry that it borders on censorship,'' said Jim Estes, an internationally recognized marine biologist who works for the geological unit. "The explanation was that this was intended to ensure the highest possible quality research,'' said Estes, a researcher at the agency for more than 30 years. "But to me it feels like they're doing this to keep us under their thumbs. It seems like they're afraid of science. Our findings could be embarrassing to the administration.''

The new requirements state that the USGS's communications office must be "alerted about information products containing high-visibility topics or topics of a policy-sensitive nature.''

The agency's director, Mark Myers, and its communications office also must be told -- prior to any submission for publication -- "of findings or data that may be especially newsworthy, have an impact on government policy, or contradict previous public understanding to ensure that proper officials are notified and that communication strategies are developed.''

White House Clamps Down On USGS Publishing.

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 21:54:50 GMT

White House Clamps Down On USGS Publishing. An anonymous reader writes "The White House has begun implementing a new policy toward the U.S. Geological Survey, in which all scientific papers and other public documents by USGS scientists must be screened for content. The USGS communications office must now be 'alerted about information products containing high-visibility topics or topics of a policy-sensitive nature.' Subjects fitting this description might include global warming, or research on the effects of oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Information Commissioner names and shames newspapers.

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:31:09 GMT

Information Commissioner names and shames newspapers.

'Lawbreaking' newspapers outed

The Information Commissioner will today name and shame the newspapers he says are breaking the law in their pursuit of stories. Richard Thomas has published a report to Parliament on information theft which contains a league table of alleged offenders.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Jailed media worldwide hits record: U.S. watchdog - Reuters.com

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:21:51 GMT

The number of journalists jailed worldwide for their work rose for the second year with Internet bloggers and online reporters now one third of those incarcerated, a U.S.-based media watchdog said on Thursday.

A Committee to Protect Journalists census found that a record 134 journalists were in jail on December 1 -- an increase of nine from the 2005 tally -- in 24 countries with China, Cuba, Eritrea and Ethiopia the top four nations to imprison media.

While print reporters, editors and photographers again made up the largest number of jailed journalists -- with 67 cases -- there were 49 imprisoned Internet journalists, making them the second biggest category, the New York-based committee said.

"We're at a crucial juncture in the fight for press freedom because authoritarian states have made the Internet a major front in their effort to control information," Committee Executive Director Joel Simon said in a statement.

"China is challenging the notion that the Internet is impossible to control or censor, and if it succeeds there will be far-ranging implications, not only for the medium but for press freedom all over the world."

Online Media Representatives Face Jail.

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 15:17:12 GMT

Online Media Representatives Face Jail. OSDNBoss writes "According to the US Watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists a total of 134 journalists were in jail on December 1, 49 of which were Internet journalists. China leads the way with the highest number in jail. I'm sure the censors have already blocked Slashdot and other news and opinion sites in the countries mentioned. It begs the question, however, as the blogosphere grows are online journalists and editors more or less protected than their print and TV counterparts?" From the article: "China is challenging the notion that the Internet is impossible to control or censor, and if it succeeds there will be far-ranging implications, not only for the medium but for press freedom all over the world." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Google Earth Boosts Social Activism in Bahrain.

Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:17:21 GMT

Google Earth Boosts Social Activism in Bahrain.

A student (thanks, Gui!) pointed me to this Financial Times story about how Google Earth is fueling the push towards a more egalitarian society now that poorer citizens can spy on the massive and extravagant properties of the wealthier class:

The site allows internet users to view satellite images of the world in varying degrees of detail. When Google updated its images of Bahrain to higher definition, cyber-activists seized on the view it gave of estates and private islands belonging to the ruling al-Khalifa family to highlight the inequity of land distribution in the tiny Gulf kingdom.

[sigma]activists claim that 80 per cent of the island has been carved up between royals and other private landlords, while much of the rest of the population faces an acute housing shortage.

[sigma][base ']ÄúSome of the palaces take up more space than three or four villages nearby and block access to the sea for fishermen. People knew this already. But they never saw it. All they saw were the surrounding walls,[base ']Äù said Mr Yousif, who is seen in Bahrain as the grandfather of its blogging community.

He and other activists believe creative use of the internet [base ']Äì connectivity in Bahrain is among the highest in the Arab world [base ']Äì is forcing the country to confront awkward realities and will speed the march towards a more egalitarian society.

In reaction, the ruling Bahrainian government has attempted to block access to Google Earth, but activists (as they usually do) have found a work-around:

[sigma]most subscribers in Bah¬[not equal]rain have downloaded free software [base ']Äì partly thanks to technical advice on his own site [base ']Äì enabling them to mask their location and access censored sites. Echoing that, Najeel Rajab, the director of the banned Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, says since his organisation[base ']Äôs site was blocked two weeks ago the number of visitors has trebled.

And even those with slower connections have found ways to participate:

For those with insufficient bandwidth to access Google Earth, a PDF file with dozens of downloaded images of royal estates has been circulated anonymously by e-mail. Mr Yousif, among others, initially encouraged web users to post images on photo-sharing websites.

More at Boing Boing and Ogle Earth.

[michaelzimmer.org]

(IN)SECURE Magazine Issue 8.

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:39:26 GMT

(IN)SECURE Magazine Issue 8. Articles in this issue include: Payment Card Industry demystified, Skype: how safe is it?, Computer forensics vs. electronic evidence, Review: Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner, SSH port forwarding - security from two perspectives, part two, Log management in PCI compliance, Airscanner vulnerability summary: Windows Mobile security software fails the test, Proactive protection: a panacea for viruses?, Introducing the MySQL Sandbox and Continuous protection of enterprise data: a comprehensive approach [(IN)SECURE Magazine Notifications RSS]

(IN)SECURE Magazine Issue 9.

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 18:37:36 GMT

(IN)SECURE Magazine Issue 9. Articles in this issue include: Effectiveness of security by admonition: a case study of security warnings in a web browser setting, Interview with Kurt Sauer, CSO at Skype, Web 2.0 defense with AJAX fingerprinting and filtering, Hack In The Box Security Conference 2006, Where iSCSI fits in enterprise storage networking, Recovering user passwords from cached domain records, Do portable storage solutions compromise business security?, Enterprise data security - a case study and Creating business through virtual trust: how to gain and sustain a competitive advantage using information security. [(IN)SECURE Magazine Notifications RSS]

Excellent Election Day Law FAQ For Online Journalists.

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 01:32:53 GMT

Excellent Election Day Law FAQ For Online Journalists.

In collaboration with the Center for Citizen Media, the Stanford Center for Internet Society has published an excellent election day law FAQ, including information on taking photos or videos at polling places. Check it out here and here, and stay tuned to that blog for more answers to your questions.

[EFF: Deep Links]

Reports note that US ranks near the bottom for privacy protection, on par with Russia, China, and Malaysia -- and also is flunking on press freedoms

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 01:22:00 GMT

Reports note that US ranks near the bottom for privacy protection, on par with Russia, China, and Malaysia -- and also is flunking on press freedoms. Posted by Bruce E.H. JohnsonPrivacy International has issued its annual Privacy and Human Rights Study analyzing privacy protections around the world. The study ranks the United States near the bottom for privacy protections, calling it an "extensive surveillance society." In failing to... [Privacy and Security Law Blog]

China: We don't censor the Internet. Really | CNET News.com

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 18:24:18 GMT

ATHENS, Greece--While many countries block off some Web sites, China has long drawn heightened scrutiny because of the breadth and sophistication of its Internet censorship

Which is why it came as a surprise on Tuesday when a Chinese government official claimed at a United Nations summit here that no Net censorship existed at all.

The only problem: Few cases of Net censorship are as carefully and publicly documented as the Great Firewall of China. A study by researchers at Harvard Law School found 19,032 Web sites that were inaccessible inside China.

A report from a consortium of British, American and Canadian universities concluded: "China's Internet-filtering regime is the most sophisticated effort of its kind in the world. Compared to similar efforts in other states, China's filtering regime is pervasive, sophisticated and effective."

In fact, Google has cited China's intermittent blocking of Google.com as the primary factor in the company's creation of the Google.cn censored search site.

China - We Don't Censor the Internet.

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 18:17:18 GMT

China - We Don't Censor the Internet. kaufmanmoore writes "A Chinese government official at a United Nations summit in Athens on internet governance has claimed that no Net censorship exists at all in China. The article includes an exchange by a Chinese government official and a BBC reporter over the blocking of the BBC in China." --- From the article: "I don't think we should be using different standards to judge China. In China, we don't have software blocking Internet sites. Sometimes we have trouble accessing them. But that's a different problem. I know that some colleagues listen to the BBC in their offices from the Webcast. And I've heard people say that the BBC is not available in China or that it's blocked. I'm sure I don't know why people say this kind of thing. We do not have restrictions at all." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

The Chicks, NBC and Net Neutrality.

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 03:38:31 GMT

The Chicks, NBC and Net Neutrality.

As a matter of general principle, we at PK don[base ']t get into media ownership issues. There are plenty of fine folks engaged in those issues, such as our friends at Free Press and the Media Access Project.

On the other hand, we are involved in the Net Neutrality issue as you know, and a current controversy has valuable lessons in both policy areas.

According to news reports, NBC won[base ']t air a commercial for the documentary, [base "]Shut Up and Sing[per thou] about the experiences of the Dixie Chicks following lead singer Natalie Maines[base '] comments in 2003 right before the start of the Iraq war. The reason, according to the Weinstein Company, which distributes the film, is that the film contains material [base "]that disparages President Bush.[per thou] At a concert in London, Maines said she was ashamed that President Bush was from Texas, setting off a firestorm of controversy, criticism and even generating death threats.

There is the obvious irony of a film about the consequences of free speech being suppressed. But here in the media policy world, the implications go a little farther. First, as broadcasters try to extend their reach by having what little regulation is left on their ability to own even more stations lifted, this heavy-handed approach won[base ']t serve their purposes. It may curry favor with the Bush Administration in the short term, but also will give powerful ammunition to those, like FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein, and some on Capitol Hill who question the control of so many media outlets by so few companies.

[Public Knowledge - Policy Blog]

A New Campaign Tactic: Manipulating Google Data - New York Times

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 20:33:23 GMT

Fifty or so other Republican candidates have also been made targets in a sophisticated "Google bombing" campaign intended to game the search engine's ranking algorithms. By flooding the Web with references to the candidates and repeatedly cross-linking to specific articles and sites on the Web, it is possible to take advantage of Google's formula and force those articles to the top of the list of search results.

The project was originally aimed at 70 Republican candidates but was scaled back to roughly 50 because Chris Bowers, who conceived it, thought some of the negative articles too partisan.

The articles to be used "had to come from news sources that would be widely trusted in the given district," said Mr. Bowers, a contributor at MyDD.com (Direct Democracy), a liberal group blog. "We wanted actual news reports so it would be clear that we weren't making anything up."

Each name is associated with one article. Those articles are embedded in hyperlinks that are now being distributed widely among the left-leaning blogosphere. In an entry at MyDD.com this week, Mr. Bowers said: "When you discuss any of these races in the future, please, use the same embedded hyperlink when reprinting the Republican's name. Then, I suppose, we will see what happens."

Dangerous Terms in MS Vista's EULA

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 04:16:32 GMT

Dangerous Terms in MS Vista's EULA.

Before clicking the "I Agree" button that accompanies software products' dense End User License Agreements (EULA), it's always best to check with Infoworld's Ed Foster first. He is unrelenting in his careful criticisms of EULAs, and, this week, he takes on a section of Microsoft Vista's EULA that aims to stifle the speech of product reviewers and critics. He writes:

"[I]f Microsoft has the right to put even the mildest of restrictions on a consumer's rights to comment on their products, why can't a carmaker or an appliance manufacturer have a censorship clause hidden somewhere on their website? There is nothing is copyright law that gives software publishers the right to restrict the rights of their customers to criticize their products."

Last week, Brooklyn Law School Professor and former EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer highlighted a number of other dangerous terms in Vista's EULA. For a user's guide to EULAs, read EFF's white paper.

[EFF: Deep Links]

US publishers say Child Online Protection Act should be struck down.

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 22:06:07 GMT

US publishers say Child Online Protection Act should be struck down.

COPA non grata

A group of US online publishers and a lobby group is taking the Government to court to challenge an eight-year-old law which it says amounts to censorship of the internet. The challenge is to the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which became law in 1998.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Slashdot | Unisys Targets Just 20 Execs With Ad Campaign

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 20:56:55 GMT

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes, "Security company Unisys is taking niche marketing to a new level, aiming ads at about 20 top executives, delivering custom-covered issues of their Fortune magazine subscriptions, and even placing billboards where these individuals will be likely to see them, the Wall Street Journal reports." ---- From the article: "If an executive flips over the mock Fortune cover, he or she will discover a letter -- also individually tailored -- from a senior Unisys manager describing challenges in the target's specific industry. The Fortune 'cover wraps' also offer personalized Web addresses, where the executives can find mock news videos that mention their names and tell how they achieved business success. To reinforce the message, Unisys is placing billboards and outdoor signs -- albeit without information-chief portraits -- close to the executives' offices. Some ads will even appear on video screens in the elevators of their office buildings."Carl Bialik from WSJ writes, "Security company Unisys is taking niche marketing to a new level, aiming ads at about 20 top executives, delivering custom-covered issues of their Fortune magazine subscriptions, and even placing billboards where these individuals will be likely to see them, the Wall Street Journal reports." ---- From the article: "If an executive flips over the mock Fortune cover, he or she will discover a letter -- also individually tailored -- from a senior Unisys manager describing challenges in the target's specific industry. The Fortune 'cover wraps' also offer personalized Web addresses, where the executives can find mock news videos that mention their names and tell how they achieved business success. To reinforce the message, Unisys is placing billboards and outdoor signs -- albeit without information-chief portraits -- close to the executives' offices. Some ads will even appear on video screens in the elevators of their office buildings."

Slashdot | Unisys Targets Just 20 Execs With Ad Campaign

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 20:56:23 GMT

Slashdot | FCC Commissioner Stumps For Media Diversity

Wed, 25 Oct 2006 20:41:16 GMT

maynard writes, "Speaking at a New York City town hall meeting on corporate media consolidation and its deleterious impact on the expression of minority viewpoints, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps stumped against greater media concentration and instead argued for greater diversity of media outlets and voices. In 2003 the FCC, under Chairman Michael Powell, changed media ownership rules to favor greater corporate media consolidation at the expense of local owners. In an attempt to reverse totally the prior FCC policy, Mr. Copps argued strongly in favor of independent media owners. Read on for what he had to say.

Software Being Developed to Monitor Opinions of U.S. - New York Times

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 03:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 -- A consortium of major universities, using Homeland Security Department money, is developing software that would let the government monitor negative opinions of the United States or its leaders in newspapers and other publications overseas.

Such a "sentiment analysis" is intended to identify potential threats to the nation, security officials said.

Researchers at institutions including Cornell, the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Utah intend to test the system on hundreds of articles published in 2001 and 2002 on topics like President Bush's use of the term "axis of evil," the handling of detainees at GuantÃ¡namo Bay, the debate over global warming and the coup attempt against President Hugo ChÃ¡vez of Venezuela.

A $2.4 million grant will finance the research over three years.

Moyers on Net Neutrality.

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 02:41:51 GMT

Moyers on Net Neutrality.

Bill Moyers has a 90-minute documentary on Net Neutrality that will air over Public Broadcasting Service stations on Tuesday evening, Oct. 18. Check your local listings for time.

Here[base ']s a link to the (show:) [http://www.pbs.org/moyers/moyersonamerica/net/index.html], called [base "]The Net at Risk.[per thou] Watch the preview, and you can get a feel for the show.

Moyers and his staff held an online chat this afternoon to talk about the show. The first hour will be a look at the struggles over the issue at the federal and state levels. The last half-hour will focus on how low-power radio stations kept information flowing in the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina at a time when commercial stations were shut down.

Moyers said in the chat that while there[base ']s a great deal of public support for an open Internet, large campaign contributions have prevented Congress from acting, much as such contributions have contributed on a variety of other issues. Moyers noted that over time, each new medium has been promised to enlighten the public and further the goals of democracy, whether the medium was radio, TV or cable. Today, however, those are all controlled [base "]by commercial and corporate interests.[per thou] He warned that, [base "]If past is prelude, we shouldn[base ']t be sanguine about the Internet because large economic interests can move the agenda to benefit their interest and purposes.[per thou]

[Public Knowledge - Policy Blog]

Not Necessarily the Newsweek. (US cover ignores issue)

Fri, 29 Sep 2006 00:25:32 GMT

Not Necessarily the Newsweek.

Newsweek is doing its part to keep Americans up-do-date on the important news of the world. Here are the covers from three global editions of the current issue, followed by the American version:

[...] follow link to get pictures of the covers [...]

I[base ']m not too worried about mis-information, though, since I[base ']m sure most Americans are watching TV instead of reading anyway[sigma]

[via Discourse.net]

[michaelzimmer.org]

Thailand faces media clampdown.

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 17:13:44 GMT

Thailand faces media clampdown.

No news is not good news

Thai radio, television and internet operators will from tomorrow face closure if they disseminate "news and comments deemed a threat to national security and the monarchy", Reuters reports.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

HP's harsh techniques.

Wed, 20 Sep 2006 19:13:16 GMT

HP's harsh techniques.

HP's hired guns did more than just fraudulently access phone records of its directors, employees, and journalists and send tracking bugs to reporters via email, they also took to data-mining those emails, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

In an ironic twist, the HP investigators also checked the phone records of Carly Fiorina, the Palo Alto company's former chief executive officer who played a critical role in initiating the probe shortly before her ouster in 2005.

HP investigators collected and analyzed thousands of e-mails and phone records, including those of its executive council members. They also sent e-mails embedded with software that could pinpoint addresses where the messages were eventually forwarded, the source said.

In a more traditional avenue of inquiry, the investigative team analyzed news reports, comparing quotes from unnamed sources with the language typically used by the company's directors.

The revelations show that the HP probe, which has engulfed one of Silicon Valley's premier companies in a major scandal, was a sophisticated operation with many people involved. The legal repercussions of the investigation, if any, remain unclear, although several investigations are pending with criminal proceedings among the possible outcomes.

A HP spokesperson defended the practice.

"As more high-ranking leakers are identified, the need to obtain intelligence from them will remain critical," the spokesperson said. "And having a HP program for questioning leakers will continue to be crucial to getting company-saving information."

The spokesperson said HP had never authorized fraud but indicated that aggressive spying techniques short of fraud remained important tools in the company's efforts to combat journalism.

"I cannot describe the specific methods used. I think you understand why," he said. "If I did, it would help the journalists and leakers learn how to resist questioning, and to keep information from us that we need to prevent new leaks on our company. But I can say the procedures were tough, and they were safe and lawful and necessary."

Note: These are not real quotes. They are plays off quotes from this New York Times article about torture and the Geneva Convention.

[27B Stroke 6]

firstamendmentcenter.org: Former FCC lawyer: Media study was destroyed

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 04:48:37 GMT

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission ordered its staff to destroy all copies of a draft study that suggested greater concentration of media ownership would hurt local TV news coverage, a former lawyer at the agency says.

The report, written in 2004, came to light Sept. 12 during the Senate confirmation hearing for FCC Chairman Kevin Martin.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. received a copy of the report "indirectly from someone within the FCC who believed the information should be made public," according to Boxer spokeswoman Natalie Ravitz.

Adam Candeub, now a law professor at Michigan State University, said senior managers at the agency ordered that "every last piece" of the report be destroyed. "The whole project was just stopped -- end of discussion," he said. Candeub was a lawyer in the FCC's Media Bureau at the time the report was written and communicated frequently with its authors, he said.

Boxer last night asked the FCC to begin a formal investigation into why the report was never circulated. In the letter, Boxer asked the FCC's Office of Inspector General "to conduct an independent investigation into who suppressed this report."

Beijing Big Brother gets bigger.

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:54:10 GMT

Beijing Big Brother gets bigger.

New laws tighten grip on media, technology

Beijing today attempted to defend sweeping new powers which gag foreign media and bar citizens from subscribing to news from abroad. The laws were published Sunday and went into effect immediately.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Podcasters, Help Stop the Broadcasting Treaty!

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:52:00 GMT

Podcasters, Help Stop the Broadcasting Treaty!

If adopted, the WIPO Broadcasting Treaty would lockdown your digital media devices and grant to broadcasters and cablecasters broad new IP-like rights over anything they transmit. That's bad enough, but some countries at WIPO have also supported expanding the treaty to cover various Internet transmissions.

While many prominent webcasters have already spoken out about the treaty, podcasters also should make their voices heard. If you're a podcaster, read this joint statement to WIPO opposing the treaty and write to podcastersandwipo@eff.org to sign on.

[EFF: Deep Links]

Required Reading for Product Reviewers.

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:50:04 GMT

Required Reading for Product Reviewers.

CDT has published a white paper setting out criteria on which DRM-restricted products and services should be judged. The paper should be required reading for every product reviewer who evaluates digital media products and services, suggesting specific questions that reviewers should be asking when examining DRM-restricted offerings.

Too many product reviews fail to mention DRM restrictions (where were the reviewers when Sony-BMG's rootkit CDs showed up?), much less test and evaluate DRM-laden products against unrestricted alternatives (for example, comparing DRM-laden products like TiVo against unrestricted alternatives like MythTV).

The point is not to rail against DRM, but rather to inform potential customers so that they can make an informed buying decision. Of course, this will require that reviewers do their homework, since the press release and product manual likely won't describe what the product has been designed not to do. But asking manufacturers hard questions is what we pay reviewers to do for us. (And some of them have been doing a great job, like The Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro and Wired's Eliot Van Buskirk.)

There are a few places where CDT pulls its punches (failing to mention that DRM is often used to force us to pay a second time for media we've already bought once) and others where it falls prey to the Hollywood propaganda machine (pretending that DVD ripping is rare when DVD Shrink and Handbrake are being reviewed in places like PC Magazine and MacWorld). But overall, the paper is a timely clarion call. I hope the product reviewers and their editors are paying attention.

[EFF: Deep Links]

New Site Educates Political Speakers About Their Rights Online.

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:46:30 GMT

New Site Educates Political Speakers About Their Rights Online. The vast majority of political speech by individuals on the Internet is fully protected by the law and carries no risk of violating campaign finance rules. That is the key message of NetDemocracyGuide.org, a new Web site created by the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) to educate Internet users about their rights and obligations under campaign finance law. Developed with the support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, NetDemocracyGuide.org makes it easy for bloggers and other citizen activists to quickly understand the new campaign finance rules, and how those rules apply to them. [Center for Democracy and Technology]

The More Mainstream Media Covers Craigslist Attack.

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:43:27 GMT

The More Mainstream Media Covers Craigslist Attack.
The AP's Internet correspondent Anick Jesdanun covers Jason Fortuny's sociopathic publication of the personal information and photos of more than 150 men who responded to a fake, sexually explicit Craig's List posting:

"It's a sad commentary overall," said Lauren Weinstein, a veteran computer scientist and privacy advocate. "It's one of those situations where both sides look bad. ... From an ethical standpoint, this isn't brain surgery." [...]

In this case, however, the men who replied to Fortuny's posting did not appear to be doing anything illegal, so the outing has no social value other than to prove that someone could ruin lives online, said Jonathan Zittrain, a law professor at Oxford and Harvard universities.

Whether Fortuny violated any laws is less clear, he said.

"It's one of those questions that could find its way onto a law school exam because it is comparatively new territory," Zittrain said. [...]

Fortuny's liability under Washington state law, [Kurt Opsahl, staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation] said, rests on whether the disclosures are of legitimate concern to the public.

The Register's Andrew Orlowski strings together a few Slashdot postings and says I climbed on the "tallest horse in the world" I could find to object to Fortuny's attack (Actually Andrew, I'm a modern guy, I got on the tallest bike I could find.)

There's a sense that what prompts much of the outrage isn't simply the privacy breach - and Fortuny may have been as successful in drawing attention to the brittle nature of privacy as any campaign by the ACLU, whatever you may think of his methods. One wonders if some of the outrage is stimulated by the brutal fact that computer networks aren't the idyllic, utopian playground some imagine them to be.

The BBC's Bill Thompson puts Fortuny's stunt in context with some other recent privacy outrages in his column.

[Fortuny] has acted in a despicable manner, and deserves whatever legal action is coming his way. He also deserves to be ostracised by the online communities he was so clearly seeking to impress.

We didn't need to know about his experiment to understand that the net creates new possibilities for public exposure. And we certainly don't need to give Fortuny credit for his cheap trick.

After all, this was the week in which Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg apologised publicly for messing with his users' privacy and getting it wrong at the massively popular social networking site he created.

And Seattle P-I columnist Robert L. Jamieson, Jr. adds:

On Monday I spoke with a man who said that his name, phone and e-mail had been posted without his knowledge.

The man said he never replied to the Craigslist sex ad, suggesting someone else -- a stranger? Fortuny? -- got hold of his personal information and used it against him.

This certainly wouldn't be an Internet first.

"I'm not very happy," the man said.

"This is a nasty joke."

You have to wonder if what Fortuny just did is such a big crack-up, why so few are laughing.

And don't forget to stop by Upcoming.org founder Andy Baio's blog, Waxy.org, which had the first real story on this.

Photo: Doviende

[27B Stroke 6]

MySpace = Spam 2.0?

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:39:35 GMT

MySpace = Spam 2.0?

Trent Lapinski, a freelance writer, was hired to write an expos[radical]© about MySpace, but apparently News Corp threatened to sue his publisher if they ran the story. Instead, Lapinski sold his story to Valleywag, who decided to publish it despite the threat of legal action. Why doesn[base ']t News Corp want it published? Probably becuase Lapinski concludes that MySpace is nothing but the next generation of spyware & spam: Spam 2.0. Here[base ']s excerpts from the condensed version:

1. MySpace is NOT a viral success. MySpace was advertised on mass levels to reach the public. MySpace was created by a company named eUniverse (who later changed their name to Intermix Media). eUniverse was a marketing and entertainment company who had over 50 million e-mail addresses in their databases, as well as over 18 million monthly web users. eUniverse leveraged their resources to proliferate and advertise MySpace.com. eUniverse went as far as telling 3 million users of their paid dating website, CupidJunction.com, to sign up for free MySpace accounts. (CupidJunction message screenshot)

2. MySpace.com is Spam 2.0. MySpace has spawned an incredibly successful twist on the age-old art of self-promotion, allowing[^]even encouraging[^]the marketing of everything from bands to businesses on their site. Essentially, they[base ']ve opened up a channel through which to solicit and promote everyone and everything, most importantly the individual. The whole site is, in essence, a marketing tool that everyone who registers has access to. Users constantly receive spam-like messages from said bands, business, and individuals looking to add more [base "]friends[per thou] (and therefore more potential fans, consumers, or witnesses) to their online identity. A testament to this strange new social paradigm is the phrase [base "]Thanks for the Add,[per thou] a nicety offered when one MySpace user adds another as a friend. Best yet, to use the site, members must log in, causing them to inadvertently view advertisements, and then read their messages on a page with even more advertisements. In the world of MySpace, Spam is earth, air, fire, and water.

Lapinksi also concludes that 3) Tom Anderson did not create MySpace, 4) MySpace[base ']s CEO Chris DeWolfe is connected to a past of spam, and 5) MySpace was a direct assault on Friendster.com.

This apparent connection between MySpace and spam should not be too surprising, and also explains Facebook[base ']s recent decision to expand their user base beyond the halls of education. I[base ']m sure these examples of the corporatization of social networks will be discussed in detail at the Critical Perspectives on Social Software and Web 2.0 seminar in Denmark next month.

[via Search Engine Journal]

[michaelzimmer.org]

Democrats Call NSA's Input To Senate Panel Inappropriate - washingtonpost.com

Thu, 14 Sep 2006 18:31:42 GMT

Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee are complaining that the National Security Agency has played politics in support of the secret program to intercept phone calls between alleged terrorists in the United States and abroad.

On July 27, shortly after most members of the committee were briefed on the controversial surveillance program, the NSA supplied the panel's chairman, Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), with "a set of administration approved, unclassified talking points for the members to use," as described in the document.

Among the talking points were "subjective statements that appear intended to advance a particular policy view and present certain facts in the best possible light," Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) said in a letter to the NSA director.

The cleared statements included "I can say the program must continue" and "There is strict oversight in place . . . now including the full congressional intelligence committees," as well as "Current law is not agile enough to handle the threat posed by sophisticated international terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda" and "The FISA should be amended so that it is technologically neutral." FISA refers to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the current law.

Rockefeller and six Democrats on the panel wrote Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, the NSA's director, on Aug. 29 that they believed those statements "appear intended to advocate particular policies rather than provide guidance on classification." The letter added: "We believe that it is inappropriate for the NSA to insert itself into this policy debate."

Alexander had earlier told Rockefeller that the talking points were in response to requests from more than one committee Democrat for guidance as to what could be said publicly as the policy debate began over what should be done with the program.

One element particularly troubling to the Democrats was the statement that there was "strict" congressional oversight of the program, because, as one senior Democrat said yesterday, committee members are still awaiting requested documents such as the original authorization by President Bush that initiated the program.

China to Control Reports of Foreign News Agencies.

Tue, 12 Sep 2006 17:06:47 GMT

China to Control Reports of Foreign News Agencies. afa writes "According to Xinhuanet.com, Xinhua News Agency on Sunday promulgated a set of measures to regulate the release of news and information in China by foreign news agencies. From the article: 'Where a foreign news agency violates the Measures in one of the following manners, Xinhua News Agency shall give it a warning, demand rectification within a prescribed time limit, suspend its release of specified content, suspend or cancel its qualifications of a foreign news agency for releasing news and information in China, on the merits of each case.'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Reporters' Phone Records Accessed in HP Probe.

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 18:43:12 GMT

Reporters' Phone Records Accessed in HP Probe. CNET reporter confirms her family's home phone records accessed without her permission. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

Reporters' records hacked in HP probe | CNET News.com

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 03:37:28 GMT

Two CNET News.com reporters' personal telephone records were accessed by a contractor hired by Hewlett-Packard to uncover the source of boardroom leaks to the media, according to the California attorney general's office.

The investigation conducted by a company hired by HP used a controversial technique called "pretexting" to obtain the personal phone records of reporters Dawn Kawamoto and Tom Krazit, state prosecutors said. Pretexting is a sometimes-illegal method of obtaining personal records through misrepresentation of someone's identity.

Times Withholds Web Article in Britain - New York Times

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 00:27:55 GMT

If Web readers in Britain were intrigued by the headline "Details Emerge in British Terror Case," which sat on top of The New York Times's home page much of yesterday, they would have been disappointed with a click.

"On advice of legal counsel, this article is unavailable to readers of nytimes.com in Britain," is the message they would have seen. "This arises from the requirement in British law that prohibits publication of prejudicial information about the defendants prior to trial."

In adapting technology intended for targeted advertising to keep the article out of Britain, The Times addressed one of the concerns of news organizations publishing online: how to avoid running afoul of local publishing laws.

"I think we have to take every case on its own facts," said George Freeman, vice president and assistant general counsel of The New York Times Company. "But we're dealing with a country that, while it doesn't have a First Amendment, it does have a free press, and it's our position that we ought to respect that country's laws."

Target Advertising Used to Censor NY Times Article.

Wed, 30 Aug 2006 00:25:53 GMT

Target Advertising Used to Censor NY Times Article. avtchillsboro writes to tell us The New York Times has adapted technology usually used for targeted advertising to censor a recent article from British viewers in an attempt to comply with local publishing rules. The New York Times explained that this move "arises from the requirement in British law that prohibits publication of prejudicial information about the defendants prior to trial." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Refuse to be Terrorized.

Thu, 24 Aug 2006 21:06:37 GMT

Refuse to be Terrorized. Arresting would-be attackers becomes a pyrrhic victory if politicians and the media spread fear on the terrorists' behalf. Commentary by Bruce Schneier. [Wired News: Security Blanket]

The Practical Nomad blog: What's on the horizon in travel security/surveillance?

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 18:00:22 GMT

I've spent a lot of time this week answering questions from other journalists about every aspect of air travel, from the most significant to the most mundane. Here's a sampling:

EFF - miniLinks for 2006-08-08.

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 19:24:40 GMT

miniLinks for 2006-08-08.

[ Since the dawn of history, EFF has been running a summary of news links from around the Web, both as a section in our regular newsletter EFFector, and as a mini-blog on our website. These days, many sites have rolled their own "linklogs" into their main blog feed, so we thought we'd do the same. If you've been subscribed to the miniLinks RSS feed, you might want to switch to DeepLinks (RSS feed here), where you'll find miniLinks now continuing as a regular feature. We'll be dropping updates of the separate miniLinks feed shortly.]

Going Digital
Warner announced that 11% of their sales are digital...

Kicking and Screaming
... even as they still persist in suing P2P tech companies.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Praised
Beth Givens gets some exposure on her excellent privacy work...

Not that Kind of Privacy Clearinghouse
...while AOL Research releases twenty million searches by over 500,000 users.

Cybercrime Treaty Passed
The treaty allows the global application of other nation's online surveillance laws -

Hong Kong Passes New Spying Law
Allowing, one day, the harmonization of Chinese and USA surveillance regimes?

A Five Minute Guide Against DRM
Linux Journal gives unvarnished arguments against digital rights management.

Committee offers Brochure to Sell Telecoms Bill
While the Senate provides (then hastily hides) a glamorous brochure for its DRM-laden Telecoms bill.

Copyrighting Fashion
- perhaps in preparation for copyright hitting the fashion industry?

Netting Net Neutrality
Hacking the Net Neutrality debate, Dan Kaminsky premieres a tool at DEFCON to detect content-biased networks.

First to File, Last to Pass
The latest Leahy-Hatch Patent Bill takes yet another look at patent reform.

Single Laugh Licensing
Meanwhile, IP lawyers show comedians how to sue over joke infringement.

[EFF: Deep Links]