EFFector Vol. 23, No. 07 March 19, 2010 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired change. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : In our 530th issue: * EFF CELEBRATES SUNSHINE WEEK, a national initiative to highlight the importance of government transparency and freedom of information. On Thursday, EFF urged the White House to fulfill its promises for open government during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee meeting on open government. In addition, EFF has posted a fascinating comparison of a censored FBI document and the uncensored version of the same FBI document, highlighting the Bureau's attempts to keep information under wraps even as EFF (and other government agencies!) fight for oversight and accountability. For more about the redacted FBI documents: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/sunshine-week-2010 For the side-by-side comparison: http://www.eff.org/pages/sunshine2010 For more about our congressional testimony: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/eff-testifies-congress-transparency-tells * EFF IS DEMANDING BETTER PRIVACY PROTECTIONS FOR ENERGY CUSTOMERS RECEIVING "SMART METERS," new devices that measure your home's energy use in unprecedented detail. Energy usage data, measured moment by moment, allows the reconstruction of a household's activities: when people wake up, when they come home, when they go on vacation, and maybe even when they take a hot bath. Without strong protections, this information can and will be secured by civil litigants (like divorce lawyers or insurance companies), criminals, law enforcement, and more. The states and the federal government should ensure that energy customers get the protection they deserve at their homes -- where privacy rights should be strongest. For more about smart meters and privacy: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/new-smart-meters-energy-use-put-privacy-risk * EFF BUSTED APPLE'S GAG ON IPHONE DEVELOPERS by making a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to NASA, which responded with a relevant version of the "iPhone Developer Program License Agreement." The content is troubling and provides some background to the hotly circulated statement from programmer Tim Bray about the iPhone platform: "It's a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord's pleasure and fear his anger." For the troubling provisions of the iPhone developer agreement: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/iphone-developer-program-license-agreement-all : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF Updates * Thousands Petition FCC: "Remove the Copyright Loophole" More than 7000 individuals echoed EFF's concerns that the "reasonable network management" loophole could allow overbroad copyright enforcement to target lawful applications. http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/03/04 * Government Investigations of Your Online Data EFF asked the government for information about how law enforcement agencies use social networking sites to gather information in investigations. So far, we've seen some interesting documents from the IRS and the Justice Department. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/eff-posts-documents-detailing-law-enforcement * Wiring Up the Big Brother Machine... And Fighting It AT&T; whistleblower Mark Klein's journey, from quiet cubicle technician to personal enemy of the White House and Pentagon, is amazing, moving and eerie. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/wiring-big-brother-machine * EFF Protects Anonymity of Online Critic A candidate for public office in Illinois wants to uncover the identity of an anonymous critic who spoke out on a local newspaper's website -- but anonymity is a key aspect of free speech and is protected by the First Amendment. http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/03/15-1 * Better U.S. Net Rules for Iran, Cuba and Syria The regulations implementing United States sanctions against Cuba, Iran and Sudan are now more clear in allowing freedom-enhancing Internet communication services, like email, instant messaging, and Twitter, to be provided overseas. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/better-u-s-net-rules-iran-cuba-and-syria * Federal Intellectual Property Enforcement Gears Up The Obama Administration has been giving a lot of attention to the interests of the entertainment industry and little attention to the public good. EFF and others want to see more balance. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/fed-ip-enforcement-gears-up * Unintended Consequences: 12 Years Under the DMCA The report aims to catalog instances where the DMCA's ban on tampering with DRM has been abused to stymie fair use, free speech, and competition, rather than to address so-called "piracy." http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/unintended-consequences-12-years-under-dmca * YouTube's Content ID (C)ensorship Problem Illustrated Poor design decisions in YouTube's "Content ID" system have resulted in the over-blocking of videos that remix copyrighted materials -- this time targeting a lecture by Professor Larry Lessig about the cultural importance of remix creativity. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/03/youtubes-content-id-c-ensorship-problem * Italy's Personal Attack on Intermediary Liability An Italian magistrate convicted three Google employees for an Internet video that none of them had produced, uploaded, or even seen, providing a powerful example of the increasing pressure on "Internet intermediaries" that threatens the openness of the Internet. http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/02/google-three-italys-personal-attack-intermediary-0 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Announcements * Help EFF Go to SouthEast LinuxFest! EFF is looking for donations of airline miles, flight vouchers, and hotel points for travel to SouthEast LinuxFest in Spartanburg, NC, as well as other conferences and speaking engagements. If you have enough airline miles for a free ticket and would like to send an EFF staffer to a conference, let us know, and we will help you with the process of making the reservation. Please note that at this time we are unable to combine miles from multiple individuals. We are also looking for hotel rewards points to help reduce our overall travel costs. As a thanks for your donation, we can offer a free membership and a mention in EFFector (if you'd like). Please contact aaron@eff.org if you can help! : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : * Administrivia EFFector is published by: The Electronic Frontier Foundation 454 Shotwell Street San Francisco CA 94110-1914 USA +1 415 436 9333 (voice) +1 415 436 9993 (fax) http://www.eff.org/ Editor: Richard Esguerra, EFF Activist richard@eff.org Membership & donation queries: membership@eff.org General EFF, legal, policy, or online resources queries: information@eff.org Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of EFF. To reproduce signed articles individually, please contact the authors for their express permission. Press releases and EFF announcements & articles may be reproduced individually at will. Current and back issues of EFFector are available via the Web at: http://www.eff.org/effector/
