EFF wants protection for anonymous in porn-downloading suit

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is petitioning a federal judge to protect the anonymity of individuals involved in a copyright lawsuit over porn downloading. An adult film company wants to determine the identities of 1495 Internet users. The judge ordered the individuals suing to protect their anonymity to reveal their identities before the suit could proceed. [...]

Appeal in the works in Twitter/WikiLeaks case

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation are set to file an appeal concerning the U.S. government’s attempts to obtain Twitter records in their investigation of WikiLeaks. The ACLU and EFF are seeking to prevent the government from sealing records of their efforts to obtain private information of Internet users without a [...]

Google finds cause in Righthaven appeal

Google has filed an amicus brief in the appeal of a Righthaven case to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals arguing for flexibility in applying the fair use doctrine. The case under appeal pitted Righthaven against the Center for Intercultural Organizing over the Center’s posting of a Las Vegas Review-Journal article. -db From the [...]

Online piracy legislation stalls in Congress

It now appears now that Congressional bills to protect copyright on the Internet will be embroiled in a long, intense struggle even as President Barack Obama declared his opposition to key elements of the bills. The technology industry opposes the bills out of concern that they will stifle free speech and innovation. -db From The [...]

EFF seeks records on drones in U.S. airspace

The Electric Freedom Foundation is suing the Department of Transportation for its records on drones operating in U.S. airspace. EFF claims the drones are used for surveillance of U.S.  citizens and are a matter of great public concern. -db From The Washington Post, January 13, 2012, by Jason Ukman. Full story    

Reporter’s privilege: Technology increases difficulty of protecting sources and notes

Faulty computer security and their own inexperience with encryption pose problems for journalists in keeping their notes and sources from authorities. With the right surveillance technology, it is easy these days to gain access to reporters’ telephone, Skype, e-mails and instant messaging. -db From a commentary in the Columbia Journalism Review, January 9, 2012, by [...]

Four cases in 2011 give boost to transparency

There were four cases over the Freedom of Information Act that promoted transparency in 2011 according to the Electronic Freedom Foundation. The cases were Milner v. Department of Navy, FCC v. AT&T, Islamic Shura Council of S. Cal. v. FBI and National Day Laborer Organizing Network v. ICE. From a commentary for the Electronic Frontier [...]

Federal appeals court supports CIA in refusal to confirm or deny that records of grandfather exist

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ruled that the CIA had the right to refuse to confirm or deny existence of records named in a Freedom of Information Act request. The refusal is called a Glomar response. The CIA had refused to provide information to a US. citizen seeking information on his [...]

Internet free speech: Federal judge dismisses stalker case

A federal judge rejected a claim against a man who relentlessly pursued a religious leader on Twitter in a groundbreaking case on free speech and cyberstalking. The judge said while the speech inflicted “substantial emotional distress,” “nucomfortable speech” was protected under the First Amendment. -db From The New York Times, December 15, 2011, by Somini [...]

Opinion: Scholars say online piracy bills violate U.S. Constitution

Leading Constitutional scholars say the online piracy legislation currently before Congress throttles constitutional rights, writes Corynne McSherry for the Electronic Freedom Foundation. She says the revised legislation only gives lip service to the First Amendment and denies due process and free speech in ways described by the scholars. -db From a commentary for the Electronic [...]

Opinion: Righthaven overstepped but protection for newspapers still vital

Righthaven’s methods in pursuing copyright violations turned out to be bogus and unfair resulting in its bankruptcy, but, says Jeffrey D. Neuburger in MediaShift, it would be too bad if the company did not survive long enough to pursue appeals lest newspapers lose ground in receiving just compensation for their work. -db From a commentary [...]

Opinion: Internet community suffers double whammy over exclusion from House online piracy hearing

The webcast of the House Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the Stop Online Piracy Act or SOPA was of such poor quality that the Internet community was effectively shut out until the question and answer period. The community is also concerned that the committee is only asking one representative of the technology sector to testify. -db [...]

Justice Department refuses request for legal opinion concerning FBI surveillance

The Justice Department has refused a request by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for an important legal opinon on the use of “exigent letters,” a method of requesting information that includes telephone company records. In refusing to disclose the legal opinion, the DOJ cited national security concerns. -db From Politico, November 11, 2011, by Josh Gerstein. [...]

Opinion: Congress copyright bill threat to whistleblowing and Internet

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) under consideration in Congress could result in extensive Internet censorship and threaten the work of human rights advocates and whistleblowers, argues Trevor Timm, an Electronic Frontier Foundation lawyer. “[SOPA]threatens to transform copyright law, pushing Internet intermediaries—from Facebook to your ISP—to censor whole swaths of the Internet. SOPA could forever [...]

Digital freedom watchdog sues Justice Department over Patriot Act

The Electronic Freedom Foundation sued the Department of Justice for its failure to release documents detailing its interpretation and use of Section 215 of the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The section allows the FBI to obtain a court order for “any tangible thing” related to a terrorism investigation. The EFF claims the government has been misusing [...]

Anti-piracy bill pits free speech rights against copyright interests

A bipartisan anti-piracy bill introduced in the House of Representatives has the backing of the entertainment industry who want to expel copyright-infringing web sites from the Internet. Internet companies and digital rights groups say the bill is heavy handed and poses a serious threat to free speech and innovation. -db From CNet News, October 26, [...]

EFF pushes for disclosure of makeup of Intelligence Oversight Board

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is suing the government for records of who is on the Intelligence Oversight Board, the civilian board responsible for reviewing misconduct reports for federal intelligence agencies. The suit  is part of EFF’s ongoing investigation of intelligence violations as Congress considers changes to current oversight laws. -db From a press release from [...]

International free speech: EFF argues for lifting export restrictions on Internet communication tools

To promote Internet freedom and free speech around the world, the Electronic Freedom Foundation is urging the U.S. government to lift export restrictions on communication tools. Recently the Obama administration has suspended transactions with the Syrian government as part of U.S. sanctions of the oppressive regime but with the attendant effect of depriving Syrian citizens [...]

9th Circuit: Coalition asks federal court to block government efforts to hide illegal domestic spying

A coalition including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a brief asking a federal appeals court to prevent the government from using the “state secrets” argument to dismiss a lawsuit challenging warrantless surveillance. In a press release, EFF described the lawsuit brought by a Muslim group,  “The Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation alleges in its lawsuit that [...]

Domestic spying pervasive since 9/11

President Barack Obama has done nothing to fulfill his promise to curtail warrantless spying and in fact wants Congress to renew powers given to the federal government to conduct the surveillance. Writing a commentary for Wired, Ryan Singel quotes Julian Sanchez of the Cato Institute on the effectiveness of the spying, “We have become so [...]

Federal appeals court rules government must turn over records on warrantless tracking of cell phones

The Electronic Freedom Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union won a victory in court as the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the federal government must produce documents concerning criminal prosecutions in which the government obtained cell phone site locations without a warrant. The court found that the release of the documents would [...]

Righthaven may have filed its last copyright infringement suit

The controversial copyright  troll, Righthaven, has not filed a lawsuit in two months after punishing court rulings against the company. The firm began over a year ago supposedly to buy copyrights from news media and file suits to stop copyright infringements. Although Righthaven is appealing the court decisions that held that it had no legal [...]

United Nations report calls for states to safeguard online freedom of expression

The United Nations will begin discussion this week about online freedom of expression after hearing a special report that advocates protecting privacy and anonymous speech online. The UN report questions the use of surveillance under the guise of national security or counter-terrorism. The report’s author, Frank La Rue, said surveillance measures “often [take] place for [...]

Opinion: Righthaven lacks exclusive copyright ownership of Stephens Media news articles

Electronic Frontier Foundation Senior Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl says that in obtaining  from a federal district court an agreement between Righthaven and Stephens Media, it discovered that although Righthaven claimed in its suits for copyright infringement that it held exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute Stephens Media news articles, that the agreement stated that Righthaven [...]

SF public hearing tonight: Should entertainment venues be required to record IDs, photo of patrons?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation in San Francisco  is urging attendance at a public hearing tonight. The San Francisco Entertainment Commission is proposing to require all venues with an occupancy of over 100 people to record the faces of all patrons and employees and scan their ID’s for storage in a database which they must hand [...]

Opinion: Electronic Frontier Foundation finds political bias in processing of FOIA requests

The House Oversight Committee is investigating Freedom of Information Act requests processed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF)  complained last October that the department was targeting certain requesters which included journalists and activist groups for extra layers of review. EFF also says that the DHS not only failed to [...]

Federal district judge rules against Righthaven copyright claim

A Nevada federal district judge ruled that an Oregon non-profit organization had fair use right to an article from the Las Vegas Review-Journal that it posted on its website. In making the ruling, the judge explained that the article was being used by Righthaven only for the sake of bringing lawsuits and was not serving [...]

Sunshine Week: EFF says in the era of WikiLeaks still need whistleblowers and FOIA

A staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation says that WiliLeaks dramatic release of classified government documents aside, it still crucial to government accountability for people working within government to come forth with stories of excesses and for citizens to exercise their rights under freedom of information laws. EFF’s Jennifer Lynch lists some recent cases [...]

Federal judge orders Twitter to release user records in WikiLeaks inquiry

A federal judge ordered Twitter to release records of three of its users in a U.S. government investigation of WikiLeaks. In an article in PC Magazine, Chloe Albanesius quotes Elecronic Frontier Foundation legal director Cindy Cohn on the implications of the order, “We’re disappointed that the court did not recognize that people using digital tools [...]

EFF lists projects underway to protect internet speech

Electronic Freedom Foundation’s Technology Director Chris Palmer says that a number of projects are underway to reduce centralization on the Internet and improve security and accessibility for the public. -db Electronic Freedom Foundation Commentary December 14, 2010 By Chris Palmer The past few weeks have highlighted the vulnerability of centralized information systems to censorship: online [...]

Hackers wage war on behalf of WikiLeaks

Hackers have disrupted the Web sites and services of a number of companies including MasterCard, Visa and PayPal for withdrawing services in support of WikiLeaks. -db New York Times December 8, 2010 By Ashlee Vance and Miguel Helft A hacking free-for-all has exploded on the Web, and Facebook and Twitter are stuck in the middle. [...]

Rights groups back Google in suit by company challenging Google’s use of trademarks to trigger AdWords ads

Several public interest groups are lining up for Google in its fight against a lawsuit by Rosetta Stone because they say the suit tries to silence competition and stifle criticism. -db Online Media Daily December 6, 2010 By Wendy Davis First Amendment advocates and digital rights groups have weighed in on Google’s side in a [...]

Righthaven plans to stop suing for excerpts from news articles

Righthaven, the company of lawyers that sues blogs and websites for posting articles from client newspapers, has announced it would no longer sue when the posting constitutes an excerpt. -db Wired November 18, 2010 By David Kravets Copyright troll Righthaven this week promised to narrow its lawsuit campaign in the face of a courtroom defeat, [...]

Feds use social networking site to investigate citizenship petitions

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has obtained information that the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is using sites such as Facebook to investigate citizenship petitions. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press October 13, 2010 By Stephen Miller The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil liberties group based in San Francisco, has received information [...]

Online freedom advocate backs Craigslist in battle over ‘adult services’ ads

Electronic Freedom Foundation’s senior staff attorney says that Craigslist has cooperated with law enforcement in identifying sex traffickers operating on its site and should not be bullied by threats from state attorneys general into compromising Internet freedom. -db Electronic Freedom Foundation Commentary September 8, 2010 By Matt Zimmerman On Saturday, after years of pressure from [...]

Copyright enforcement concern signs up second newspaper chain

Righthaven, a company that sues bloggers who repost news content without prermission, has expanded its operation to a second newspaper chain, the Arkansas-based WEHCO Media. -db Wired August 30, 2010 By David Kravets A Las Vegas company established to sue bloggers who clip news content is expanding its operations to a second newspaper chain. Righthaven [...]

Free speech: Electronic Frontier Foundation warns against California law undermining parody

A new “E-Personation” bill now in the California legislature would make it a crime to personate someone online to “harm” that person. EFF claims that the law would severely restrict online parodies criticizing government and big corporations. -db Electronic Frontier Foundation Commentary August 22, 2010 By Corynne McSherry A bill that could undermine a new [...]

Domestic spying: Uncle Sam developing ability to reach wide and deep on Internet

Through its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the Electronic Frontier Foundation has revealed that the FBI and CIA are aggressively perfecting their ability to probe social networks and the Internet for intelligence data much of which is outside the law enforcement context. -db Electronic Frontier Foundation Commentary August 16, 2010 By Tim Wayne In the [...]

California state senator proposes law to outlaw malicious online impersonation

In the wake of a disturbing e-mail falsely attributed to a Silicon Valley leader, A California state senator is introducing a law to make malicious e-mail impersonations a misdemeanor. -db San Francisco Chronicle August 9, 2010 By Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera Two months ago, a San Jose Mercury News reporter received a profanity-laced e-mail critical of one [...]

County withdraws search warrant used to search house of Gizmodo editor

In a dispute over the iPhone prototype, law enforcement has withdrawn a search warrant and Gizmodo has agreed to provide specific information over how they obtained the prototype without Apple’s permission. -db County withdraws search warrant used to search house of Gizmodo editor http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=11495 Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press July 22, 2010 By [...]

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