Time for round two!
There's an "Internet Whiteout" planned for April 20th, 2012. (reddt thread
here)
The
Serval Rhizome Retriever Prototype allows file transfers (and phone calls) between cell phones not connected by ISPs or cell phone towers - they link directly to each other. (Not sure of the range, though). Here is the project's
website.
The EFF has a page on
How to Remove Your Google Search History Before Google's New Privacy Policy Takes Effect March 1st.
In Canada there's
Bill C-309 to make it illegal to wear a mask "during riots or unlawful assemblies."
According to RT "The Investigative Powers for the 21st Century Act (Bill C-51) is legislation that isn’t new to Canadian Parliament, but after a series of additions and other changes, lawmakers there are expected to begin discussion on it this week. If passed, law enforcement there will be able to monitor all Internet and telephone activity from anyone, anywhere in the country, without having to obtain a warrant."
Conservative Bill C-30 will let police spy on Canadians online: "Bill C-30 includes, as CBC.ca reports online: requiring telecommunications and Internet providers to give up subscriber data, including name, address, mobile phone number and IP address (your online ID). And that’s before they get a warrant."
In Germany, February 25th, 2012 (Saturday) is scheduled for more anti-ACTA demonstrations. Here's the
German version of the video and
Locations of the demonstrations. Here's
other countries holding demonstrations.
SOPA, meet SOCA - British Police Take Down Pirates: The Serious Organised Crime Agency, "SOCA – an organisation intended to combat gang violence, terrorism and organised crime – is here being aimed and released by the music industry at those it feels have wronged it." and "Although the proposed changes to Sweden’s Electronic Communications Act (LEK) are ostensibly being proposed to target fine-punishable offenses such as child grooming or even bullying, their scope would encompass petty file-sharing too."
Reddit wants us to
skip Batman and produce a corresponding call flood Friday, July 20th on its opening weekend, and to see the movie later instead. "Millions will be spent on advertising to ensure that people will see TDKR opening weekend, unlike gas companies that don't care when you buy their gas. It will be easy to hijack the movie's hype, as news programs would rather show a contraversial debate that can go viral than fans dressed in Batman costumes waiting in line."
Good news in the Netherlands:
Loosen up copyright law, says Dutch government. (Well, they're talking about it anyway - I didn't see any specific laws being proposed)
Single Movie Download Could See Swedes Prosecuted: "The Swedish Government wants to implement a change in the law which has the potential to make Sweden one of the toughest countries in the world to share files. Currently file-sharer identities can only be obtained following crimes worthy of a prison sentence, but if the authorities have their way the threshold will be lowered to include any offenses which could lead to a fine."
We have a thread about how, in the US, the
FCC seeks public comment on communication blackouts.
There is
H.R. 3523, sponsored by: Rep.
Michael Rogers [R-MI8]. According to
the EFF, "H.R. 3523, also known as the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011, would let companies spy on users and share private information with the federal government and other companies with near-total immunity from civil and criminal liability."
Here's another article talking about H.R. 3523 as well as three other related bills,
Former Chairmen of the 9/11 Commission Call for Speedy Consideration of Cybersecurity Legislation, mentioning the Cybersecurity Act of 2012
(S 2105), the Strengthening and Enhancing Cybersecurity by Using Research, Education, Information and Technology (SECURE IT) Act of 2012
(S 2151) and the Promoting and Enhancing Cybersecurity and Information Sharing Effectiveness (PRECISE) Act
(HR 3674).
I have no idea if the bill is good or bad, but here's another article about the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, S. 2105. From Mother Nature Network:
New cybersecurity bill would define 'critical' infrastructure. There's a governmental press release:
LIEBERMAN, COLLINS, ROCKEFELLER, FEINSTEIN OFFER BIPARTISAN, COMPREHENSIVE BILL TO SECURE FED AND CRITICAL PRIVATE SECTOR CYBER SYSTEMS. The
bill is 205 pages long and I haven't found anything giving a case against it yet, but I'm thinking it's worth keeping an eye on. Here's a
video of Liberman introducing the act.
From techdirt:
How Much Is Enough? We've Passed 15 'Anti-Piracy' Laws In The Last 30 Years.
Oh, and the US Congressional Election is on
Tuesday, November 6, 2012, the same day as the Presidential election.
Here's the list of co-sponsors for
SOPA and here's the list for
PIPA, if you want to vote against them.
The US congressmen coming up for re-election in 2012 are
all Representatives in all states, and the following Senators (ordered by state):
I wrote an email to my congressmen about the Uruguay Round Agreement Act and got a response about ACTA. A slightly better version of the pic I used is
here, and
here is the original public domain image (no text). Here's my letter to Texas congressman Kay Hutchison:
Hi,
I would like to encourage you to repeal the Uruguay Round Agreement Act. I took an image from the public domain and superimposed some words on it to express my sentiment, and then uploaded it here:
http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/3237 ... aeckel.pngInformation on and the text of the bill can be found here:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d103:h.r.05110:The Uruguay Round Agreement Act, which passed in congress in 1994 but which I only became aware of in the past few months, set a terrible precedent. Under the act, certain material which had already passed into the public domain was removed from it and copyright re-applied. I think it should be obvious why this is bad. For one it destabilizes the public domain, as now there can be no guarantee that material which is legal to use, copy, and make derivative works from today will be legal to do so tomorrow. I would not want those who publish Mother Goose, Brothers Grimm, and other cultural legacies to suddenly be forced to stop printing. I would not want someone who, inspired by a novel which had recently gone in the public domain and has worked hard making a movie adaptation to find his investment suddenly worthless and what have become a new work of art snuffed in the cradle because the laws changed out from under him. I would not want the time I spent to find materials and ensure the legality and copyright status of, which I had gathered to legally use and distribute how I wished, to then become a mass of illegal content which I no longer had rights to. I do not want our culture chipped away from us.
I encourage you to restore our culture and press back against the terrible precedent set by the Uruguay Round Agreement Act by sponsoring and voting for legislation to repeal it.
Thank you,
[my name here]
P.S. I am also against SOPA and PROTECT IP, ACTA, HR 1981 (PCIPA), the Transportation Security Administration (the airlines should handle security, not the government), and: war, assassinations, and/or sanctions against Iran. I just mailed in my voter registration card today so I can vote this year.
This is the response I got on the 24th of February:
Dear Friend:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). I welcome your thoughts and comments.
The ACTA is an agreement negotiated by nearly forty industrialized countries, including the United States. The agreement's intended purpose is the establishment of minimum international standards for intellectual property rights (IPR), and the prevention of counterfeiting and piracy of digital products.
The Obama Administration negotiated the ACTA as an executive agreement. Therefore, the agreement does not require congressional approval, unless the agreement contains statutory changes to current U.S. law. The United States Trade Representative (USTR) claims that ACTA is consistent with U.S. law and enacting legislation from Congress is unnecessary.
Counterfeiting and theft of intellectual property affect many American businesses and jeopardize hundreds of thousands of American jobs (including many Texas businesses and workers). Appropriate efforts to prevent counterfeiting and piracy are important to our economy. They are in our national interest.
The Obama Administration's unilateral actions, however, raise two important questions. First, is the Administration's end-run to avoid Congressional review constitutionally supportable? Second, without Congressional review, how can we be satisfied that the ACTA would strike a constructive balance between protecting U.S. economic interests and individuals' online privacy?
As these questions (including potential litigation) are debated, and as the Administration seeks to move forward with ACTA implementation, please be assured that I will follow developments closely and keep your comments in mind.
I appreciate hearing from you, and I hope that you will not hesitate to contact me on any issue that is important to you.
Sincerely,
Kay Bailey Hutchison
United States Senator
284 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5922 (tel)
202-224-0776 (fax)
http://hutchison.senate.gov PLEASE DO NOT REPLY to this message as this mailbox is only for the delivery of outbound messages, and is not monitored for replies. Due to the volume of mail Senator Hutchison receives, she requests that all email messages be sent through the contact form found on her website at
http://hutchison.senate.gov/?p=email_kay .
If you would like more information about issues pending before the Senate, please visit the Senator's website at
http://hutchison.senate.gov . You will find articles, floor statements, press releases, and weekly columns on current events.
Thank you.
While I appreciate the response about ACTA, the letter I received indicates that
no one actually read my letter, as if they had, then in their response they would have at least acknowledged that ACTA wasn't the only thing in my letter to them. Obviously next time I contact my congressmen I will have to make a phone call, as when speaking to a live human I will know my thoughts will have at least been heard.
I had sent the same message to John Cornyn (just a couple words were different) at the same time as Kay, and apparently neither John nor his staff read my letter either, as it too does not acknowledge any content exists besides ACTA. Here is what I received on the 16th of March:
Dear [my name here]:
Thank you for contacting me regarding global efforts to combat intellectual property theft. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this matter.
Rapid advances in technology have led to the development of numerous products and services Americans use every day; including, digital television and radio, cellular communications, life-saving medications, and computer hardware and software. Continued technological advancement is vital to the growth of our country's economy, and as such lawmakers must continue to protect intellectual property rights while preserving an open market for ideas and personal expression.
However, in today’s global marketplace, U.S. law enforcement officials are often hampered in their efforts to combat intellectual property infringements that originate abroad. Many developing nations with lax technology policies and limited enforcement mechanisms are responsible for the loss of billions of dollars in intellectual property, harming the growth of U.S. technology developers and manufacturers. However, violators are not limited to developing countries; several fully developed nations have outdated policies that do not reflect the reality of today’s global marketplace.
For these reasons, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has commenced a multilateral discussion concerning global intellectual property rights, known as the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). The final text of ACTA was released by USTR on November 15, 2010, and proposes a plurilateral agreement to strengthen international cooperation, enforcement practices, and legal frameworks for addressing counterfeiting and piracy. The full, final text of ACTA may be viewed at:
http://www.ustr.gov/acta.
The United States is a leader in innovation, and to protect the investment made by our innovators, we must also lead the effort to combat global piracy. While the USTR is the lead trade negotiator on behalf of the executive branch of government, any change in international trade policy must be enacted by Congress before entering into effect. I understand your concerns, and you may be certain that I will keep your views in mind should relevant legislation come before the full Senate.
I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the United States Senate. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856
http://www.cornyn.senate.gov Please sign up for my monthly newsletter at
http://www.cornyn.senate.gov/newsletter.
PLEASE NOTE:
Due to the nature of electronic communication, if you did not receive this e-mail directly from my office, I cannot guarantee that the text has not been altered. If you have questions about the validity of this message, or would like to respond to this message, please use the web form available at my website,
http://www.cornyn.senate.gov/contact.