EFFector Vol. 20, No. 18 May 9, 2007 editor@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 In the 422nd Issue of EFFector:
- Spoon-Bending 'Paranormalist' Illegally Twists Copyright Law
- Corporate Critic Fights to Keep Internet Anonymity
- Hearing on Electronic Voting Violations in California Election
- Public Opposition to National ID Floods Government Agency
- CNN To Free Debate Footage for Remixing, Re-Use
- Virtual Classes on Cyberlaw
- Support EFF: New Bloggers' Rights Shirts Now Available
- EFF at Maker Faire, May 19-20
- miniLinks (7): The AACS Number and Human Rights Activism
- Administrivia
For more information on EFF activities & alerts: http://www.eff.org/ Make a donation and become an EFF member today! http://eff.org/support/ Tell a friend about EFF: http://action.eff.org/site/Ecard?ecard_id=1061 effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a desired change. : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Spoon-Bending 'Paranormalist' Illegally Twists Copyright Law Uri Geller Makes Bogus Copyright Claims to Silence YouTube Critic San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit Tuesday against Uri Geller -- the "paranormalist" famous for seemingly bending spoons with his mind -- on behalf of a YouTube critic who was silenced by Geller's baseless copyright claims. EFF's client, Brian Sapient, belongs to a group called the "Rational Response Squad," which is dedicated to debunking what it calls irrational beliefs. As part of their mission, Sapient and others post videos to YouTube that they say demonstrate this irrationality. One of the videos that Sapient uploaded came from a NOVA program called "Secrets of the Psychics," which challenges the performance techniques of Geller. Despite the fact that only three seconds of the over thirteen-minute video contain footage allegedly under copyright owned by Geller's corporation Explorogist Ltd. -- a classic fair use of the material for criticism purposes - - Geller filed a takedown demand with YouTube under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). That violates the DMCA requirement that copyright holders only send takedown notices for infringing content. "Uri Geller may not like it when people question his paranormal abilities. However, he is not allowed to stifle public criticism by misusing the law," said EFF Staff Attorney Marcia Hoffman. "If the publication of a video does not infringe his copyright, then he cannot block its use -- it's as simple as that." Because of Geller's unlawful DMCA notice, Sapient's YouTube account was suspended, and his videos were not available for over two weeks. In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, EFF asks for damages due to Geller's violation of the DMCA, a declaratory judgment that the NOVA video does not infringe Geller's copyrights, and that Geller be restrained from bringing any further legal action against Sapient in connection to the clip. "We've seen a rash of people abusing the DMCA lately, attempting to take down legitimate criticism and commentary online," said EFF Staff Attorney Jason Schultz. "To allow thin-skinned public figures like Uri Geller to abuse this system forces critics to remain silent and creates unfair hurdles for free speech to thrive online." This lawsuit is part of EFF's ongoing work to protect online free speech in the face of bogus copyright claims. EFF is currently working with Stanford's Fair Use Project to develop a set of "best practices" for proper DMCA takedowns. At EFF's suggestion, media giant Viacom set up an email "hotline" to help users who believe their videos have been improperly ensnared in a takedown campaign. For the full complaint against Uri Geller and Explorogist Ltd.: http://eff.org/legal/cases/sapient_v_geller For this release: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_05.php#005244 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Corporate Critic Fights to Keep Internet Anonymity Chemical Company on Quest to Identify Online Speaker San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC) have asked a California appeals court to scrutinize a chemical company's attempt to strip the anonymity from a participant in an online message board. The participant posted information that H.B. Fuller Co. claims could only have been obtained through a company "town hall meeting," in violation of an employee confidentiality agreement. However, the poster has submitted a declaration to the court swearing that he or she is not an employee and that the information posted on the message board could have been gleaned from any follower of Fuller's business practices. A lower court ruled the message board poster should be identified to Fuller. In an amicus brief filed last Wednesday, however, EFF and CFAC argue that the lower court undervalued the right to anonymity and set a dangerously low threshold for stripping Internet users of its protection. "Liberal protection for the right to engage in anonymous communication to speak, read, listen, and associate anonymously is fundamental to a free society," said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. "That is why courts must strike the appropriate balance between the competing interests of subpoenaing parties and the anonymous speakers they seek to unmask, recognizing that once an online user's anonymity and privacy have been eviscerated, they cannot be repaired." EFF and CFAC urged the appeals court to adopt a test for this case and others that would protect the rights of Internet critics. That test should include notice to the anonymous speaker, an assessment of the merits of the legal claims and other alternatives for finding the source of harm, and careful consideration of the balance of harms. For the full amicus brief in Fuller v. Doe: http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/fuller_v_doe/fuller_v_doe_amicus.pdf For more on anonymity on the Internet: http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Anonymity For this release: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_05.php#005232 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Hearing on Electronic Voting Violations in California Election Alameda County May Face Sanctions for Failure to Preserve E-Voting Data Oakland, Calif. - Last Friday a California judge considered potential sanctions against Alameda County for failing to preserve critical voting machine-related data in a lawsuit challenging the county's recount procedures following a close race conducted on Diebold electronic voting machines in the 2004 general election. Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith ruled last month that county officials violated both the Elections Code and the California Constitution when they refused to make audit logs and other relevant data available for a recount. The county also returned voting machines to Diebold Election Systems without preserving the corresponding data, despite the ongoing the legal battle over the recount for Measure R. Measure R, a citizens' initiative, would have addressed the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries in Berkeley. The measure lost by under 200 votes. Americans for Safe Access, a medical marijuana group, and three Berkeley voters asked to see the copies of the votes stored in the voting units, the audit logs from those machines, the results of Logic & Accuracy system tests, and the chain-of- custody records for system components. Although California Elections Code provides that a voter may examine "all ballots ... and any other relevant material as part of any recount," former Alameda County Registrar Bradley Clark refused to provide any of this "relevant material." Americans for Safe Access and the Berkeley voters filed suit. "Judge Smith's decision is potent vindication of the people's right to control their elections and a firm rebuke of the culture of secrecy surrounding electronic voting," said Gregory Luke of Strumwasser & Woocher LLP, attorney for Americans for Safe Access and the suit's three other plaintiffs. "Having found that the county violated the voters' right to a recount, the court must now address the shocking fact that the county disposed of the electronic copies of the votes while this lawsuit was still pending." The voter-plaintiffs have asked the court to order the county to return the $22,000 they were required to pay for the recount and, if the county is unable to locate the electronic copies of the votes, to place Measure R back on the ballot. "Requirements to preserve the transparency of the electoral process are especially important when electronic voting systems are used," said Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "Aside from the widespread problems that have been documented with these types of machines in the past, without the ability to review even the limited evidence that these machines generate, the public would lose further confidence in the process. The court has flatly rejected the shortsighted arguments of the county about its election-related obligations. The county should further be held accountable for any failures to safeguard the digital record of the 2004 election." For this release: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_05.php#005234 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Public Opposition to National ID Floods Government Agency Thousands of individuals fought back against a national ID by sending comments to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) this week. The groundswell of grassroots opposition is a crucial step towards stopping the REAL ID Act, which would force states to standardize drivers' licenses and create massive, interlinked databases of your personal information. And that's not the only good news on this front. This week, Colorado became the eighth state to officially reject implementation of this 23 billion dollar federal boondoggle. It also seems that Congress is starting to get the message, as the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing focusing on the privacy and civil liberties concerns raised by the Act on Tuesday. We need your help to keep the momentum going. Visit our Action Center and tell Congress to repeal REAL ID now: http://action.eff.org/site/Advocacy?id=275 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : CNN To Free Debate Footage for Remixing, Re-Use When the presidential debates are aired by CNN on June 3rd and 5th, the public will be able to edit, remix, parody and publish the footage -- without worrying about copyright violation. CNN has pledged to make debate footage available to the public "without restriction": http://www.cnn.com/POLITICS/blogs/politicalticker/2007/05/cnn-presidential-debate-footage.html CNN's decision comes on the heels of an open letter from a broad coalition of scholars, public advocates, and Internet entrepreneurs calling for the release of all debate footage under a Creative Commons license. Several major candidates have also joined the call: http://lessig.org/blog/archives/003755.shtml This fight isn't over yet, however. Not all future debates will be hosted by CNN.If MSNBC's rules concerning re-use of footage of the May 3rd debate footage get picked up by other stations, some of the important discourse concerning the election of our next President will remain locked up by big media companies: http://www.buzzmachine.com/2007/04/26/for-shame-nbc-news-stealing-the-debate/ For this post: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005240.php : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Virtual Classes on Cyberlaw Learn cyberlaw without leaving cyberspace through the State of Play Academy. The Academy offers free classes through the virtual world There.com. The Spring Semester has already started and runs through June 8. The virtual classes will teach you the sort of fascinating stuff your real college never gets around to offering, like "Claims of Copyright Misuse based on First Amendment Interests," "The Viacom-Youtube Lawsuit," and "Election 2008 and the Remix Culture." EFF staff attorney Kevin Bankston is signed up to teach a class called "Every Move You Make: Location Tracking and the Law." More information, including how to log on and participate in SOPA classes, at: http://www.stateofplayacademy.com For this post: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/005238.php : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : Support EFF: New Bloggers' Rights Shirts Now Available EFF's Bloggers' Rights Campaign has scored some big victories, and now you can show your support by picking up one of EFF's new bloggers' rights T-shirts. Shirts are black, available in women's and men's styles, and come in all sizes. Buy a shirt for $25 from the EFF shop, or get it as part of your membership: http://secure.eff.org/shop http://secure.eff.org/bloggersjoin Learn more about the Bloggers' Rights Campaign: http://www.eff.org/bloggers/ : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : EFF at Maker Faire, May 19-20 If you're going to O'Reilly's Maker Faire on May 19-20 in San Mateo, California, be sure to stop by EFF's booth. Grab some schwag and chat with us about all things digital rights -- we look forward to seeing you! For more on the Maker Faire: http://www.makezine.com/faire/ : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : miniLinks The week's noteworthy news, compressed. ~ The AACS Number and Human Rights Activism Ethan Zuckerman ponders the digital civil disobedience over the HD-DVD processing key and spreading other important information across the censored web. http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=1410 ~ Secret Court Wiretap Orders Up, Up, Up Wired makes a link between the growing numbers of wiretaps and the new moves on telco immunity. http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/05/secret_court_sh.html ~ Mooninites, Meet the Terrorist Hoax Improvements Act Ridiculous fallout from Boston's lite-brite bomb scare. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070508-mooninites-meet-the-terrorist-hoax-improvements-act.html ~ Exporting IP The New Yorker looks at the restrictive IP laws exported by America's "free trade" agreements. http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2007/05/14/070514ta_talk_surowiecki ~ Privacy International Announces 2007 Big Brother Awards Winners: Choicepoint, the UK, and the International Civil Aviation Organization. Losers: everyone else. http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd%5B347%5D=x-347-553112 ~ Congress Threatens Colleges With Anti-P2P Law Sends questionnaire to 20 schools asking entirely loaded questions. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117964133.html?categoryid=16&cs=1 ~ Why the 09ers Are Upset Ed Felten spells out the outrage at the AACS-LA legal threats. http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1154 : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : . : 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: Derek Slater, Activism Coordinator derek@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/ Click here to change your email address: http://action.eff.org/addresschange This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled electrons.
