EFFector Vol. 21, No. 23  July 9, 2008  editor@eff.org

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424

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In our 476th issue:

* IN A TRAGIC, SHAMEFUL AFFRONT TO THE US CONSTITUTION, THE
SENATE APPROVED THE FISA AMENDMENTS ACT passed by the House
last month. The bill radically expands the president's
spying powers and grants immunity to phone companies that
cooperated in the illegal warrantless wiretapping program.
Many senators courageously opposed telecom immunity, and
several amendments were offered in an attempt to remove or
modify the immunity provision, but they failed.

Despite this serious setback, EFF vows that the fight for
accountability over the president's illegal surveillance is
far from over -- we will continue to fight in the courtroom
and in Congress to defend the cause of liberty.
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/07/09

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EFF Updates

* Check the Deeplinks blog for more on the run-up to the
Senate's terrible final approval of the FISA Amendments Act
(FAA):

~ The Senate's Final Debate on Retroactive Immunity
Senator Feingold and others spoke at length against the FAA
and in support of amendments to strip and delay telecom
immunity.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/senate-begins-final-debate

~ Bush: Telecom Immunity More Important Than Surveillance
Powers
Despite claiming that the intelligence community urgently
needs new tools, a Bush administration letter threatens to
veto the FAA if telecom immunity is not granted.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/bush-telecom-immunity-more-important-then-surveill

~ Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on FISA
Former intelligence officer Daniel Ellsberg, the
whistleblower who released the Pentagon Papers in the '70s,
speaks out against Senate's version of FISA reform and
warrantless wiretapping.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/whistleblower-daniel-ellsberg-fisa

~ Cartoon: The Return of Snuggly, the Security Bear
Cartoonist Mark Fiore brings back Snuggly, the Security
Bear to comment on the FISA Amendment Act's "compromise" of
the Constitution.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/mark-fiore-cartoon-compromise

* Viacom's Statement on YouTube User Data Controversy
Viacom claims that user data received from Google/YouTube
pursuant to a court order "will not contain personally
identifiable information."
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/viacoms-statement-youtube-user-data-controversy

* Court Rejects Attempt to Expand the DMCA
With help from an EFF amicus brief, a court distinguished
between circumventing rights-controls and circumventing
access-controls, ultimately keeping the DMCA in check.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/court-rejects-attempt-to-expand-the-dmca

* A Real-Life Orphan Works Dilemma
A New York Times article about a history teacher/part-time
book publisher depicts the orphan works problem in living
color.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/a-real-life-orphan-works-dilemma

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miniLinks

(no miniLinks this week)

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Announcements

* Stop by the EFF Booth at the O'Reilly Open Source
Convention (OSCON)
Now in its tenth year, OSCON is a vibrant meeting ground
for the open source community, taking place on July 21-25
at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
http://en.oreilly.com/oscon2008/public/content/home

* Visit EFF at the 2008 Usenix Security Symposium
Join us in San Jose, CA, July 28 - August 1, for the 17th
USENIX Security Symposium. 
http://www.usenix.org/events/sec08/sec08.html

* EFF is IN at Black Hat USA 2008!
Look for us or stop by our booth between August 2-7 in Las
Vegas at Black Hat USA, the world's premier technical
security conference.  We'll be giving out useful legal
information to assist security researchers with
intellectual property and free speech issues that affect
their work.  We'll also be available to consult with
individuals or companies who want more information about
how the law might affect their current research and
upcoming presentations. To make an appointment for a
consultation, please email Alyssa Ralston, Development
Assistant, at alyssa@eff.org, or drop by the table.

EFF supporters receive a $100 discount off the prevailing
registration rate by inserting BHUS8SUAS in the box marked
"coupon" on the web registration page!
http://www.blackhat.com/ 

* Visit EFF at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo from
August 4-7
Thinking about going to the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo
in San Francisco? You can use the priority code "VPL616"
for a Free Exhibit Hall Pass or 20% off the conference
package of your choice. Stop by our booth to say hello and
update your membership!
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/

While you're there, check out the LinuxWorld session "Cold
Boot Attacks on Hard Drive Encryption" by EFF Staff
Technologist Seth Schoen and Tor Project Developer Jacob
Applebaum. They will demonstrate attacks in which
encryption keys are recovered from memory chips quickly
taken from powered down computers, and they will discuss
countermeasures that users can take to protect themselves.
http://www.linuxworldexpo.com/live/12/conference//tracks/tracksessions/Security/QMONYB00BIQG

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Administrivia

EFFector is published by:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
 http://www.eff.org/about

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

Back issues of EFFector are available at:
 http://www.eff.org/effector/