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In our 622nd issue:
The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) threatens to regulate and restrict the Internet in the name of enforcing intellectual property rights around the world, but negotiators continue to deny the public meaningful access to the official text or even information about the proposals countries are pushing in this powerful multilateral trade agreement. Users have sent over 80,000 messages to Congress asking them to demand transparency in the TPP using EFF's action center, and now Congress members have started taking action to stop the secrecy.
Facebook's entered a new partnership with marketing company Datalogix to assess whether users go to stores in the physical world and buy the products they saw in Facebook advertisements. We're glad to see that Facebook is taking a number of steps to avoid sharing sensitive data with Datalogix, but we've also provided instructions for users who are uncomfortable with the program on how to opt out. Hopefully, reporting on this issue will make more people aware of how our shopping data is being used for a lot more than offering us discounts on tomato soup.
A new study from Australia presents the latest evidence that loosening copyright restrictions not only enables free speech, but can improve an economy as well. The study, published by the Australian Digital Alliance, indicated that if Australia expanded copyright exceptions like fair use and strengthened safe harbor provisions, the country could potentially add an extra $600 million to their economy.
EFF Updates
CleanIT: EU-Funded Project Seeks to Erode Civil Liberties
A new project dubbed CleanIT is aimed at "countering illegal use of the Internet" and is being funded by the European Commission in an attempt to eradicate the Internet of terrorism. Overall, the CleanIT project is a misguided effort to introduce potentially endless censorship and surveillance that would effectively turn Internet companies in Internet cops.
India's Gargantuan Biometric Database Raises Big Questions
The government of India has amassed a database of 200 million Indian residents' digital fingerprints, iris scans, facial photographs, names, addresses, and birthdates. Yet this vast collection of private information is only a drop in the bucket compared to the volume of data it ultimately intends to gather -- the personal and biometric information for each and every one of India's 1.2 billion residents.
Payment Provider Stripe Levels Up on Transparency
Fast-growing online payment provider Stripe has announced that they are embracing transparency around government requests. When the company receives a legal request to shut down a user’s account, Stripe will send a copy to the transparency website Chilling Effects, a site maintained by EFF and law school clinics that publishes take down notices from across the web.
New Book Details the NSA’s Warrantless Wiretapping Program, As Government Moves to Avoid All Accountability in Court
Former New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald’s new book provides yet more details about how the the NSA’s unconstitutional warrantless wiretapping program came about, and confirms that even top Bush Administration lawyers felt there was a “strong argument” that the program violated the law.
Copyright in Latin America: New Enforcement Measures Pose Major Threats to Internet Users in Panama and Colombia
After years of being one of the most progressive regions in the world in terms of balanced copyright policy, Latin America is sliding into copyright maximalism, enacting increasingly restrictive copyright enforcement measures into their federal laws. These moves come as the result of top-down, harsh implementation of bilateral free trade agreements with the U.S. that require nations to enact far more restrictive language than what is found in the U.S. itself.
Governor Brown Vetoes California Electronic Privacy Protection. Again.
Location privacy took a hit in California over the weekend when Governor Jerry Brown vetoed SB 1434, an EFF- and ACLU-sponsored bill that would have required law enforcement to apply for a search warrant in order to obtain location tracking information. Despite the bill's passing through the state legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, despite local newspaper editorials in favor of the bill, and despite more than 1,300 concerned Californians using our action center to urge him to sign the bill into law, Governor Brown instead decided to sell out privacy rights to law enforcement.
miniLinks
Do patent and copyright law restrict competition and creativity excessively?
Judge Richard Posner once again makes the compelling case for reform to patent and copyright laws, arguing that the protections afforded by each "may be excessive."
Justice Department’s warrantless spying increased 600% in the last decade
The Justice Department use of warrantless internet and telephone surveillance methods known as pen register and trap-and-trace has exploded in the last decade, according to government documents the American Civil Liberties obtained via a Freedom of Information Act claim.
How a rogue appeals court wrecked the patent system
Ars Technica reports: No institution is more responsible for the recent explosion of patent litigation in the software industry, the rise of patent trolls, and the proliferation of patent thickets than the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
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Administrivia
Editor:
Adi Kamdar, Activist
editor@eff.org
EFFector is a publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. MiniLinks do not necessarily represent the views of EFF.
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Announcements
From the Community
In a long post about online privacy, Google+ user Shadow Wolf gives a shout-out to the work we're doing: "I have been a long standing member for many years, I have done many things to further the cause of privacy both in their name and on my own and I can say that there is no other group as willing and as good at fighting for and protecting your digital rights and privacy as the EFF. ... They have petitions you can sign, schedule of events you can partake in, information on how to protect yourself, and everything all on the site. Supporting them and taking a stand by helping to pass laws and policy to protect your data is the only way this will ever stop." Thanks for the support!
EFF Live Tweets Speech from MPAA Chief Chris Dodd
EFF will live-tweet MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd's talk on "Creative Content and the Cloud" at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club. Follow our live coverage on Twitter at @EFFLive or buy tickets to attend in person.
October 2, 2012
San Francisco, CA
Japan and the TPP
As part of the US Trade Representative's efforts to convince Japanese business owners and others about the supposed benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the Assistant Representative for Japan, Korea, and APEC Affairs and the Consul General of Japan will speak about the agreement. Maira Sutton, International Intellectual Property Coordinator, will attend this event to observe how the USTR is proceeding with these nation-specific discussions.
October 5, 2012
Los Angeles, CA
World Forum for Democracy
EFF's Director for International Freedom of Expression Jillian York will be speaking at the World Forum for Democracy about democratic responses to the economic, social and political challenges which affect our societies today.
October 8, 2012
Strasbourg, France
State Bar of California Annual Meeting
EFF Staff Attorney Marcia Hoffman will be part of a panel discussion at the State Bar of California's Annual Meeting to discuss the complications and ethical issues stemming from the explosive influence of new technologies, with an emphasis on privacy-related protections under federal and California Law.
October 13, 2012
Monterey, CA
OpenED 2012
Carolina Rossini, EFF Director of International Intellectual Property, will be the keynote speaker at the OpenEd conference in Vancouver talking about Open Education -- specifically, copyright exemptions and limitations for education.
October 16-18, 2012
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Association of Criminal Justice Research Conference
EFF Staff Attorney Hanni Fakhoury will be be part of a panel discussion at the Association of Criminal Justice Research Conference. He'll discuss "Friending to Bullying -- Social Media and Criminal Justice."
October 18-19, 2012
Huntington Beach, CA
.SE Internet Days Forum
Internet Days Forum is one of Sweden's largest conferences on Internet policy and technology. EFF Director of International Freedom of Expression, Jillian York, will give a keynote talk.
October 22-23, 2012
Stockholm, Sweden
Entertainment & Technology Law Conference
EFF Intellectual Property Director Corynne McSherry is speaking at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers' (NARM) Entertainment & Technology Law Conference in Los Angeles. She will be on two panels about the first sale doctrine and copyright trolls.
October 25, 2012
Los Angeles, CA
GPS as the New Constable: Applying the Old Fourth Amendment in the New Cyber World
Join EFF Staff Attorney Hanni Fakhoury at the Bar Association of San Francisco's 2012 Barristers Annual Meeting for an in-depth legal discussion of the Supreme Court's landmark decision in United States v. Jones, requiring law enforcement to obtain a search warrant before installing a GPS device onto a car.
October 26, 2012
San Francisco, CA
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