[Sigifp-l] information policy post 4.28.03

[Terrence Maxwell]

FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

Study Of Media Bias.
<http://www.fair.org/reports/iraq-sources.html>
Some interesting figures about the pre-war reporting of CNN, ABC, NBC, and 
PBS.

BBC Chief Attacks US Coverage of War.
<http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=focusIraqNews&storyID=2626590>
"U.S. broadcasters' coverage of the Iraq war was so unquestioningly 
patriotic and so lacking in impartiality that it threatened the credibility 
of America's electronic media."

SECURITY

Possible Internet Based Attacks.
<http://www.avirubin.com/scripted.attacks.pdf>
"We discuss the dangers that scalable Internet functionality may present to 
the real world, focusing on a simple yet impactful attack that we believe 
may occur quite soon. We offer and critique various solutions to this class 
of attack and hope to provide a warning to the Internet community of what is 
currently possible. The attack is, to some degree, a consequence of the 
availability of private information on the Web, and the increase in the 
amount of personal information that users must reveal to obtain Web 
services."

Cyber Attacks: Missing In Action.
<http://www.csis.org/tech/0403_cyberterror.pdf>
Short paper that notes "that while terrorists and hackers have been very 
active in the last few years, haven't been any actual cyber attacks."
See Also:
<http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/cybercrime/juvenilepld.htm>
<http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2002/0304lloyd.html>
<http://cooltech.iafrica.com/technews/837110.htm>

Homeland Security Post Filled.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39211-2003Apr16.html>
"The former privacy officer of Internet advertising giant DoubleClick will 
be the Department of Homeland Security's first privacy czar.  Nuala O'Connor 
Kelly will be responsible for vetting proposals or programs that involve 
collecting and using U.S. citizens' personal information."

A More Anonymous Internet.
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/innovation40503.asp>
"Although most businesses immediately encrypt [SSN and credit card] numbers, 
researchers at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory and elsewhere are devising 
ways to avoid having to submit the numbers in the first place."

Local Officials Rise Up to Defy The Patriot Act.
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64173-2003Apr20.html>
Arcata, California, "has become the first in the nation to pass an ordinance 
that outlaws voluntary compliance with the Patriot Act."

Cisco's Eavesdropping Apparatus.
<http://news.com.com/2010-1071-997528.html>
Cisco Systems has created a more efficient and targeted way for police and 
intelligence agencies to eavesdrop on people whose Internet service provider 
uses their company's routers.
See Also:
<http://www.opentap.org/ct/ct.aftappen-eng.html>
<http://www.fnl.nl/ct/archief2002/ct2002-12/aftappen.htm>

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

(Legal) Subscription Music Services.
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/wo_hellweg041603.asp>
The history and the future of the race for a legitimate online jukebox.

Analysis of State DMCA.
<http://www.politechbot.com/docs/godwin.state.dmca.041603.pdf>
A brief analysis of the proposed state level DMCA (communications security 
act) being pushed by the Motion Picture Association of America.  A summary 
of the proposed act is also included.

Federal Court Rejects Challenge to DMCA Subpoena Provision
<http://www.cdt.org/>
"A District Court denied legal efforts by Verizon to protect the identity of 
an ISP subscriber that had been sought under a subpoena from the Recording 
Industry Association of America."
See Also: <http://news.com.com/2100-1027-998268.html?tag=fd_top>

In Defense of University Patent Licensing.
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/wo_stevens042303.asp>
"There's nothing wrong with the way academia licenses its intellectual 
property, says Boston University's technology transfer director."

File Swapping Software Legal.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1027-998363.html?tag=fd_top>
"In an almost complete reversal of previous victories for the record labels 
and movie studios, federal court Judge Stephen Wilson ruled that Streamcast 
--parent of the Morpheus software-and Grokster were not liable for copyright 
infringements that took place using their software. The ruling does not 
directly affect Kazaa, software distributed by Sharman Networks, which has 
also been targeted by the entertainment industry."

PRIVACY

Porn Spam a Legal Minefield.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1032-995658.html>
"Graphic images appearing unbidden on PCs by way of e-mail in-boxes could 
qualify as evidence of a "hostile work environment," something that's 
prohibited by federal employment law."

Spammers To Face Jail.
<http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,6293171%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html>
Australia - "Unsolicited email is set to be outlawed and spammers could face 
prison sentences, after a dramatic about-turn from a federal Government 
taskforce charged with examining the issue."

Is It Time For A 'Do-Not-Spam-Me' List?
<http://www.ndol.org/ndol_ci.cfm?contentid=251513&kaid=131&subid=192>
"We shouldn't have to rely on vigilante action to get control of spam. 
Federal legislation is a better idea. Unfortunately, Congress has never 
gotten around to action on spam, despite years of warnings that the problem 
could eventually turn e-mail, the Internet's most popular and useful 
application, into a glorified junk mail delivery service."

Surveillance Nation-Part Two
<http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/farmer0503.asp>
"In pursuit of security and service, we are submitting ourselves to a 
proliferation of monitoring technologies. But a loss of privacy is not 
inevitable."
Part One: <http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/farmer0403.asp>

Privacy in Government Systems.
<http://www.cdt.org>
"CDT and the Council for Excellence in Government hosted a public event on 
important new federal government privacy rules that are expected to be 
issued in May as part of the Bush Administration's E-Government Act 
implementation."
Video footage is available at the CDT site (Real Player).

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

SARS - Misinformation Spreads Faster Than The Virus.
<http://www.reason.com/hod/dmc041703.shtml>
In an age of increased ease of communication SARS has become the "first 
epidemic of the internet age" in more ways than one.

SPEECH/CENSORSHIP

Judge Blocks Censorship of Harry Potter in Arkansas Schools
<http://www.freeexpression.org/newswire/0423_2003.htm>
"A federal judge [in Fort Smith, Arkansas] has ordered the Cedarville school 
district to return J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books to the open shelves of 
its libraries. In a decision
announced late yesterday, U.S. District Court Judge Jimm L. Hendren said the 
books must be displayed 'where they can be accessed without any restrictions 
other than those administrative restrictions that apply to all works of 
fiction in the libraries of the district.'"
See Also: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2968857.stm>

FIRE Declares War on Speech Codes.
<http://www.thefire.org/>
"Attorneys from FIRE's Legal Network challenged the unconstitutional speech 
code at Shippensburg University, in Pennsylvania. This lawsuit is the first 
step in an unprecedented national campaign that will end-through legal 
action and through public exposure-the scandal of unconstitutional 
censorship at America's public college and university campuses and that will 
force private institutions to choose between liberty and tyranny."

INFORMATION POLICY MISCELLANEOUS

EPIC Alert.
Volume 10.08 - 23 April 2003
<http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_10.08.html>
Contents:
[1] Coalition Alleges Violations of Children's Privacy Law
[2] FOIA Documents on ChoicePoint Spark International Inquiries
[3] EPIC Establishes Privacy Threat Index
[4] Online Petition Drive Continues to Urge Accuracy for FBI Database
[5] Privacy and First Amendment Symposium: 5/9/03, Oakland, CA
[6] News in Brief

Monster.com's Resume Purge Draws Fire.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1022-998118.html>
"Job-hunters at Monster.com who happened to go to school in Syria or Iran 
may be in for an unpleasant surprise"

Compiled by Dylan Thomarie
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