[Sigifp-l] Information Policy Post 3/3/03

[Terrence Maxwell]

PRIVACY

Spam Blocker Charges For E-mail.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985175.html>
An Australian entrepreneur has created what may be the first anti-spam 
service that lets its users charge for the privilege of sending them e-mail.

Big Brother is Watching You - And Documenting.
<http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=264863&contrassID=2&subContrassID=5&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y>
'eBay, ever anxious to up profits, bends over backward to provide data to 
law enforcement officials.'

Big Brother Award.
<http://www.privacyinternational.org/bigbrother/us2003/>
In April, Privacy International will hold the 5th annual US Big Brother 
awards to celebrate the invaders and champions of privacy.

ACCESS

Net Blocking Threatens Legitimate Sites.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985216.html>
A study 'from Harvard University's Berkman Center highlights how modern Web 
standards have permitted thousands of domain names to share one Internet 
address. It concludes that instead of precisely targeting only objectionable 
sites, attempts to restrict Internet addresses with pornographic, political 
or gambling-related content inevitably make legitimate sites unreachable 
too.'

CDT Speaks Out On PA Internet Law.
<http://www.cdt.org/speech/030200pennreport.pdf>
CDT has released a report criticizing a recently passed Pennsylvania law 
forcing Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to numerous web 
sites without adequate court oversight. The report argues that the statute 
unconstitutionally restricts speech, blocks access to sites that are wholly 
innocent, and raises serious technical concerns.
See Also: <http://www.cdt.org/speech/030200penn7330.pdf> and 
<http://www.cdt.org/press/030220press.shtml>

SPEECH

Calls For Ban On Providing Info On Tricking Polygraphs.
<http://antipolygraph.org/articles/article-029.shtml>
Response to Paul M. Menges' call 'for "a broader based initiative" is a 
euphism for the criminalization of public speech on the subject of polygraph 
countermeasures and the banning of books such as The Lie Behind the Lie 
Detector... Suffice it to note for now that if the polygraph community is so 
fearful of countermeasure information that it would have it made a speech 
crime, then perhaps countermeasures are more effective and more difficult to 
detect than the polygraph community has heretofore been willing to 
acknowledge.'

SECURITY AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

Feds Launch Ready.gov But Is It Just Scare Tactics?
<http://defensetech.blogspot.com/2003_02_01_defensetech_archive.html#89418393>
'It's better than a hysterical call for duct tape. But Ready.gov the 
Homeland Security Department's new website to help the public prepare - and 
deal with the aftereffects of - a biological, chemical or nuclear terrorist 
attack, still ignores an obvious truth.'

Feds Weed Out Drug Paraphernalia Sites.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985785.html>
'The U.S. Justice Department on Monday [24 Feb] said it indicted 11 Web site 
operators for allegedly selling illegal devices including bongs and holders 
for marijuana cigarettes. Attorney General John Ashcroft told reporters that 
the government would ask a U.S. district court in Pittsburgh to point the 
sites to a Web page at the Drug Enforcement Administration explaining why 
they were taken offline, a new twist in crime-fighting.'

Sneaking Into Los Alamos.
<http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,57792,00.html>
'Despite the nation's heightened terror alert status, despite looming 
congressional hearings into the lab's mismanagement and slack-jawed 
security, an untrained person -- armed with only the vaguest sense of the 
facility's layout and slowed by a torn Achilles tendon -- was able to 
repeatedly gain access to the birthplace of the atom bomb.'
See Also: <http://www.politechbot.com/p-04506.html>

Santa Fe Police Detain Library Patron Over Chat-Room Visit.
<http://www.ala.org/alonline/news/2003/030224.html#santafe>
'A St. John's College Library visit by a former public defender was abruptly 
interrupted February 13 when city police officers arrested him about 9 p.m. 
at the computer terminal he was using, handcuffed him, and brought him to 
the Santa Fe, New Mexico, police station for questioning by Secret Service 
agents from Albuquerque.'

INTERNATIONAL

Australia - Recording Firms Ask To Scan University Computers.
<http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/18/1045330603596.html>
'Recording companies have asked the Federal Court to allow their computer 
experts to scan all computers at the University of Melbourne for sound files 
and email accounts, so they can gather evidence of claimed widespread 
breaches of copyright.'
See Also: <http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/17/1045330539310.html>

MISCELLANEOUS

CDT Policy Post.
Volume 9, Number 6, February 20, 2003
<http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_9.06.shtml>
Contents:
(1) CDT Reports Calls Pennsylvania Blocking Law Unconstitutional and Unsound
(2) Background on the Penn. Web Blocking Law
(3) Laudable Goals, Serious Constitutional and Technical Problems
(4) Request Filed for Records of Undisclosed Web Site Blocking

Epic Alert.
Volume 10.04, 24 February 2003
<http://www.epic.org/alert/EPIC_Alert_10.04.html>
Contents:
[1] Data Sellers May Be Liable for Sale of Personal Information
[2] EPIC Files Comments at FTC Workshop on Cross-Border Fraud
[3] Senator Proposes Domestic Spy Agency; Bush Launches Threat Center
[4] Congress Passes "Do-Not-Call" Legislation
[5] EPIC Comments on Proposed Airline Passenger Database
[6] Privacy International Seeks "Stupid Security" Contest Submissions

Crypto Research Under Fire in U.K. Suit.
<http://news.com.com/2100-1023-985545.html>
'A lawsuit over possibly fraudulent withdrawals from cash machines in London 
could gag academic research into the vulnerabilities of banks' cryptographic 
systems.'

High-Tech Hobby Falls Under CSIS Suspicion.
<http://www.canada.com/search/story.aspx?id=25c5ce8f-6388-46ea-9741-65a7f3593c47>
Two Alberta men with a passion for locating and mapping wireless computer 
networks have come under the scrutiny of Canada's spy agency.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Bill Purdy Still Making Headlines.
<http://www.citizen.org/documents/PurdyAmicusBrief.pdf>
'Public Citizen has asked US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to 
allow it to file a brief urging it to uphold the initial order issued by the 
district court against William Purdy for posting anti-abortion campaign 
material online using domain names that incorporate the trademarks of the 
Washington Post, Coca-Cola and other companies.'

Get Ready To Be Fleeced.
<http://news.com.com/2010-1071-985622.html>
'Don't look now, but a team of lobbyists and politicians is gearing up to 
enact new digital copyright laws that will cost you more money and result in 
more government regulations.'

Compiled by Dylan Thomarie

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