[Reader-list] FW: GILC Alert

[Amanda McDonald Crowley]

--  
Amanda McDonald Crowley
tel: +61 (0)419 829 313
e:  amc at autonomous.org  /  amc at va.com.au

------ Forwarded Message
From: Chris Chiu <CCHIU at aclu.org>
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2003 12:01:25 -0500
To: "GILC announce (E-mail)" <gilc-announce at gilc.org>
Subject: GILC Alert

GILC Alert
Volume 7, Issue 1
31 January 2002

Welcome to the Global Internet Liberty Campaign Newsletter.

Welcome to GILC Alert, the newsletter of the Global Internet Liberty
Campaign. We are an international organization of groups working for
cyber-liberties, who are determined to preserve civil liberties and human
rights on the Internet.
We hope you find this newsletter interesting, and we very much hope that you
will avail yourselves of the action items in future issues.
If you are a part of an organization that would be interested in joining
GILC, please contact us at <gilc at gilc.org>.
If you are aware of threats to cyber-liberties that we may not know about,
please contact the GILC members in your country, or contact GILC as a whole.
Please feel free to redistribute this newsletter to appropriate forums.

===============================================
Free expression
[1] Jailed Tunisian Net dissident on hunger strike
[2] Norwegian teen faces DVD computer speech retrial
[3] Chinese gov't targets weblogs, arrests Net activists
[4] Malaysian web news agency raided
[5] Vietnamese online dissident gets jail time
[6] German Internet censor plan papers cause alarm
[7] Pro-Net fair use bill resubmitted in US Congress
[8] Court holds cybercafe chain liable for copyright violations
[9] Music labels consider Net blocking, more crippleware
[10] Several European nations sign online hate speech pact
[11] Emails to British politicians censored

Privacy
[12] EU privacy concerns lead to Microsoft Passport changes
[13] New bills target Total Informational Awareness spy program
[14] Verizon appeals Net customer info subpoena decision
[15] Panel rejects British gov't data retention plan
[16] Transmeta microchips to include TCPA-type features
[17] Studies indicate barriers to mass surveillance are eroding
[18] Big Brother Awards ceremonies held in Bulgaria, France & Denmark
[19] European privacy & civil rights newsletter launched

============================================================
[1] Jailed Tunisian Net dissident on hunger strike
============================================================
The proprietor of a prominent Tunisian news website has begun a hunger
strike to protest the conditions of his confinement.

Zouhair Yahyaoui founded and edited TUNeZINE, which included coverage of
political affairs in the North African nation and materials from opposition
party leaders. The Tunisian government arrested, tortured, then imprisoned
him for republishing a letter online written by his uncle that derided the
country's legal system. During his detainment, he has been forced to share a
cell with 100 other inmates, and prison authorities have reportedly denied
Yahyaoui medical aid even though he has been suffering from several serious
medical ailments. Nearly two weeks ago, Yahyaoui began a hunger strike,
saying that in "any event, the suffering is so intense that I am unable to
eat."

These latest developments have spawned grave concern from free speech
advocates. Robert Menard, the Secretary-General of Reporters Sans Frontieres
(RSF-a GILC member), charged: "Not only does the Tunisian regime imprison
persons whose only crime is to express themselves, but it also detains them
in deplorable conditions."

For more information in French (Francais), visit the TUNeZINE website at
http://www.tunezine.com/

Additional details are available from the Digital Freedom Network (DFN-a
GILC member) website under
http://dfn.org/news/tunisia/hunger.htm

An RSF press statement about this case is available under
http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=4756

=====================================================
[2] Norwegian teen faces DVD computer speech retrial
=====================================================
Authorities in Norway are attempting to prosecute a teenager once more for
creating a DVD-related computer program.

Jon Johansen created DeCSS in 1999. DeCSS is designed to help Linux
operating system users watch DVDs on their machines. Norwegian authorities
briefly detained him in early 2000 for his activities but released him not
long afterwards. Nearly 2 years later, he was arrested again on the theory
that by developing DeCSS, he violated a Norwegian law against break-ins.

Presiding judge Irene Sogn subsequently vindicated Johansen, holding that
there was "no evidence" that he had used DeCSS for illegal purposes. Sogn
went on to rule that there was no proof that anyone else had used the
program to break the law, and that Johansen could not be held liable as an
accessory. Furthermore, the judge found there was no sign that Johansen had
the necessary intent to cause illegal copying to take place. Finally, she
held that, under Norwegian law, it was legal to use DeCSS to watch legally
obtained DVDs, citing past personal property precedents. Norwegian
prosecutors have announced plans to appeal the decision.

The trial court ruling drew positive reactions from a number of free
expression experts. Cindy Cohn from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF-a GILC member) noted that the "Norwegian court has recognized Jon has
the right to take the steps necessary to view his own DVDs on his own
computers. Johansen's acquittal, along with that of Russian company
Elcomsoft in the U.S. last month, will hopefully convince Hollywood to stop
filing unfounded charges in cases where there is no copyright infringement."
Cohn was referring to the case of Dmitry Sklyarov, who developed a program
for Elcomsoft, his employer, that circumvents the copy protection scheme
contained on Adobe Systems electronic books. He was subsequently found
innocent of having violated the criminal law provisions contained in the
controversial United States Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

For the latest details, read "Special division will retry 'DVD-Jon',"
Aftenposten, 21 January 2003 at
http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article.jhtml?articleID=475400

An EFF press release on the lower court ruling is posted at
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DeCSS_prosecutions/Johansen_DeCSS_case/20030107_
eff_pr.html

For an archive of documents regarding the Johansen case, visit the EFF
website under
http://www.eff.org/IP/Video/DeCSS_prosecutions/Johansen_DeCSS_case/

For video and text coverage, see "Teenager wins DVD court battle," BBC News,
7 January 2003 at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2635293.stm

Read Lisa M. Bowman, "Norway piracy case brings activists hope," CNet News,
8 January 2003 at
http://news.com.com/2102-1023-979769.html

For further information in French (Francais), read Jerome Thorel, "Justice:
acquittement de Jon Johansen, poursuivi pour 'piratage de DVD,'" ZDNet
France, 7 January 2003 at
http://news.zdnet.fr/story/0,,t118-s2128287,00.html

==============================================================
[3] Chinese gov't targets weblogs, arrests Net activists
==============================================================
Beijing continues to tighten its grip on Internet speech, both through
technical methods and criminal prosecutions.

Earlier this month, the Chinese government apparently blocked its citizens
from accessing Blogspot.com. The website is used by hundreds of thousands of
individuals to create weblogs or "blogs"-lists of weblinks (which
occasionally include commentary) that spotlight Internet pages of interest,
such as news articles. While Chinese authorities have reputedly since
removed the block on other blogs on BlogSpot.com, the block on one blog in
particular remains in place - DynaWeb (http://dweb.blogspot.com), which has
lists of proxy servers that Chinese Internet users can use to gain access to
restricted Web sites from within the country. The ban has angered many
Chinese Internet users; one of them warned that the block would only lead to
"more dissent. The bloggers who have something to say won't be deterred by
the blockage at all. We'll find other ways."

Meanwhile, concern is growing over 2 recently arrested Net activists. The
Chinese government reportedly has convicted Tao Haidong of "inciting the
overthrow of the state power." He had been accused of posting excerpts from
2 books he had written that decried the health of the country's economy and
criticized various Chinese leaders. The excerpts appeared on various Chinese
and foreign websites. While his sentence has yet to be announced, he could
face the death penalty. In addition, Chinese authorities have formally
arrested Ouyang Yi, who is a member of the banned Chinese Democratic Party
and allegedly wrote online about the 1989 Tiananmen protests, disparaged
Beijing's economic strategies and advocated structural reforms.

For further information on the Blogspot ban, visit the Digital Freedom
Network (DFN-a GILC member) website under
http://dfn.org/news/china/blogblock.htm

See "Beijing blocks bloggers," Reuters, 15 January 2003 at
http://news.com.com/2102-1023-980707.html

See also "China blocks bloggers' sites," NewScientist.com, 14 January 2003
at
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993260

Additional details concerning Tao Haidong are available from the Human
Rights in China website under
http://iso.hrichina.org/iso/news_item.adp?news_id=1172

For more about the Ouyang Yi case, click
http://iso.hrichina.org/iso/news_item.adp?news_id=1179

Read "China charges web dissident," BBC News Online, 16 January 2003 at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/asia-pacific/2664167.stm

=========================================================
[4] Malaysian web news agency raided
=========================================================
Malaysian government agents have raided the offices of a prominent
independent online news agency.

Malaysiakini (also known as Malaysia Now) is an award-winning web
publication that features critical reporting on the nation's political
scene. The organization recently posted a letter from a concerned reader
complaining about state policies that provide preferential treatment to
ethnic Malays. After a complaint from the youth-wing of the country's ruling
party, Malaysian authorities demanded that the news agency reveal the name
of the letter's author. When the request was denied, police officers went
into the agency's offices and confiscated of all 19 of its computers. The
government has since accused Malaysiakini co-founder Steven Gan of breaking
criminal sedition and racial hatred incitement laws; a court hearing on the
matter is scheduled for May 2003. In the latest development, the agency's
landlord, which has links to the government, is planning to evict
Malaysiakini from its offices.

The incursion has spurred protests both at the domestic and international
levels. Some 200 people held a vigil outside Malaysiakini's offices to
support the agency in its fight against the government harassment.
Elsewhere, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF-a GILC member) issued a statement
warning that the persecution of Malaysiakini "threatened once again the
country's chief source of independent news."

The text of the letter is available at
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/200301090033726.php

A Malaysiakini press release about the raid is posted at
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/200301200018964.php

A RSF statement on this case is posted under
http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=4787

Read "Malaysian police raid website office," BBC News Online, 20 January
2003 at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/2676297.stm

Further analysis is available from Amnesty International via
http://web.amnesty.org/ai.nsf/Index/ASA280032003?OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES\M
ALAYSIA



========================================================
[5] Vietnamese online dissident gets jail time
========================================================
The Vietnamese government is apparently continuing efforts to stifle its
online critics.

The Vietnamese government has sentenced Nguyen Khac Toan to 12 years in
prison. A former soldier, Nguyen was charged with allegedly emailing various
"reactionary" overseas human rights organizations. His trial was reportedly
marred by numerous procedural failings. For example, the trial was held in
secret and lasted less than a day; Vietnamese authorities prevented him from
consulting privately with his attorney, and limited consultations with his
lawyer to 2 visits held several days prior to the hearing. The sentence
itself is reputedly the heaviest ever levied in Vietnam against a person for
his or her Internet activities.

Not surprisingly, the prosecution of Nguyen has drawn sharp criticism from
free speech advocates. In a statement, Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF-a GILC
member) "strongly condemned" his sentencing, labeled his trial a "sham" and
called on Vietnamese "justice minister Uong Chu Luu to free him at once."

The RSF statement is posted at
http://www.rsf.fr/article.php3?id_article=4676

========================================================
[6] German Internet censor plan papers cause alarm
========================================================
Recently revealed documents concerning local German government attempts to
censor Internet content are causing considerable anxiety among civil society
activists.

The district government of Duesseldorf had previously ordered Internet
service providers (ISPs) to prevent users from reaching selected foreign
websites. Duesseldorf officials have tried to justify these efforts as a way
to fight right-wing extremists. However, according to government papers and
audio recordings obtained by the cyber-rights group ODEM, authorities would
not only prevent access to neo-Nazi sites, but would also be able to censor
political criticism, entertainment files and sexual content. Indeed, the
information uncovered by ODEM indicates how one of the prime backers of the
blocking order, Jurgen Buessow, who is the head of administration of the
Duesseldorf region, pressured a local broadcaster to takedown an online
critique of his behavior.

Even before these revelations, the Duesseldorf Internet content control plan
had generated protests from a coalition of groups and politicians, not to
mention a series of court challenges by affected ISPs. The newly unearthed
documents have served to intensify this opposition. Foerderverein
Informationstechnik und Gesellschaft (FITUG-a GILC member) issued a call on
private Internet users and non-governmental organizations to help defend
"against Mr. Buessow's assault on our freedom" and ominously compared the
Internet censorship scheme to past German government efforts to block
foreign radio broadcasts. ODEM's Alvar Freude fears that if the Duesseldorf
government has its way, information that is that only available from outside
Germany "shall be taken offline with the help of the access providers. ...
Do we actually want the internet or the germany.net?"

To read the documents uncovered by ODEM, click
http://odem.org/informationsfreiheit/o-ton.html

The censored critique of Governor Buessow has been republished at
http://web.archive.org/web/20011127185655/http://online.wdr.de/online/comput
er/schiebwoche/index.phtml

A FITUG press release on the subject is posted under
http://www.fitug.de/news/pes/21012003_de.html

An English-language translation of the release is available at
http://www.fitug.de/news/pes/21012003_en.html

See "Website-Sperrungen: Internet oder Deutschland-Net?" Heise Online, 28
January 2003 at
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/jk-28.01.03-011/

See also Stefan Krempl, "Internet oder Deutschland-Net?" C't, 28 January
2003 at
http://www.heise.de/ct/aktuell/data/jk-28.01.03-010/

============================================================
[7] Pro-Net fair use bill resubmitted in US Congress
============================================================
Renewed efforts are being made to protect traditional free expression rights
in the Information Age.

United States Representative Rick Boucher has submitted a proposal to amend
the much-criticized U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Among
other things, the plan would allow users to bypass copy protection schemes
"if such circumvention does not result in an infringement of the copyright"
in a given work, which would ostensibly include fair uses, that is, making
use of the work for research, public commentary, and educational or other
salutary purposes. In addition, the bill would permit the manufacture,
distribution and "noninfringing use" of software or hardware "capable of
enabling significant noninfringing use of a copyright work"-a provision that
might apply to such items as music sharing software and optical disc
burners. The proposal would also require special labeling for copy-protected
CDs.

Boucher explained that he resubmitted the bill because the "fair use
doctrine is threatened today as never before. ... The Digital Millennium
Copyright Act dramatically tilted the copyright balance toward complete
copyright protection at the expense of the Fair Use rights of the users of
copyrighted material. The re-introduced legislation will assure that
consumers who purchase digital media can enjoy a broad range of uses of the
media for their own convenience in a way which does not infringe the
copyright in the work."

The resubmission of the Boucher bill came just as a recent report indicated
that the DMCA is having an adverse impact on free speech in the digital
domain. Entitled "Unintended Consequences: Four Years under the DMCA," the
study documents how key portions of the Act "have not been used as Congress
envisioned. ... In practice, the anti-circumvention provisions have been
used to stifle a wide array of legitimate activities, rather than to stop
copyright piracy." The report was commissioned by the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF-a GILC member).

The text of the bill is available (in PDF format) under
http://www.house.gov/boucher/docs/dmcra108th.pdf

A statement from Rep. Boucher on his proposal is posted at
http://www.house.gov/boucher/docs/dmca108.htm

For further information in German (Deutsch), read "US-Gesetzesinitiative fur
Recht auf private digitale Kopie," Heise Online, 9 January 2003 at
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/anw-09.01.03-001/

The Unintended Consequences report is posted under
http://www.eff.org/IP/DRM/DMCA/20030102_dmca_unintended_consequences.html

Read Lisa M. Bowman, "EFF: DMCA is choking innovation," ZDNet News, 10
January 2003 at
http://zdnet.com.com/2102-1106-980112.html

For further information in German (Deutsch), see Monika Ermert,
"Unbeabsichtigte Folgen des US-Urheberrechts," Heise Online, 13 January 2003
at
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/anw-13.01.03-003/

==================================================================
[8] Court holds cybercafe chain liable for copyright infringement
==================================================================
A global business mogul is refusing to surrender in his battle against the
recording industry over alleged copyright violations.

Stelios Haji-Iannou is the founder of the EasyGroup business empire, which
includes the European airline EasyJet and the EasyInternet Café chain. A
number of major recording companies, including the British Phonographic
Industry (which represents Universal, Virgin and EMI) have sued EasyGroup,
claiming that that it should be liable for music that allegedly has been
downloaded illegally by EasyInternet Café customers. Sony went so far as to
ask the court for a "gag order" to prevent public discussion of the
dispute-a request that was denied.

A court in London has since ruled in the music companies' favor. Judge Peter
Smith rejected arguments by EasyInternet that it should not be held
responsible for what its customers do while using its computers. The
tribunal has not yet announced what penalties it will impose. Haji-Iannou
savaged the ruling, accusing Smith of failing to answer one of his firm's
key arguments: that downloading music was a legally permitted fair use,
similar to recording a television program for later viewing. "I believe the
judge side-stepped the issue because it would have opened a can of worms for
the music industry, throwing it into disarray, but that is not a good
reason." He has vowed to appeal the ruling.

See "Net café to appeal against ruling," BBC News Online, 28 January 2003 at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2702071.stm

Read Jill Treanor, "Music chiefs win net café ruling," The Guardian, 29
January 2003 at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/news/0,12597,884428,00.html

See also Owen Gibson, "Internet café guilty of piracy," Media Guardian, 28
January 2003 at
http://media.guardian.co.uk/newmedia/story/0,7496,884052,00.html

For further information in French (Francais), read Estelle Dumont, "Les
cybercafes Easy Internet epingles pour contrefacon au Royaum-Uni," ZDNet
France, 29 January 2003 at
http://news.zdnet.fr/story/0,,t118-s2129563,00.html

=========================================================
[9] Music labels consider Net blocking, more crippleware
=========================================================
In order to prevent music piracy, we must censor the Internet on a global
scale, and restrict people's use of audio discs, even if they were purchased
legally.

Those are several ideas reportedly being pushed by Pascal Nègre, the Chief
Executive Officer of Universal Music France, and the president of the a
leading music industry trade group (Société civile des producteurs
phonographiques-SCPP). Among other things, he is calling for national
procedures to block access to Internet content as an antipiracy measure.
Negre has tried to justify this notion by claiming most music is downloaded
from websites hosted outside of France.

He is also lobbying for measures that would limit buyers of CDs to making
just one copy-a concept that may be coming closer to reality. Microsoft has
recently unveiled a new copy protection scheme that features multiple layers
of information encoded on compact discs. Microsoft claims that its new
Windows Media Data Session Toolkit is an improvement on past copy protection
systems, which produced CDs that couldn't be played on personal computers,
portable devices or car stereos.

Questions remain, however, as to whether such measures would simply be
rejected by consumers. For example, Fred von Lohmann from the Electronic
Frontier Foundation (EFF-a GILC member) commented that crippled audio discs
were "going to drive people to use alternative means to get a hold of the
music that they legitimately purchased." Indeed, in Japan, a system of copy
protected CDs launched by Label Gate nearly a year ago has flopped due to
poor sales.

For more on Pascal Negre's comments, see Estelle Dumout, "Musique: les
producteurs francais exigent un filtrage de l'internet," ZDNet France, 10
January 2003 at
http://news.zdnet.fr/story/0,,t118-s2128510,00.html

Read "Label Gate CDs tackle 'burning' question," Asahi Shimbun, 24 January
2003 at
http://www.asahi.com/english/business/K2003012400229.html

For more on Microsoft's new copy protected CD format, read "Microsoft's new
CDs face uphill battle," Associated Press, 23 January 2003 at
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/23/tech/printable537733.shtml

See "Microsoft sets sights on CD piracy," BBC News Online, 20 January 2003
at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2675903.stm

See also "Microsoft unveils new CD copy protection," Reuters, 18 January
2003 at
http://news.com.com/2102-1023-981279.html

===========================================================
[10] Several European nations sign online hate speech pact
===========================================================
Various European nations have signed a controversial protocol regarding
online hate speech.

The protocol was considered in connection with the Council of Europe's
Cybercrime Convention. The proposal essentially requires signatory nations
to bar people from "making available" or "distributing ... racist and
xenophobic material ... through a computer system."  Among other things, the
plan also calls for signatories to criminalize the use of computer networks
to conduct various "racist and xenophobic" activities. The pact had
previously been approved by the CoE's Council of Ministers in November 2002.

The list of signatories includes Armenia, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Sweden. However, the
United States government, which supported the underlying Convention, has
signaled that it will not sign the protocol, due to concerns that the hate
speech agreement would run afoul of Constitutional free expression
protections. 

A Council of Europe press release on this subject is posted at
http://press.coe.int/cp/2003/048a(2003).htm

For additional background information on U.S. resistance to the protocol,
see Declan McCullagh, "U.S. won't support Net 'hate speech' ban," CNet News,
15 November 2002 at
http://news.com.com/2102-1023-965983.html

================================================================
[11] British politicians' emails to be censored
================================================================
A number of politicians in the United Kingdom are raising objections to a
new plan that will censor their email messages.

The British Parliamentary Communications Director has announced changes in
the way electronic mail will be handled. Under the new rules, messages that
contain "profanities of a sexual or offensive nature" will not be tolerated.
However, many details regarding the scheme have yet to come to light, and it
is not clear even to the affected politicians which words will be censored.
Instead, Members of Parliament (MPs) will be forced to write to the
directorate to discover precisely what is taboo.

Not surprisingly, the plan has met with irritation from a number of MPs. One
of them, Paul Tyler, explained: "We might be more relaxed about censorship
and the nanny state if we knew who the nanny was. Some MPs are known for
their colourful language. Even the grey prime minister, John Major, was
known to describe his colleagues as bastards. Would he now be bleeped?"

Read "MPs face foul language censorship," BBC News Online, 17 January 2003
at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/2668461.stm

============================================================
[12] EU privacy concerns lead to Microsoft Passport changes
============================================================
The world's leading provider of computer operating systems has entered into
an agreement with European government regulators to alter its user personal
information practices.

Microsoft has agreed to make changes to its .NET Passport user
authentication service in order to comply with European Union privacy rules.
The company had intended Passport to act as a central repository for such
personal information as birth dates and credit card numbers, which, in turn,
could be used for a variety of purposes, such as commercial transactions
online. As explained in a report issued by the EU Working Party on Data
Protection, Microsoft will have to allow users greater control over how much
information they divulge through the service. Key measures include recoding
the registration system to separate "the creation of a Passport account from
the decision to communicate personal data to participating sites or to store
it in the [respective user's] profile," and permitting users "to decide on a
site-by-site basis whether they want to communicate their profile data or
not." Other steps involve "revising the text of the .NET Passport privacy
statement and providing additional information on registration pages." The
report also mentions other online authentication schemes, including the Sun
Microsystems-backed Liberty Alliance Project, and notes that the Working
Party "will continue to monitor" future developments in this field.

Passport had been the subject of intense scrutiny from privacy experts for
years. In 2001, several organizations, including GILC members the Electronic
Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Computer Professionals for Social
Responsibility, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Net Action, had filed
formal papers with the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
regarding the potential detrimental impact that Microsoft Windows XP might
have on user privacy, especially its Passport component. Those complaints
led to an investigation and settlement with the FTC.

The EU report is available (in PDF format) under
http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/dataprot/wpdocs/wp68_en.pdf

An EPIC archive of materials concerning Passport is available via
http://www.epic.org/privacy/consumer/microsoft/passport.html

Read Matt Loney, "Microsoft agrees to Passport changes," CNet News, 30
January 2003 at
http://news.com.com/2102-1001-982790.html

See "Microsoft OKs 'Passport' Changes," Associated Press, 30 January 2003 at
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/30/tech/printable538597.shtml

For further information in German (Deutsch), see "Microsoft verbessert
Datenschutz von Passport," Heise Online, 30 January 2003 at
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/anw-30.01.03-003/

================================================================
[13] New bills target Total Informational Awareness spy program
================================================================
Several new proposals may curb the development of a shadowy United States
government program to collect a wide range of personal information.

A project of the U.S. Department of Defense, Total Informational Awareness
(TIA) is designed to gather personal data on a grand scale, including
emails, phone calls, financial records, transportation habits, and medical
information. Its proponents believe that by scanning and analyzing this
massive pile of data, government agents will be able to predict and prevent
crime. Many specifics concerning this plan have yet to be determined,
including methods to protect the security of the warehoused information and
other prevent unauthorized access. It is known, however, that the U.S.
government is already funding projects to develop tools that could be used
as part of this system, including software to predict an individual's
behavior based on what that person does online. Experts believe the recently
created U.S. Department of Homeland Security will use TIA.

Not long after details began to surface about the program, a coalition of
non-profit groups issued a letter urging United States lawmakers "to act
immediately to stop the development of TIA and other similar programs that
create massive public surveillance systems." Among other things, the
document pointed out that, according to the various Defense Department
documents, "TIA would expand domestic intelligence activities to include the
analysis of innocent people's personal information-credit card transactions,
hotel reservations, or even prescription receipts. ... By definition, the
program is privacy-intrusive. ... Yet even as millions of dollars are spent
to develop a hi-tech domestic surveillance system, the Defense Department's
recent response to a Freedom of Information Act request strongly suggests
that privacy policy has received little consideration-if any-in TIA's
development." The list of signatories included a number of GILC member
organizations, notably the Center for Democracy and Technology, the
Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Electronic Frontier Foundation
and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Since then, several pro-privacy bills on the subject have been submitted for
consideration in the U.S. Senate. The Data-Mining Moratorium Act, sponsored
by Senators Russ Feingold, Ron Wyden and John Corzine, would halt
development of all data-mining systems in the U.S. Departments of Defense
and Homeland Security (which would ostensibly include TIA). The Act would
also require all Federal agencies to submit reports within 90 days about any
or all such systems that they are developing or using as well as what
measures are being implemented to protect individual privacy. In addition,
Senator Wyden has put forth an amendment to an omnibus budget bill that
would essentially restrict the use of Federal funds for "any research,
development, test, and evaluation" of TIA technology. The Senate approved
the amendment, but the bill itself must now go through a conference
committee to resolve differences between the Senate version and the version
passed by the House of Representatives (which does not contain the anti-TIA
language).

The text of the Feingold bill is available at
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.188:

For a summary of the Data-Mining Moratorium Act and a press release from
Sen. Feingold, click
http://www.senate.gov/~feingold/releases/03/01/2003116745.html

The text of the Wyden amendment (in PDF format) is posted under
http://www.epic.org/privacy/profiling/tia/sa59.html

To read the coalition letter (in PDF format), click
http://www.epic.org/privacy/profiling/TIA_coalition_letter.pdf

See Dan Eggen and Robert O'Harrow Jr., "Surveillance Plan Worries GOP
Senator," Washington Post, 22 January 2003, page A13 at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24480-2003Jan21.html

Read Declan McCullagh, "Senate limits Pentagon 'snooping' plan," CNet News,
23 January 2003 at
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-981945.html

For more on one U.S. government-funded computer user behavior prediction
project, read Ben Dobbin, "Mission: Find Intruders Instantly," Associated
Press, 23 January 2003 at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30761-2003Jan22.html

========================================================
[14] Verizon appeals Net customer info subpoena decision
========================================================
A major United States Internet service provider (ISP) has appealed a
decision that would force it to divulge personal information about one of
its subscribers to a recording industry trade group.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has requested data
concerning a customer of telecom giant Verizon. The RIAA alleges that the
individual in question had engaged in copyright infringement through
peer-to-peer music file trading over the Internet. The Association claims it
has the power to gather such information under the U.S. Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA) even though it has not actually filed a lawsuit yet.
The cited DMCA provision essentially says that copyright owners can request
a U.S. Federal court to subpoena "information sufficient to identify the
alleged infringer" from a "service provider." Verizon refused, claiming that
this power can only be used when infringing material is stored or controlled
on the service provider's network.

A trial court in the U.S. subsequently agreed with the RIAA and ordered
Verizon to turn over the requested information. In his ruling, presiding
judge John D. Bates did not determine whether the affected individual was
engaged in copyright infringement. Instead, he focused on fears that
"Verizon's reading of the act, a significant amount of potential copyright
infringement would be shielded from the subpoena authority of the DMCA."
Judge Bates then broadly interpreted the term "service provider" to include
companies that merely provide a conduit for allegedly infringing material.
He also suggested it was unnecessary to institute measures (similar to those
used in anonymous online speech cases) to protect the privacy of Internet
users, using terms like "cumbersome" and "uneconomical for copyright
holders" to describe such procedures. Verizon has since appealed the
decision. 

Privacy advocates have blasted the trial court's ruling, warning it may
allow copyright holders unchecked power to gather personal information based
on mere allegations. Gwen Hinze from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
(EFF-a GILC member) noted that "[p]eople used to rest assured that their ISP
would protect their privacy. After this decision, your ISP will be required
to turn over your identity to any copyright holder simply because they claim
you're doing something illegal."

To read the text of the decision (in PDF format), click
http://news.findlaw.com/wp/docs/verizon/inreverizon12103opn.pdf

An EFF press release on this subject is posted under
http://eff.org/Cases/RIAA_v_Verizon/20030121_pr.php

See Declan McCullagh, "Verizon appeals RIAA subpoena win," CNet News, 30
January 2003 at
http://news.com.com/2102-1023-982809.html

Read Jonathan Krim, "Recording Labels Win Copyright Ruling," Washington
Post, 22 January 2003, page E1 at
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24577-2003Jan21.html

For audio and text coverage, go to "Music labels win net piracy case," BBC
News, 22 January 2003 at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2682243.stm



============================================================
[15] Panel rejects British gov't data retention plan
============================================================
The British Home Office's data retention plans have received a thumbs-down
from a Parliamentary inquiry panel.

The All Party Internet Group (APIG), which is comprised of Members of
Parliament and Peers, had analyzed a retention scheme put forward under the
British Anti-Terrorism Crime & Security Act of 2001. The proposal called for
customer telecommunications traffic data to be retained for up to a year for
law enforcement purposes. The types of data to be stored under this plan
would ostensibly include email header information, web surfing habits,
callers' and recipients' names, and the geographic locations of individual
mobile phones.

The APIG has since issued a report indicating that that the entire scheme
should be dropped. The Group based its decision on several grounds,
including concern that the data retention plan would run afoul of various
human rights laws. The panel also concluded that the proposal, if
implemented, would cost far more money than the Government's prior
estimates, and that there would be great difficulty in getting the necessary
cooperation from industry.

The panel's report was warmly embraced by cyber-rights experts. Ian Brown
from the Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR-a GILC member)
stated that data retention "would be a gross invasion of all of our privacy.
It would also be extremely costly, ineffective against terrorism, and
illegal under human rights law. We hope the Home Office will take the
inquiry's advice and drop the whole idea."

For further information, visit the FIPR website under
http://www.fipr.org/press/030128APIG.html

See "MPs urge changes to net snooping laws," BBC News Online, 28 January
2003 at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2702889.stm

See also "UK stands firm on snooping laws," BBC News Online, 30 January 2003
at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2706677.stm

============================================================
[16] Transmeta microchips to include TCPA-type features
============================================================
A new line of microprocessors will include various "security" features, but
it is unclear whether they will enhance or reduce computer users' rights.

Transmeta has announced that these functions will be built into its T5800
chips.  While precise details about these microdevices have yet to be
released, they will apparently include an encryption engine that supports
many key algorithms. The T5800 will also have a special "invisible"
tamper-resistant area that could be used to store such items as encryption
keys, digital certificates and intellectual property files. The chips are
scheduled to go on the market later this year. Since the announcement, one
of Transmeta's main rivals, Intel, has unveiled similar plans for its next
generation of mobile processors.

The T5800 bears a strong resemblance to the Trusted Computing Platform
Alliance project and its Microsoft-led Palladium software counterpart, which
have generated a great deal of concern from cyber-rights experts. Skeptics
worry that Palladium-type systems will be used to control everything that
users can do on their machines, such as barring people from reading or
downloading files from the Internet. In addition, there are fears that
central microchip repositories such as the "invisible" area in the T5800
will hurt online privacy by denying individual users control over their
personal information while making it easier for outsiders to access the same
data.

See John G. Spooner, "Transmeta notches up notebook security," CNet News, 14
January 2003 at
http://news.com.com/2102-1001-980521.html

See also Lisa Gill, "Transmeta Embeds Security Features in Mobile Chip,"
NewsFactor, 14 January 2003 at
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20460.html

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC-a GILC member) has created a
special dossier on Palladium under
http://www.epic.org/privacy/consumer/microsoft/palladium.html

For links to information on TCPA in German (Deutsch), visit the Stop1984 (a
GILC member) website under
http://www.stop1984.info/index2.php?text=tcpa.txt

================================================================
[17] Studies indicate barriers to mass surveillance are eroding
================================================================
A new report suggests that the emergence of an Orwellian surveillance state
may not be far off.

Entitled "Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains," the report, which was written by
the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU-a GILC member) describes how recent
advances in data-gathering technology (such as biometric identification
scanners, implantable Global Positioning System chips and cell phone
location systems) have made it possible to create a "mosaic of information
... on every individual." Meanwhile, recent legislation such as the USA
Patriot Act have steadily eroded long-standing bulwarks against privacy
abuses. As a result, the report continues, "a surveillance society does loom
over us, and privacy, while not yet dead, is on life support." The document
concludes that there is a need for new comprehensive privacy laws to cope
with new invasive technologies, rather than a "patchwork of largely
inadequate protections."
 
To read the "Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains report, visit
http://www.aclu.org/Privacy/Privacylist.cfm?c=39

See Lisa M. Bowman, "ACLU: You're being watched," CNet News, 16 January 2003
at
http://news.com.com/2102-1023-980964.html

For further information in German (Deutsch), read "Burgerrechtler: Big
Brother formiert sich," Heise Online, 17 January 2003 at
http://www.heise.de/newsticker/data/anm-17.01.03-001/

========================================================================
[18] Big Brother Awards ceremonies held in Bulgaria, France & Denmark
========================================================================
The winners of the Bulgarian, French and Danish Big Brother Awards were
announced earlier this month.  These prizes are given out by Privacy
International (a GILC member) and affiliated groups in several nations to
government agencies, companies and initiatives that have done the most to
invade personal privacy. Special awards are also given to individuals and
organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the protection of
privacy.

The list of Bulgarian Big Brother Awards recipients included the Bulgarian
Interior Minister Georgi Petkanov for wiretapping his colleagues, the
ex-President, opposition party members, and ordinary citizens; Mobiltel,
which retains records of all text messages sent through their systems, to
allow government officials "to find out a customer who has been sending
uncensured, vulgar, based on personal, religious, faith or political
ground"; register.bg, which is requiring users of the country's top-level
domain to provide large amounts of personal data, and the Bulgarian Interior
Ministry for several incidents of intrusive behavior, including the curious
seizure of a teenager's computer because the installed version of Microsoft
Windows was not authorized by the country's National Combat Unit against
Organized Crime. Special citations were presented to the Bulgarian Council
of Ministers for secretly farming out customs searches to a foreign-based
private company, Crown Agents, and for a secret contract for the government
to make large-scale purchases of Microsoft products at inflated prices. A
positive award was given to Snezhanka Georgieva, the head of the nation's
Civil Registry and Administrative Services of the Ministry of regional
development, for her continuous attempts to stop publishing citizens' social
security numbers on the election voters lists.

In France, Orwell awards (for privacy villains) were given to Alain Bauer of
AB Associates (Special Prize, Lifetime Achievement), Logiciel Géoprévention
/ Ville de Roubaix (Technologies, products and systems category) Carrefour /
France Express Recouvrement (Private enterprises and professional
organizations), Jack Lang & Xavier Darcos - logiciel SIGNA (States,
administrations, elected officials and personalities) and Gérard Collomb /
Municipalité de LYON (Cities and urban policies). On the other hand,
Voltaire prizes were given to Act Up Paris (Special Prize, Lifetime
Achievement), GISTI and le Collectif RATP (joint winners in the Freedom of
movement and assembly category), Collectif Bureau d'Etudes - Strasbourg
(Freedom of information and expression), Collectif CLARIS (Methods of
monitoring and security control), and No-Log - Globenet (Private life,
personal correspondences and data).

In Denmark, the second-ever Big Brother Awards ceremony helped establish the
event as an annual tradition, as well as heighten media attention and public
awareness of privacy issues. Danish Orwell Awards were handed out to the
Danish Data Protection Agency (State category) for failing to address the
issue of continuing massive function creep related to National IDs
(introduced more than 30 years ago), Høje-Taastrup County (District/County)
and DSB (Company) received awards for installing remote monitored video
surveillance systems, eBoks - KMD (Project/product) for attempting to
establish a digital depository for personal data based on National IDs,
Henrik Qvortrup (Person) for repeatedly invading the privacy of celebrities
and public figures, and the Anti Piracy Group (Peoples Choice) for
establishing a system for non-police searches of people's homes based on
information from the Kazaa service. Line Barfoed (Person) from the left-wing
party Enhedslisten received the only Simon (positive award) for her work
against Anti-terror/Data Retention legislation. Although local organizers
sought and called for candidates for positive awards in other categories,
there were no nominations due to a dearth of suitable candidates, reflecting
an apparent trend against privacy rights.

The full list of Bulgarian Big Brother Awards winners for 2003 is posted at
http://www.bg.bigbrotherawards.org/

For further details on the 2003 French Big Brother Awards, click
http://www.bigbrotherawards.eu.org/2002/

Additional information on the 2003 Danish Big Brother Awards is available
under
http://www.bigbrotherawards.dk/uk/award/2002/index.uk.html

See also
http://www.bigbrotherawards.org/

=========================================================
[19] European privacy & civil rights newsletter launched
=========================================================
EDRI-gram is a new bi-weekly newsletter about freedom, rights and rules in
the information society in Europe. It is produced by European Digital Rights
(EDRi), an association currently made up of 10 different privacy and civil
rights organizations from 7 European countries. EDRi has an active interest
in developments regarding these subjects in the EU accession countries; the
goal of this new publication is to share knowledge and raise awareness on
these issues throughout the continent.

To submit ideas for the EDRI-gram, email
edrigram at edri.org

To subscribe to the EDRI-gram, click
http://www.edri.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/edri-news

=========================================================
     ABOUT THE GILC NEWS ALERT:
=========================================================
The GILC News Alert is the newsletter of the Global Internet Liberty
Campaign, an international coalition of organizations working to protect and
enhance online civil liberties and human rights.  Organizations are invited
to join GILC by contacting us at
gilc at gilc.org.

To alert members about threats to cyber liberties, please contact members
from your country or send a message to the general GILC address.

To submit information about upcoming events, new activist tools and news
stories, contact:

Christopher Chiu
GILC Coordinator
American Civil Liberties Union
125 Broad Street, 17th Floor
New York, New York 10004
USA

Or email:
cchiu at aclu.org

More information about GILC members and news is available at
http://www.gilc.org

You may re-print or redistribute the GILC NEWS ALERT freely.

This edition of the GILC Alert will be found on the World Wide Web under
http://www.gilc.org/alert/alert71.html

To subscribe to the alert, please send e-mail to
gilc-announce at gilc.org

with the following message in the body:
subscribe gilc-announce

========================================================
PUBLICATION OF THIS NEWSLETTER IS MADE POSSIBLE BY A
GRANT FROM THE OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE (OSI)
========================================================


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