Electronic Freedom Foundation Update

From EFF:

EFFector 23.28: Victory! Internet Censorship Bill Delayed,


For Now



EFFector Vol. 23, No. 28 October 1, 2010 editor@eff.org



A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation

ISSN 1062-9424



effector: n, Computer Sci. A device for producing a

desired change.



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In our 550th issue:



* Victory! Internet Censorship Bill Delayed, For Now

Great news for those who care about free speech and fair

use online: the Senate Judiciary Committee won't consider

the dangerously flawed "Combating Online Infringement and

Counterfeits Act" (COICA) bill until after the midterm

elections, at least. This is a real victory, and the

support from all of you who used EFF's Action Center to

write to your Senators played a key role. Thanks as well to

the 87 Internet scientists and engineers whose open letter

to Congress reminded lawmakers what is at stake, and to all

the other voices that helped sound the alarm.



For more information:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/victory-internet-censorship-bill-delayed

To see the full open letter:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/open-letter



* Government Seeks Back Door Into All Our Communications



The New York Times reported this week on a federal

government plan to put government-mandated "back doors" in

all communications systems, including all encryption

software. But as the Internet security community explained

years ago, intentionally weakening security and including

back doors is a recipe for disaster for our already-fragile

online security and privacy.



To learn more:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/government-seeks



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EFF Updates



* Political Forum Fights Back Against Righthaven Copyright

Troll Suit

The online political discussion forum Democratic

Underground is fighting back against a lawsuit filed by

copyright troll Righthaven LLC. EFF argued in court

documents filed Monday that the short excerpt of a news

article at issue in the suit is a clear case of fair use.

https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2010/09/27



* A Field Guide to Copyright Trolls

With all of this talk about copyright trolls and

spamigation, it is easy to get confused. Here's a concise

guide to copyright trolls currently in the wild, with

status updates.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/field-guide-copyright-trolls



* EFF Supports Microsoft in Seeking to Make It Easier to

Invalidate Patents

EFF -- joined by Public Knowledge, the Computer &

Communications Industry Association and the Apache Software

Foundation -- filed an amicus brief Wednesday asking the

U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case in which Microsoft is

trying to make it easier to invalidate an issued U.S.

patent.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/eff-supports-microsoft-seeking-make-it-easier



* Thai Webmaster Arrested for Online Speech

Last Friday the director of popular alternative Thai news

portal Prachatai was arrested by the Thai government.

Chiranuch Premchaipoen -- popularly known as Jiew -- was

charged under the intermediary liability provisions of the

2007 Computer Crime Act and for defamation of the Thai

royal family. She faces a 32-year prison sentence.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/09/thai-journalist



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miniLinks



~ EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston on PBS Newshour

Kevin Bankston speaks out against the reported proposals

from the Obama Administration that would mandate "back

doors" into Internet communication systems.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/government_programs/july-dec10/wiretap_09-27.html



~ Supreme Court Could Take Its First RIAA File-Sharing

Case

At issue: a federal appeals court's decision ordering a

university student to pay the RIAA $27,750 for file-sharing

37 songs when she was in high school.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/09/supreme-court-could-take-its-first-riaa-file-sharing-case.ars?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss