Under CISPA, Who Can Get Your Data?
posted 03/25/2013, 9:57 PM (EFF.org)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Under CISPA, companies can collect your information in order to "protect the rights and property" of the company, and then share that information with third parties, including the government, so long as it is for "cybersecurity purposes." Companies aren't required to strip out personally identifiable information from the data they give to the government, and the government can then use the information for purposes wholly unrelated to cybersecurity – such as "national security," a term the bill l... (more) |
NBC Universal Warns File-Sharers of Criminal Prosecution
posted 03/25/2013, 9:57 PM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
NBC Universal is one of the copyright holders involved in the “six strikes” copyright alert system but the warnings it sends out to subscribers of non-participating ISPs stand in stark contrast to the educational approach of the program. A threatening email warns the alleged file-sharers that they risk substantial monetary damages, criminal prosecution and Internet disconnections.... (more) |
Spain to Crackdown on Pirate Sites and Outlaw File-Sharing
posted 03/24/2013, 9:29 PM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
After becoming known as somewhat of a haven for both file-sharing sites and their users, Spain is preparing to crack down on breaches of intellectual property rights. In a blueprint published by the government today, sites said to infringe copyright on a large-scale face fines of up to 300,000 euros and having their payment processors and advertisers removed. P2P downloads will also be outlawed by limiting the right to private copy.... (more) |
Fresh Calls to Congress to Make Movie and Music Streaming a Felony
posted 03/22/2013, 3:52 PM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Last time there was an attempt to turn streaming copyrighted content into a felony the effort was crushed when the Internet rose up and defeated SOPA. But this week the thorny issue was again raised before Congress, with a suggestion that until the offense is considered a felony rather than a misdemeanor, enforcement will be problematic. Across the Atlantic, Pirate Bay nemesis Rights Alliance says that while enforcement against torrents continues, visitors to streaming sites are on the increase.... (more) |
AP v. Meltwater: Disappointing Ruling for News Search
posted 03/22/2013, 3:52 PM (EFF.org)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
A federal district judge in New York City issued a troubling ruling today holding that an electronic news clipping service infringed copyright when it republished excerpts of news stories in search results for its clients seeking news coverage based on particular keywords.
The case is Associated Press v. Meltwater. Meltwater is a private subscription service that scans news sites for stories ... (more) |
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Wednesday March 20th, 2013
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'I'm Going To Prison For Arithmetic' Andrew Auernheimer aka Weev
posted 03/20/2013, 10:41 AM (YouTube)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Before entering the New Jersey courthouse to face his sentencing on March 18, 2013, Andrew Auernheimer (Weev) gave a short speech to the press and to his friends. Auernheimer was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by three years supervised release.
Auernheimer revealed a security flaw in AT&T's iPad user database, allowing him to scrape the data from 114,000 iPad users. The inform... (more) |
MPAA: Pirates Can't Hijack Freedom of Expression
posted 03/20/2013, 10:41 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Last week the European Court of Human Rights rejected an application to hear the cases of Peter Sunde and Fredrik Neij, two of the co-founders of The Pirate Bay. The MPAA has now come out to applaud the decision, claiming that they are tired of pirates hijacking the term “freedom of expression.” Criminals shouldn’t hide behind such basic rights, the Hollywood group believes.... (more) |
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Wednesday March 13th, 2013
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Traffic law 'turning point'? Ohio judge rules speed cameras violate rights
posted 03/08/2013, 2:31 AM (Fox News)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Highway speed cameras just got ticketed.
An Ohio judge ruled Thursday that a Cincinnati-area community's speed cameras violate drivers' rights under the state constitution, in what attorneys on the case called a first-ever ruling against the ubiquitous enforcement tool.
"To the best of my knowledge this is the first time in the country that this has happened," attorney Mike Allen, whose firm brought the case, told FoxNews.com. "This could be a major turning point ... (more) |
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Wednesday March 6th, 2013
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Sony Hits Beyonce File-Sharer With $233,000 Damages Lawsuit
posted 03/06/2013, 1:55 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
An important file-sharing prosecution has just taken another unexpected turn. The case, which is notable as the first ever to involve the monitoring and subsequent charging of a BitTorrent user in Sweden, centers around the pre-release leaking of a Beyonce album to The Pirate Bay. Now, in a parallel action brought by Sony Music Entertainment, the labels are seeking eye-watering damages of 1.5 million kronor, a cool $233,000.... (more) |
Comcast's "Six Strikes" Email With Infringement Details Surfaces
posted 03/04/2013, 5:29 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Together with four other internet providers in the United States, Comcast has started sending copyright alerts to customers who use BitTorrent and other P2P networks to pirate movies, TV-shows and music. Those who are “caught” will receive a browser notification, a voice-mail message and an email with details on the file that was allegedly shared. We have a copy of one of the first emails that went out on Tuesday.
Earlier this week the six strikes anti-piracy system finally l... (more) |
U.S. Government Wins Appeal in Kim Dotcom Extradition Battle
posted 03/02/2013, 1:51 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Kim Dotcom and his associates have lost a key battle in their extradition fight against the United States. On two earlier occasions, including once in the High Court, Dotcom’s legal team successfully argued they were entitled to examine mountains of evidence held by U.S. authorities. But those rulings were overturned this morning when the Court of Appeal said that the U.S. would be allowed to present a summary case after all. Dotcom says he’ll take an appeal to the Supreme Court.... (more) |
Cablevision Disconnects Persistent Pirates for 24 Hours
posted 03/01/2013, 12:25 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
 Cablevision / Optimum Online has revealed how it will respond to serial copyright infringers under the six strikes system. The Internet provider says it will temporarily disconnect customers from the Internet after they have received multiple copyright alerts. The disconnection will last for 24 hours but will be lifted when the customer calls a Cablevision hotline.
Earlier this week the six strikes anti-piracy system kicked off in the United States.
Interestingly,... (more) |
Japanese Police Arrest 27 File-Sharers in Nationwide Show of Force
posted 03/01/2013, 12:17 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Last year Japan introduced one of the toughest laws in the world for dealing with online piracy but with little visible action against file-sharers it was questioned whether the legislation would have teeth. That position has now dramatically switched, with police nationwide carrying out searches on 124 locations and arresting 27 people for online infringement. Those arrested face up to 10 years in jail.
Following complaints that the music industry was in peril from the actions o... (more) |
E-Verify: Bad for American Businesses and Worker Privacy
posted 03/01/2013, 12:17 AM (EFF.org)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Earlier today, there was a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on whether all employers nationwide should be required to use the employment verification system E-Verify to investigate the backgrounds of each new employee they hire.
The hearing was erroneously titled "How E-Verify Works and How it Benefits American Employers and Workers." As it turns out, mandatory implementation of E-Verify would be di... (more) |
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Thursday February 28th, 2013
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Comcast Punishes BitTorrent Pirates With Browser Hijack
posted 02/28/2013, 12:03 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
 Comcast revealed today how it will deal with customers who receive multiple warnings under the newly launched “six-strikes” anti-piracy system. After four alerts the ISP will “hijack” web-browsers of suspected serial pirates with a persistent pop-up notification, making it impossible to browse the Internet. The pop-up will disappear after the customer “resolves the issue” with a Customer Security Assurance professional.
Earlier this week when the six strikes system launched, l... (more) |
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Wednesday February 27th, 2013
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Kim Dotcom's Mega to expand into encrypted email
posted 02/27/2013, 2:03 AM (The Guardian)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Kim Dotcom, the German-born internet entrepreneur fighting extradition from New Zealand over US claims of "criminal" copyright infringement, says he plans to launch an end-to-end encrypted email service to go with his Mega encrypted file storage offering.
Speaking from New Zealand via a Skype video link to London, Dotcom said that his new Mega file storage service which launched in January now has more than 3 million registered users who have stored a total of 125m files in the fi... (more) |
U.S. 'Pirate' Streaming Site Operator Gets Amnesty
posted 02/27/2013, 2:01 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
The Texan operator of Channelsurfing.net has made a deal with the United States Government to avoid prosecution. The man, who was arrested in 2011 after the domain name of his website was seized, stood accused of criminal copyright infringement for linking to sport streams. In the agreement, the U.S. attorney says that it’s in the best interest of all concerned to give McCarthy amnesty.... (more) |
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Tuesday February 26th, 2013
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The Copyright Propaganda Machine Gets a New Agent: Your ISP
posted 02/26/2013, 12:20 AM (EFF.org)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
It's been a long time coming, but the copyright surveillance machine known as the Copyright Alert System (CAS) is finally launching. CAS is an agreement between Big Content and large Internet Service Providers to monitor peer to peer networks for copyright infringement and target subscribers who are alleged to infringe--via everything from from "educational" alerts to throttling Internet speeds.
As part of the launch, the Center for Copyright Information, which administers the pr... (more) |
Nintendo Wants to Hunt Down Game Pirates and Block Websites
posted 02/26/2013, 12:04 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
In a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative Nintendo urges the Government to put pressure on foreign countries to do a better job at tackling online piracy. The game company says it’s suffering “huge losses” due to the unauthorized distribution of their games. Among other things, Nintendo calls for blocking of file-sharing websites and criminal prosecution against those who pirate games or facilitate copyright infringement.... (more) |
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Monday February 25th, 2013
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"Six Strikes" Anti-Piracy Scheme Starts Today, With Mystery Punishments
posted 02/25/2013, 11:10 AM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
Today the controversial "six-strikes" anti-piracy system kicks off in the United States. Soon the first BitTorrent users will receive so-called copyright alerts from their Internet provider and after multiple warnings subscribers will be punished. But, what these punishments entail remains a bit of a mystery. None of the participating ISPs have officially announced how they will treat repeat infringers and the CCI doesn’t have this information either.
Today the MPAA and RIAA, help... (more) |
Early Lessons From New Zealand's 'Three Strikes' Punishments
posted 02/25/2013, 11:10 AM (Techdirt)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
New Zealand has the unhappy distinction of being in the vanguard of using the "three strikes" approach of punishment for people accused of sharing unauthorized copies online. As in France and the UK, this was brought in without any preparatory research to ascertain its effectiveness, and without any real thought about the practical implications. That makes a post by Susan Chalmers on the blog of InternetNZ, a "non-profit open membership organisation dedicated to protecting and promoting the In... (more) |
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Sunday February 24th, 2013
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"Six Strikes" Anti-Piracy Scheme Starts Monday
posted 02/24/2013, 2:59 PM (TorrentFreak)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
The much-discussed U.S. six strikes anti-piracy scheme is expected to go live on Monday. The start date hasn’t been announced officially by the CCI but a source close to the scheme confirmed the plans. During the coming months millions of BitTorrent users will be actively monitored by copyright holders. After repeated warnings, Internet subscribers risk a heavy reduction in download speeds and temporary browsing restrictions.
During the summer of 2011 the MPAA and RIAA teamed up ... (more) |
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Friday February 22nd, 2013
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National Security and Your Digital Data
posted 02/22/2013, 2:43 PM (Jeffrey Tucker)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
One of the most dangerous threats to liberty and privacy today is called the “Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act,” or CISPA. The activists slayed this monster last year. Or so it seemed. But of course, the beast didn’t die.
Some powerful members of Congress are pushing it again.
CISPA would allow government to force telecommunication providers to cough up your personal data on demand — no warrant, no notification, no chance for you to object. It is being ... (more) |
Should You Go to Jail for Unlocking Your Phone?
posted 02/22/2013, 2:42 PM (YouTube)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
"Who owns your phone at the end of the day?" asks Derek Khanna, a visiting fellow at Yale Law and former staff member at the Republican Study Committee.
Last fall, Khanna earned notoriety - and a pink slip - for a public memo urging GOP members of Congress to rethink their stance on copyright law.
More recently, in a column for The Atlantic, Khanna blasted a new ruling tha... (more) |
New Moving Speed Camera Blends With Freeway Traffic
posted 02/22/2013, 2:42 PM (TheNewspaper)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
 Soon the car behind you on the freeway might be carrying a speed camera. The "Gatso Millia" moving photo radar system is installed in an inconspicuous sedan in the hopes of catching motorists by surprise, photographing them on the highway unaware of what happened until a citation appears in the mail weeks later. The reference laboratory LNE (Laboratoire national de metrologie et d'essais) granted type approval to the device on Monday, certifying it as fit for use on French roads.... (more) |
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Thursday February 21st, 2013
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Wednesday February 20th, 2013
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Armed UK Police Raid House Over Facebook Picture Showing Toy Weapon In Background
posted 02/20/2013, 4:27 PM (Techdirt)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
One of the reasons Techdirt rails against exaggerated responses to supposed terrorist threats is that it has caused police forces around the world to lose all sense of proportion -- literally, in the case of this UK story from the Daily Mail.
It began when Ian Driscoll decided to post a picture to his Facebook page. It was of an Action Man doll, accompanied by a toy Alsatian dog. Why? you might ask. Well, "as a laugh", he says, because the Action Man figure looked a lot lik... (more) |
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Tuesday February 19th, 2013
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Monday February 18th, 2013
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Friday February 15th, 2013
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AZ Court: You Don't Have to Be High to Get a DUI
posted 02/15/2013, 9:10 AM (StoptheDrugWar.org)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
 An Arizona appeals court has ruled that marijuana users don't need to be actually impaired to be successfully prosecuted for driving under the influence. The common sense-defying ruling came Tuesday in the case of a man who tested positive for an inactive marijuana metabolite that remains in the body for weeks after the high from smoking marijuana has worn off.
The ruling in Arizona v. Shilgevorkyan overturned a decision by a superior court judge who said that it didn't make s... (more) |
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Thursday February 14th, 2013
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CISPA, the Privacy-Invading Cybersecurity Spying Bill, is Back in Congress
posted 02/14/2013, 12:17 PM (EFF.org)
[Category: Big Brother/Orwellian]
It's official: The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act was reintroduced in the House of Representatives yesterday. CISPA is the contentious bill civil liberties advocates fought last year, which would provide a poorly-defined "cybersecurity" exception to existing privacy law. CISPA offers broad immunities to companies who choose to share data with government agencies (including the private communications of users) in the name of cybersecurity. It also creates avenues for companies to s... (more) |
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The Century of the Self: The Untold History of Controlling the Masses Through the Manipulation of Unconscious Desires
Operation Gladio: The Hidden History of U.S. Sponsored False Flag Terrorism in Europe
The New American Century: The Untold History of The Project for the New American Century
It is now a daily occurrence for school officials somewhere in America to freak out, call the police, and discipline students over anything vaguely resembling a gun. On Monday it was the turn of Malden High School in Massachusetts.
The various ways in which the big ISPs would implement their version of the "six strikes" Copyright Alert System had mostly been 
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When the Right to Resist Becomes the "Duty to Submit"
The Missing Lesson From Norway: Never Trust a Man in Uniform
"They're Only Out To Make Cold Hard American Cash"; Park Police Crack Down on Bicycle Cabs in DC