70 Groups Ask Congress to Halt Work On SOPA and PIPAApproximately 70 grass-roots groups, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, human rights groups, communities of color, and Internet companies today said Congress should stop its work on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA).
The letter, coordinated by Public Knowledge, said, “Now is the time for Congress to take a breath, step back, and approach the issues from a fresh perspective.” The text of the letter is here.
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According To The FBI, Internet Privacy Is Now Considered To Be Suspicious ActivityWhen you use the Internet in a public place, do you prefer to have as much privacy as possible? Well, that makes you a potential terrorist. According to the FBI, Internet privacy is now considered to be suspicious activity. If you are out in public and you attempt to keep snoopers from peeking at your computer screen, then according to the FBI they should gather as much information about y... (more)
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Top official: drone critics are Al Qaeda enablersThe New York Times‘ Scott Shane reported this morning on the Bureau of Investigative Journalism study I wrote about yesterday, detailing that the U.S. drone program, as the NYT put it, “repeatedly targeted rescuers who responded to the scene of a strike, as well as mourners... (more)
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Australian bill would force full-body scans with no opt-outPASSENGERS at airports across Australia will be forced to undergo full-body scans or be banned from flying under new laws to be introduced into Federal Parliament this week.
[...]The proposed Aviation Security Amendment (Screening) Bill 2012 will make it mandatory for any passenger selected to participate to have a body scan.
The "no scan, no fly" amendment closes a loophole in the legislation that lets passengers request a pat-down instead of passing through a meta... (more)
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The Super Bowl's 'Security' Football fans, beware. "Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano joined NFL and other officials in warning that security for Sunday's game at Lucas Oil Stadium would be significantly heightened…" Whoa! Seems professional games have become so dangerous you’d better stay home this year.
And it isn’t just the... (more)
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TSA Trains Super Bowl Hot Dog Sellers To Spot TerroristsDespite acknowledging there are “no credible or specific threats” to the safety of the 2012 Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Sunday, the TSA is training thousands of fast food sellers and other vendors to spot terrorists under the "First Observer" program.
“TSA said over 8,000 stadium vendors, parking lot attendants, shuttle bus drivers, and other transportation professionals received the agency's First Observer training for detecting and assessing indicators a... (more)
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Anti-SOPA forces have ISP snooping bill in their crosshairsIt took an Internet-wide outcry from millions of voters to prompt Rep. Lamar Smith, author of the Stop Online Piracy Act, to postpone a vote on the controversial Hollywood-backed bill.
Now Smith, a conservative Texas Republican, is being targeted a second time: for championing legislation that would require Internet service providers to keep track of their customer... (more)
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Megaupload: Hong Kong Mulls Copyright CrackdownIn the wake of the Megaupload shutdown, authorities in Hong Kong say they will set up a center to investigate electronic crime and copyright infringement later this year. Although there has been no suggestion of wrong-doing, the news will almost certainly unsettle other cyberlocker services such as Filesonic, Uploading, Uploaded.to, Zshare and Filepost, all of which have a presence in the region.
“Hong Kong, what an awesome place to do business and to host my new phantom per... (more)
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U.S. no-fly list doubles in 1 yearWASHINGTON (AP) – Even as the Obama administration says it's close to defeating al-Qaeda, the size of the government's secret list of suspected terrorists who are banned from flying to or within the United States has more than doubled in the past year, the Associated Press has learned.
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Skype Chats Between Megaupload Employees Recorded with a Governmental Trojan?From CNET News:
In one exchange, MegaUpload managers fretted via Skype IM chat in 2007 that founder Kim Dotcom wasn't "safe with his money" and "the current situation is a bit risky," according to documents U.S. authorities filed with a New Zealand court this month as part of their criminal pursuit of the embattled cyberlocker service.
Whil ... (more)
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Feds Seize Sports Streaming Domains in New Super Bowl CrackdownIn a new round of seizures the US authorities have taken control of domain names belonging to several popular sports streaming sites including Firstrowsports.tv, Firstrowsports.com and Soccertvlive.net. All affected sites now redirect to a notice from DOJ/ICE. In common with last year’s campaign, the new round of seizures appears to be part of another “Super Bowl Crackdown” targeting sites that link to unauthorized sports streams.
US authorities began another rou... (more)
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FDA's New Claim: "Your Body Is a Drug--and We Have the Authority to Regulate It!"In another outrageous power-grab, FDA says your own stem cells are drugs--and stem cell therapy is interstate commerce because it affects the bottom line of FDA-approved drugs in other states!
We wish this were a joke, but it's the US Food and Drug Administration's latest claim in its battle with a Colorado clinic over its Regenexx-SD™ procedure, a non-surgical treatment for people suffering from moderate to severe joint or bone pain using adult stem cells.
T... (more)
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Ireland: Website accused of defamation is closed by judgeA JUDGE yesterday ordered a website to be shut down and said lawmakers should think about making it illegal to post "patently untrue" allegations about people on the internet.
Mr Justice Michael Peart was speaking after he granted Damien Tansey various orders, effectively ending the operation of the website www.rate-your-solicitor.com.
The Sligo-based solicitor brought defamation proceedings to the High Court arising out of comments on the website.
Th... (more)
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Estonia Next In Line To Receive US 'Encouragement' To Adopt Harsher Anti-Piracy LawsEstonia Next In Line To Receive US 'Encouragement' To Adopt Harsher Anti-Piracy Lawsfrom the nice-little-country-you've-got-here deptNumerous Wikileaks cables have highlighted the pressure that the US has brought to bear on several foreign governments behind closed doors in an attempt to get the latter to pass maximalist copyright laws. But it's worth noting that plenty of arm twisting takes place openly. Here, for example, is a letter (pdf) from the American Chamber of Commerce in Esto... (more)
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Pirate Bay Verdict Signals Threat Of Huge New Anti-Piracy CampaignToday’s Supreme Court rejection against The Pirate Bay signals the start of a new campaign targeting 150 file-sharing sites, say anti-piracy figures. A lawyer for the Hollywood movie studios says she expects Swedish sites and those providing them with infrastructure will stop their activities today. Antipiratbyran say they will take legal action against those that don’t.
This morning, Sweden’s Supreme Court announced that it would not be granting leave to appeal... (more)
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DEA investigates Montana state legislator for medical marijuana viewsA member of Montana's state legislature says the Drug Enforcement Agency began investigating her over support for medical marijuana laws.
State House Democrat Diane Sands tells the Missoulian she was contacted by a defense attorney with some unusual news: The attorney had been approached by the DEA who wanted to ... (more)
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Justice Department Backs RIAA Against Pirating StudentThe Department of Justice has filed a brief siding with the RIAA in its civil case against the file-sharing student Joel Tenenbaum.The RIAA is protesting a demand from the student’s legal team, who want the court to reduce the massive $675,000 fine on due process grounds, to the minimum statutory damages of $750 per song.
More than half a decade ago, the RIAA sued tens of thousands of alleged file-sharers. While the music group settled with the majority for a few thousand do... (more)
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Pirate Bay Founders’ Prison Sentences Final, Supreme Court Appeal RejectedA few moments ago Sweden’s Supreme Court announced its decision not to grant leave to appeal in the long-running Pirate Bay criminal trial. This means that the previously determined jail sentences and fines handed out to Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm and Carl Lundström will stand.
November 2010, the Swedish Court of Appeal found three people behind The Pirate Bay guilty of criminal copyright infringement offenses.
Although Fredrik Neij... (more)
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