Archive for March 2005
Groups Seek Patriot Act Changes
"Representatives from the FBI and the privacy community on Tuesday clashed over how provisions in a 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the USA PATRIOT Act are being used to access information.
"’We at the FBI do not want your secrets, unless of course you are a terrorist or a spy,’ Valerie Caproni, general counsel for the FBI, said at a conference sponsored by the American University National Security and Law Society.
"Caproni downplayed the controversy surrounding the law, which has been criticized as giving the government too much investigatory and surveillance powers."
Chloe Albanesius. FBI Official, Privacy Advocate Clash Over PATRIOT Act. GovExec. March 22, 2005.
See also:
Edward Epstein. Left and Right Unite to CChallenge Patriot Act Provisions. San Francisco Chronicle. March 23, 2005.
DRM and ‘Trusted Computing’
"If you have recently bought an IBM ThinkVantage computer, a Dell Optiplex, or one of a whole range of laptops from Toshiba, HP/Compaq or Samsung then you may have got more for your money than you realised.
"Inside your shiny new PC is an extra chip called the trusted platform module (TPM) that can be used for a range of hardware-based security features.
"Eventually the TPM will be built into the main processor itself, and if the trusted computing group has its way then you will find one in every piece of hardware you own, from mobile phones to TV set top boxes to children’s toys."
Bill Thompson. What Price for ‘Trusted PC Security’?. BBC News. March 18, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Librarians Battle to Digitize Perishing Images
"If the thought of backing up e-mail evokes feelings of dread, spare a thought for Australia’s librarians who are racing against the clock to digitize millions of decaying photographic images before nature has its cruel way.
"While IT managers may worry about whether their document management solutions are legally up to scratch, photographic curators – charged with the safekeeping of Australia’s pictorial history – have to deal with a pervading smell of vinegar as their cellulose assets shrivel and die."
Julian Bajkowski. Race Against Time to Digitize Decaying Images. ComputerWorld. March 23, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Study: P2P Usage Declines
"About 36 million Americans – or 27% of internet users – say they download either music or video files and about half of them have found ways outside of traditional peer-to-peer networks or paid online services to swap their files, according to the most recent survey of the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Mary Madden and Lee Rainie. Music and Video Downloading Moves Beyond P2P. Pew Internet and American Life Project. March 23, 2005.
Mary Madden and Lee Rainie. Music and Video Downloading Moves Beyond P2P (.pdf) March 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
Dutch AG Upholds Free Speech Decision
"Today, Attorney-General Verkade delivered his opinion regarding the Scientology case to the Dutch Supreme Court. In this case the Church of Scientology accuses Karin Spaink of copyright infringement for making parts of their course material available on her website. By publishing this material, Spaink wants to inspire a public debate about the nature of the cult."
No author.
Attorney-General Confirms Ruling for Xs4All in Scientology Case. Xs4All News. March 18, 2005.
The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
British Man Accused of Copyright Infringement
"A British man who runs a Web site that allegedly once supported the BitTorrent peer-to-peer application is facing the threat of being sued by four major U.S. movie studios.
"Kevin Reid has been accused of copyright infringement by Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal City Studios and Warner Bros. The studios filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court earlier this month claiming that copyright-protected films have been uploaded and downloaded from bds-palace.co.uk, which Reid runs.
"Reid has not yet been formally named as a defendant in the lawsuit. However, lawyers representing the four labels have served him with legal papers asking him to reach a settlement."
Graeme Wearden. U.K. Man Threatened with BitTorrent Lawsuit. News.com. March 18, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
PyMusique Opens iTunes Again
"A group of underground programmers has posted code online they say will reopen a back door in Apple Computer’s iTunes store, allowing Linux computer users to purchase music free of copy protection.
"The release comes just a day after Apple blocked a previous version of the program, called PyMusique, in part by requiring all iTunes customers to use the latest version of Apple’s software.
"In a blog posting, Norwegian programmer Jon Johansen, who was previously responsible for releasing software used to copy DVDs online, said he had been successful at reverse engineering the latest iTunes encryption."
John Borland. ‘DVD Jon’ Reopens iTunes Back Door. News.com. March 22, 2005.
SNTReport.com™ The Online Journal for Social Software, Digital Collaboration & Information Policy. A Seso Group™ Venture.
COPYCENSE 