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Censorship

Submission + - Administrative Net Censorship adopted in France (laquadrature.net)

jeremie_z_ writes: The French Parliament adopted article 4 of LOPPSI law, which established the administrative filtering of the Net through the Trojan horse of "child protection". Such a scheme will allow for the generalised censorship of Internet content while doing nothing to stop pedophiles and child pornography. Rejecting judiciary supervision clearly illustrates the will of the executive branch to control the Internet.
Businesses

Humble Bundle 2 Is Live 217

Dayofswords writes "The first Humble Bundle was a monster success, with over 100,000 people donating over $1 million in total to support the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Child's Play, and of course the developers behind the games. The second bundle is now live (bundle site), containing five great games: Braid, Cortex Command, Machinarium, Osmos, and Revenge of the Titans. Each game is DRM-free, the games work on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, and you pay what you want and decide where your money goes."

Comment some additional info (Score 3, Insightful) 223

  • according to the eu privacy commissioners opinion the searches themselves are part of the traffic, as such they are protected and not to be collected and stored under the data retention directive.
  • the Data retention directive is unconstitutional in a number of EU countries, in Sweden it hasn't even been adopted yet, since the government does not want to drive voters to the pirate party, let's see what happens after the elections in autumn.
  • it's also important, that the EP rejected the Data retention directive multiple times, only after pressure from the council was it adopted, so extending it will be a hard time for the initiators.

One of the MEPs who started this initiative Mr Motti is an interesting figure. After the vote on the Telecoms package - one of the MEPs who initiated this topic - Mr Motti already foreshadowed his intentions:

"Today, we have indicated our agreement to complete freedom of the internet, to the promotion of an electronic civil society, to the promotion of fundamental freedoms and best practices and to the identification and isolation of all those individuals, in particular, paedophiles and sex offenders"

Also notable is, how much he is is interested in anonymity and blogs:

"Subject: Blogs, freedom of speech and protection of personal dignity Answer(s)The right to freedom of opinion thus becomes a tool with which to harm other people's dignity, including that of children, by hiding behind the anonymity of blogs. This gives rise to a kind of Internet free-for-all, in which citizens do not all enjoy the same rights; it also allows the administrators of blogs defined as 'open', i.e. unmoderated, and the service providers which host them to avoid prosecution for the published content, unlike the editors and publishers of online newspapers."

In another speech Mr Motti also addressed freedom of speech in Italy, i guess this points in the same direction like what is happening currently in Italy regarding google.

On an ironic side note Mr Motti also seems to be highly interested in setting up cameras in kindergartens:

Use of video surveillance systems in childcare centres: "...whether the need to protect the privacy of people exercising a number of key occupations (such as childcare workers and teachers) should be regarded as secondary to the right of babies and children to a serene educational environment?"

and

"...making childcare centres, kindergartens and schools safer for those attending them, installing video cameras..."

It's ironic, how someone fighting pedophilia wants to setup cameras in childcare centers.

all his debates are available, also his parliamentary questions

Submission + - EU-India treaty leaks with 3strikes provisions

zoobab writes: The draft agreement between Europe and India on Intellectual Property Rights has been leaked, and clearly mentions at its Article 34 the possibility for administrative tribunals, such as the ones currently being setup in France via the Hadopi, to shutdown internet access of suspected downloaders ("This article shall not affect the possibility for a court or administrative authority, in accordance with Parties' legal systems, of requiring the service provider to terminate or prevent an infringement"). The draft also contains provisions on ISPs liabilities. The European Commission is also pushing for ISPs liabilities for copyright infringements in the EU-South Korea Free Trade Agreement, which was criticised in the public hearing on ACTA on going beyond existing EU laws and the E-commerce directive.

Submission + - Charter for Innovation, Creativity and A2K (fcforum.net)

sTeF writes: More than 100 specialists from 20 different countries participated last week in the Culture Forum of Barcelona and created an international coalition to urge respect for the civil rights of citizens and artists in the digital era.
The Charter will be presented to more than 1000 political institutions and governments, including WIPO, the Obama administration, the European Commission and many national governments. Some of these organizations have already shown an interest in listening to the demands. Representatives of the European Commission and official observers from the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, among others, were present during the approval of the Charter.

GNU is Not Unix

Submission + - FSFE Fellowship interview with Smári McCa (fsfe.org)

Stian Rødven Eide writes: "Smári McCarthy is a thoughtful anarchist and practical chaos technician — with a deep interest in Free Software and democracy. Currently serving as project manager for the Icelandic Innovation Center, Smári works on digital fabrication and peer-to-peer education, while spending his spare time breaking the fundamental assumptions of how we organise society. I sat down for an interesting interview with Smári, in which he explained his projects and how they can contribute towards a more sustainable world."
Software

Submission + - Ten Reasons Why You Should Boycott Skype (freedom-blog.net)

Tovok7 writes: Despite its wide usage and popularity, there has always been a lot of criticism about eBay's unprofitable Skype. Now all the arguments against using Skype were summarized and several alternatives proposed. Should you ever need to explain your friends why you are not going to use Skype, this article might come in handy: "If you want to understand what Skype actually is, it might help to picture an almighty telephone and mail company. This company can not only spy on your private conversations and has total control over them, but it also forces you to use it. It owns the telephone lines and all mail transportation and does not let other companies use them. At the same time, you are bound to only use their telephone and mailboxes." Is the average user going to be impressed by these arguments and are there really good alternatives to Skype?

Comment Let's start with these (Score 5, Informative) 231

Computer Software and Open Source Issues: A Primer, December 17, 2003

The use of open source software by the federal government has been gaining attention as organizations continue to search for opportunities to enhance their information technology operations while containing costs. For the federal government and Congress, the debate over the use of open source software intersects several other issues, including, but not limited to, the development of homeland security and e-government initiatives, improving government information technology management practices, strengthening computer security, and protecting intellectual property rights. Currently, the debate over open source software often revolves primarily around information security and intellectual property rights. However, issues related to cost and quality are often raised as well.

Intellectual Property, Computer Software and the Open Source Movement, March 11, 2004

This report considers the impact of intellectual property rights upon open source software. It provides an introduction to the open source movement in the software industry. It reviews the intellectual property laws, including copyrights, patents, and trade secrets. After identifying issues of interface between open source software and the intellectual property laws, the report concludes with a discussion of possible legislative issues and approaches.

Telecommunications Japans Telecommunications Deregulation: NTTs Access Fees and Worldwide Expansion, August 9, 2000

The United States and Japan are negotiating over Japan's costly rates for telecommunications companies to hook into the telephone network owned by the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Company (NTT), Japan's dominant provider of telecom services. The U.S. has argued for a 41 percent cut in the rates, while Japan has insisted on a 22 percent cut. NTT also is attempting to acquire Verio, an Internet service provider in the United States.

Telecommunications Act: Competition, Innovation, and Reform, June 7, 2007

Both houses of Congress have begun debating how to modify the 1996 Act, most of which resides within the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. That debate focuses on how to foster investment, innovation and competition in both the physical broadband network and in the applications that ride over that network while also meeting the many non-economic objectives of U.S. telecommunications policy: universal service, homeland security, public safety, diversity of voices, localism, consumer protection, etc.

Patent-related The Obviousness Standard in Patent Law: KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc., May 31, 2007

The Patent Act provides protection for processes, machines, manufactures, and compositions of matter that are useful, novel, and nonobvious. Of these three statutory requirements, the nonobviousness of an invention is often the most difficult to establish. To help courts and patent examiners make the determination, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit developed a test called "teaching, suggestion, or motivation" (TSM). This test provided that a patent claim is only proved obvious if the prior art, the nature of the problem to be solved, or the knowledge of those skilled in the art, reveals some motivation or suggestion to combine the prior art teachings. In KSR International Co. v. Teleflex Inc. (550 U.S. ___ , No. 04-1350, decided April 30, 2007), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the TSM test, if it is applied by district courts and patent examiners as the sole means to determine the obviousness of an invention, is contrary to Section 103 of the Patent Act and to Supreme Court precedents that call for an expansive and flexible inquiry, including Graham v. John Deere Co. of Kansas City, 383 U.S. 1 (1966).

Patent Reform in the 110th Congress: Innovation Issues, February 21, 2008

This study provides an overview of current patent reform issues. It begins by offering a summary of the structure of the current patent system and the role of patents in innovation policy. The report then reviews some of the broader issues and concerns, including patent quality, the high costs of patent litigation, international harmonization, and speculation in patents, that have motivated these diverse legislative reform proposals. The specific components of this legislation are then identified and reviewed in greater detail.

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Reforms: Regulatory Impacts Upon Innovation and Competition, April 4, 2008

This report reviews the USPTO rules that would restrict claims and continuing applications. It begins by offering a summary of the patent system and the role of patents in innovation policy. The context, details, and legal challenges to the new USPTO rules are then explained. The report then offers both the policy justifications for the new rules, as well as concerns that patent professionals and other observers have expressed over their effectiveness and impact. The report closes by identifying congressional issues and options.

Intellectual Property Rights Violations: Federal Civil Remedies and Criminal Penalties Related to Copyrights, Trademarks, and Patents, October 31, 2008

This report provides information describing the federal civil remedies and criminal penalties that may be available as a consequence of violations of the federal intellectual property laws: the Copyright Act of 1976, the Patent Act of 1952, and the Trademark Act of 1946 (conventionally known as the Lanham Act). The report explains the remedies and penalties for various intellectual property offenses.

Patent Reform: Innovation Issues, January 17, 2007

This study provides an overview of current patent reform issues. It begins by offering a summary of the structure of the current patent system and the role of patents in innovation policy. The report then reviews some of the broader issues and concerns, including patent quality, the high costs of patent litigation, international harmonization, and speculation in patents, that have motivated these diverse legislative reform proposals. The specific components of this legislation are then identified and reviewed in greater detail.

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