Announcements from People for Internet Responsibility

PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 20 May 2013 00:29

DDoS-for-hire service works with blessing of FBI, operator says


DDoS-for-hire service works with blessing of FBI, operator says

http://j.mp/13zS4nD  (ars technica)

    "A website that accepts payment in exchange for knocking other sites
     offline is perfectly legal, the proprietor of the DDoS-for-hire
     service says. Oh, it also contains a backdoor that's actively
     monitored by the FBI."

 - - -

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren <at> vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren 
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 19 May 2013 19:01

WSJ: Yahoo board approves buying Tumblr for 1.1B in cash


WSJ: Yahoo board approves buying Tumblr for 1.1B in cash

It's (Mostly) Official: Yahoo Buying Tumblr for $1.1 Billion in Cash

http://j.mp/13zcJZ0  (Gawker)

     "Cash! The WSJ says "the Yahoo board has approved a deal" to make this
      happen, and given that crew's track record so far, we believe it. It's
      hard to imagine Tumblr turning this down. One of the most unpopular
      companies in the world will soon own one of the most popular in
      history, and we'll all find out if you really can buy cool."

 - - -

Reference: "Tumblr: Still Full of Porn, Self-Mutilation, and Eating Disorders"
http://j.mp/13zcxcv  (Gawker) [Not safe for family, Not safe for work]

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren <at> vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren 
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com

(Continue reading)

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 19 May 2013 01:42

Revenge, ego and the corruption of Wikipedia


Revenge, ego and the corruption of Wikipedia

http://j.mp/YRr7xE  (Salon) [quite long]

    "The answer to this question is on the one hand simple, almost trivial:
     Qworty turned out to be another author who had a long history of
     resenting Hannah. The late night Wikipedia edits are certainly not the
     first time that a writer's ego has led to mischief. But the story is
     also important. Wikipedia is one of the jewels in the Internet's
     crown, an amazing collective achievement, a mighty stab at realizing
     an awesome dream: a constantly updated repository for all human
     knowledge. It is created from the bottom up, a crowd-sourced labor of
     love by people who require no compensation for their work but also
     don't need to jump through any qualifying hoops. Anyone can edit
     Wikipedia. Just create an account and start messing around!  Qworty's
     edits undermine our trust in this great project. Qworty's edits prove
     that Wikipedia's content can be shaped by people settling grudges and
     acting out of spite and envy. Qworty alone, by his own account, has
     made 13,000 edits to Wikipedia. And Qworty, as the record will show,
     is not to be trusted."

 - - -

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren <at> vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info

(Continue reading)

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 18 May 2013 18:45

Fed. Appeals Court Says Police Need Warrant to Search Phone


Fed. Appeals Court Says Police Need Warrant to Search Phone

http://j.mp/YQOoQl  (Slashdot)

    "In a decision that's almost certainly going to result in this
     issue heading up to the Supreme Court, the Federal 1st Circuit
     Court of Appeals [Friday] ruled that police can't search your
     phone when they arrest you without a warrant. That's contrary to
     most courts' previous findings in these kinds of cases where
     judges have allowed warrantless searches through cell phones."

 - - -

Yep, SCOTUS will have to deal with this now.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren <at> vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren 
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com

(Continue reading)

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 17 May 2013 16:21

Concerns over Internet wiretaps (duh!)


Concerns over Internet wiretaps (duh!)

http://j.mp/10JYRuf  (New York Times)

   "The 20 computer experts and cryptographers who drafted the report say
    the only way that companies can meet wiretap orders is to re-engineer
    the way their systems are built at the endpoints, either in the
    software or in users' devices, in effect creating a valuable listening
    station for repressive governments as well as for ordinary thieves and
    blackmailers."

 - - -

This is, of course, hardly a revelation. We've been saying this for
many, many years.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren <at> vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren 
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com

(Continue reading)

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 17 May 2013 04:52

a users view on the ASIC request

----- Forwarded message from [Name withheld by request]

Date: Fri, 17 May 2013 XX:00:11 NNNN
From: []
Subject: a users view on the ASIC request
To: Lauren Weinstein <lauren <at> vortex.com>

Lauren, there is a dimension of the story you didn't capture maybe. if
others have told you this I apologize for duplication.

Not only was the ASIC request not really judicially assessed or understood
to have force of law, the ISPs acted quite differently. Some blocked. some
did not. The level of understanding of who can, and cannot request, and
when it has force of law, and when 'show me a warrant' is an acceptable
response is not clear. The ASIC is trying to re-posture as having
misunderstood associated damage but it goes far beyond that: which laws
empowered this takedown? there are laws which empower takedowns. What was
this one?

There are many blameable parties in this. the ISPs which blocked, should
have been more conscious of what they were doing. the ISPs who refuse to
speak, were being blinded by laws which relate to porn and other filters,
which they are under legal obligation not to publicise for fear the
blacklist becomes a URL set to trawl. there is no sense obvious to me the
ASIC had the right to say 'do not tell'

The differentiation of did block and did-not gets to really strange places.
in Australia, we have legal defences in common-carrier laws which means
ISPS can be like telephone networks, not held to be responsible for crimes

(Continue reading)

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 16 May 2013 22:38

You probably won't believe how often Sprint hands subscriber data to government


You probably won't believe how often Sprint hands subscriber data to government

http://j.mp/10IEfCK  (house.gov)

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren <at> vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren 
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 16 May 2013 19:48

AT&T blocks Google Hangouts video chats on Android


AT&T blocks Google Hangouts video chats on Android

http://j.mp/YMFxPq  (Fierce Mobile)

  "AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) is blocking video chat features integrated into
   Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) new Hangouts messaging service for Android.
   The standalone Hangouts app--introduced Wednesday and also available
   for Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS and the Web--integrates text, photo and
   video interactions into one service, rivaling over-the-top messaging
   efforts like WhatsApp, Viber and BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) Messenger.
   SlashGear reports that video chat functionality is disabled on AT&T
   Android devices connected to the operator's cellular network, although
   the feature is accessible over Wi-Fi connections. iOS users can send
   and receive video calls over the AT&T cellular network as well."

 - - -

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren <at> vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren 
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com

(Continue reading)

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 16 May 2013 17:52

Governments already abusing website blocking facilities (surprise!)


Governments already abusing website blocking facilities (surprise!)

http://j.mp/m1t7oU  (Delimiter)

     ASIC believed that the website in question was operating in breach of
     Australian law, specifically section 911a of the Corporations Act
     2001," Conroy's office said. "Under Section 313 of the
     Telecommunications Act, websites that breach Australian law can be
     blocked."  "Melbourne Free University's website was hosted at the same
     IP address as the fraud website, and was unintentionally blocked. Once
     ASIC were made aware of what had happened, they lifted the original
     blocking request. The government is working with enforcement agencies
     to ensure that Section 313 requests are properly targeted in future."

 - - -

Website blocking is a cancer.  It never stays in one place, but spreads
to the limits of politicos' imaginations.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren <at> vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org 
 - PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
 - Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
 - Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com

(Continue reading)

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 16 May 2013 17:04

Cops Should Get Warrants to Read Your E-Mail, Attorney General Says


Cops Should Get Warrants to Read Your E-Mail, Attorney General Says

http://j.mp/YYIFKz (Wired)

    Attorney General Eric Holder became the White House's highest ranking
    official to support sweeping privacy protections requiring the
    government, for the first time, to get a probable-cause warrant to
    obtain e-mail and other content stored in the cloud.  "It is something
    that I think the Department will support," Holder testified before the
    House Judiciary Committee, when questioned about the Justice
    Department's position.  Last month, the Senate Judiciary Committee
    approved a package that nullifies a provision of federal law allowing
    the authorities to acquire a suspect's e-mail or other stored content
    from an internet service provider without showing probable cause that
    a crime was committed if the content is 180 days or older.

  - - -

NOTE: "Holder's thinking is a sea change to the agency's position two
years ago when the department testified that warrants should never be
required ... Still, not all President Barack Obama officials are
onboard.  Mary Jo White, the Securities and Exchange Commission's new
chair, wrote the Senate Judiciary Committee last month that ECPA
reform would hinder the government's "ability to protect investors."

 - - -

Uh huh.  Protect us, by spying on us.  Got it!

(Continue reading)

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PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility) Announcement List | 15 May 2013 17:04

ATT announcement suggests that the broadband rich will get richer, and everyone else will get nothing


ATT announcement suggests that the broadband rich will get richer, and
everyone else will get nothing

"AT&T CEO: We'll piggyback on Google's Fiber rollout plans"

http://j.mp/10XJLjz  (CNET)

    "I think you are going to see that begin to manifest itself around the
     United States, and in not just AT&T and Google, you will see others
     doing this, because the demand for really high-speed broadband via
     gigabit-type fiber-based solutions on a targeted basis is going to be
     very, very high," Stephenson said.

  - - - 

Overall, this is disturbing.  It suggests that the broadband rich will
only get richer, perhaps with two fiber choices in their
neighborhoods, but everyone else will be skipped over.  What should be
happening is that multiple companies should work in conjunction with
government to cover everyone where it is technically practical (rather
than overbuilding the same homes repeatedly with fiber) and allow
wholesale competition and access to the physical fiber facilities.
This is how much of the rest of the world does it and it works.

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren <at> vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren 
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
 - Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org

(Continue reading)

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