<-- The Filter --> February 2006
No. 8.02< -- The Filter -- > February 2006
CONTENTS:
[0] From the Editor
[1] News
[2] Berkman Updates
[3] Community Talk
[4] Networked: Bookmarks, Webcasts, Podcasts, Tags, and Blogposts
[5] Community Links
[6] Upcoming Conferences
[7] Staying Connected
[8] Filter Facts
[0] FROM THE EDITOR
===================
Thank you for your ideas and suggestions. Thanks to high demand, we've reinstated the popular conference section of the Filter (see [5]). If you know of a conference that should be included in that section, please send it to filter@cyber.harvard.edu. We've also introduced a new feature, "Community Talk." If you've got a question you'd like to ask of Berkman faculty and fellows, or if you've been puzzling over a recent event and would like some clarification, just send in your questions to filter@cyber.harvard.edu. One question will be selected and addressed by Berkman fellows and faculty in the next edition of the Filter. That's our new section [3]. And, as always, if you have ideas for new features or if there are changes you'd like to see made (or not!), just send me an email at filter@cyber.harvard.edu. All feedback is welcome.
— Amanda Michel
[1] NEWS: A bit of what's going on, and where to read more
==========================================================
*** Google offers censored Chinese-language search service, Google.cn ***
Web users in China have been able to access English- and Chinese- language search services at Google.com for several years, with the exception of several weeks in November 2004 when China blocked www.google.com. Chinese authorities have used filtering technologies to block users in China from accessing Google's cache, as well as Google News, and restrict users' searches by filtering for specific banned keywords. Google did not censor its own search results, as the system operated independently of Google at China's backbone level.
On January 25, 2006, Google launched Google.cn, a censored Chinese- language search service, a policy shift which follows Yahoo! and Microsoft's recent decisions to provide censored Internet services in compliance with Chinese state censorship policies. Google informs its users when their search results have been filtered — to date, Microsoft and Yahoo!'s Chinese search services do not) — and provides users with a link to the unfiltered Google.com home page. Since then there has been tremendous debate over Google's policy change, including a recent briefing on Capitol Hill and many stories in the press.
The Berkman Center has a long history of researching and analyzing issues concerning Internet filtering and censorship and, along with other members of the university-based OpenNet Initiative, has produced definitive reports on state-mandated Internet filtering in China, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tunisia, and Iran. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently awarded $3 million to the Berkman Center and its partners at the University of Toronto, Cambridge University, and Oxford University to support their filtering research. The grant will substantially expand ONI's overseas research operations and will go toward developing technological tools to increase the frequency and quality of its monitoring.
Learn more:
* ONI's report "Internet Filtering in China: 2004-2005": <http:// www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/china/>, <http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/china/>
* After Google's policy change was announced, ONI designed a tool to help users understand how the results of Google.com and Google.cn differ by simultaneously comparing search results: <http://opennet.net/google_china/>
* John Palfrey and Berkman affiliate Nart Villeneuve recently testified before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in Washington, DC regarding "Human Rights and the Internet — The People's Republic of China." Chaired by Congressman Tim Ryan, the purpose of the briefing was to inform lawmakers as they deliberate over relevant legislative measures.
- John Palfrey's written testimony:
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/palfrey/2006/02/01#a1058>
- Nart Villeneuve's written testimony:
<http://ice.citizenlab.org/?p=180#more-180>
* Berkman fellow and former CNN Beijing and Tokyo Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon has written and spoken extensively on these issues.
- Rebecca MacKinnon's editorial, "China's Firewall on the Internet": <http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/006/02/04/200602040003.asp>
- Rebecca MacKinnon's blogpost, "Testing the Castrated Google": <http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2006/01/testing_the_cas.html>
*** Is A Neutral Net In Our Future? ***
By Berkman Fellow Susie Lindsay
Video-over-the-Internet is exploding. Gone are the days of iCraveTV, a Canada-based upstart that created a business of re-broadcasting television programming without the permission of the broadcaster. Now Google has announced it is following in the footsteps of Apple and will provide licensed video content for a fee. The behemoth companies are not the only ones. Many small startups, like veoh.com, brightcove.com, and akimbo.com, are attempting similar services.
Securing permission of the content holder clears these services of copyright liability, but using the bandwidth provided by distribution services such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon may come at a price. Edward E. Whitacre, Chairman and CEO of SBC Communications Inc., said that SBC is not going to let companies use this space for free. The Supreme Court'’s decision in Brand-X and the subsequent FCC decisions remove legal obstacles preventing the distributor from taking such advantage. But if network neutrality — that is, allowing all applications to battle equally for the attention of end users — is the goal, how can we best achieve it?
On February 7, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation met and discussed open access, broadband discrimination and the future of innovation and content distribution with Internet luminaries Lawrence Lessig and Vint Cerf. To listen to their meeting, go here: <http://commerce.senate.gov/>
Public Knowledge.org has a resouce page devoted to net neutrality: <http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues>
Read more:
* About iCraveTV: <http://news.com.com/2100-1033-237450.html>
* About Google Video: <http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060131/LIFE/601310313/-1/NEWS01>
* Whitacre's statement: <http://www.freepress.net/news/12125>
*** Internet Governance and Privacy ***
By Berkman Fellow Wendy Seltzer
Ever since The New York Times broke the story in December that the U.S. government is wiretapping its citizens' communications without warrants, privacy has been in the spotlight. That light has illuminated our expectations of privacy in overseas telephone calls and emails. It has also reflected into still shadowy concerns about the amount of information that we scatter around us in other day-to- day activities of the electronic age. That concern hit its own flash point a few weeks later, when Google refused a wide-ranging government subpoena for records of searches performed through the company's service.
The privacy interests at stake in these two cases differ substantially. Government surveillance of private communications triggers fears about government power to punish political opponents, and of unchecked executive power when the administration bypasses procedural and judicial oversight. Although the FISA courts have granted almost every intercept request made of them, even that was too much of a hurdle to this government's hunger for information.
The Google subpoenas, by contrast, seem unlikely to reveal much private information. Yes, Google tracks much personally identifying information, but the government has said that was not part of its request, as it is not investigating individuals but assessing the effectiveness of content filters (to fight constitutional challenges to the Children's Online Protection Act). Nevertheless, the Google fight (and the news that Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo! responded to similar subpoenas) has gotten wide play on the Internet. Is this because more people see themselves typing medical queries into Google than emailing friends in Afghanistan?
What both stories have in common is that the privacy risks come from entrusting communications to third parties. In the digital age, we need third-party telephone companies and ISPs to carry our phone calls and emails, and third-party search engines to help us make sense of the web's massed information. We should put corresponding pressure on those intermediaries to keep our information private. But in the face of government subpoenas and warrantless information requests, that will not be enough. We also need the courts to recognize what Google's users have clearly stated: our expectation of privacy does not end when we give information to third parties necessary to its communication — neither should the protections of the Fourth Amendment.
[2] BERKMAN UPDATES: News from in and around the Center
=======================================================
*** Berkman Faculty Director and Harvard Law Professor Terry Fisher and Berkman Fellows Urs Gasser and Paul Hoffert at OECD Digital Content Conference ***
Last week, Terry Fisher, Urs Gasser and Paul Hoffert contributed to a major policy conference of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co- Operation and Development), titled "The Future Digital Economy: Digital Content — Creation, Distribution and Access" in Rome. Representatives of all stakeholders in the digital space and top policy makers, including the Italian and South Koreans Minister of Information and Technology,– discussed the policy implications of changes in content production, distribution, and use associated with the Internet. Among the hotly debated topics: the costs and benefits of DRM, the quest for common standards, the shift from passive receivers to active creators of digital content (“from amateurs to amateurs”), and the question of global copyright enforcement regimes.
If you are interested in questions concerning digital media, please check out the conference's "background reading," which includes reports on music, scientific publishing, the online computer and video game industry, and mobile content. Berkman's own Digital Media Project Team was involved in the composition of the OECD Digital Music study.
Read more:
* OECD background readings: <http://www.oecd.org/document/10/0,2340,en_21571361_35742275_35755658_1_1_1_1,00.html>
* Video and audio archive: <http://www.radioradicale.it/> (click on media & ict on the left navigation bar)
* Urs Gasser’s conference coverage: <http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ugasser/2006/01/31#a647>, <http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ugasser/2006/01/31#a645>, and <http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ugasser/2006/01/31#a644>
* Interview with Urs Gasser: <http://www.nzz.ch/2006/01/30/eng/article6418543.html>
***Berkman Center and Partners Launch StopBadware.org, an anti- spyware effort***
On January 25th, the Berkman Center, Oxford Internet Institute, Consumer Reports WebWatch, and a number of corporate sponsors launched the StopBadware.org initiative. StopBadware is a "neighborhood watch" movement against a broad range of malicious software. It is led by Berkman principals Prof. John Palfrey and Prof. Jonathan Zittrain with the support of an impressive collection of advisors and the sponsorship of Google, Lenovo, and Sun Microsystems.
StopBadware.org is currently in the process of collecting user badware "horror" stories and building a technical community to analyze research results. If you'd like to get involved, please go here: <http://www.stopbadware.org/home/action>
Read more:
* Press release: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/home? func=viewSubmission&sid=911&wid=10>
* About badware: <http://www.stopbadware.org/home/help>
* Draft badware guidelines: <http://www.stopbadware.org/home/reports>
* Prof. Zittrain's paper on the "Generative Internet": <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=847124>
*** Berkman Professors Offer Winter Semster Cyberlaw and Evidence Classes ***
Approximately 100 lucky students attended classes in Cyberlaw, offered by Prof. Jonathan Zittrain, and Evidence, offered by Prof. Charles Nesson, during Harvard Law School's month-long winter semester. Students were treated to guest appearances by luminaries in the fields of cyberlaw and intellectual property, including former HLS professor and Berkman affiliate Lawrence Lessig, former RIAA director Hilary Rosen, EFF founder and Berkman fellow John Perry Barlow, and HLS Visiting Professor Cass Sunstein. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter discussed the importance of restorative justice in Jamaica at a large, public event.
The cyberlaw and evidence classes were taught entirely in the framework of the class wiki, available here: <http://hcs.harvard.edu/~cyberlaw/wiki/index.php/Cyberlaw>
Read more:
* Class wiki: <http://hcs.harvard.edu/~cyberlaw/wiki/index.php/Cyberlaw>
* Press release:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/homewid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=887>
* "Restorative Justice" event: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/homewid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=904>
* Interview with Cass Sunstein: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/homewid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=906>
[3] COMMUNITY TALK: Your questions and comments
===============================================
If you've got a question you'd like to ask of Berkman faculty and fellows, or if you've been puzzling over a recent event and would like some clarification, send in your questions to filter@cyber.harvard.edu by February 17. One question will be selected and addressed by Berkman fellows and faculty in the next edition of the Filter.
[4] NETWORKED: PAPERS, BOOKMARKS, WEBCASTS, PODCASTS, TAGS, AND BLOGPOSTS
Links to Berkman conversations happening online
======================================================================== =
*** Digital Media ***
VIDEO: Presentation on whether Google Book Search is protected by Fair Use, Lawrence Lessig: <http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/ 003292.shtml>
ARTICLE: Creatives Face a Closed Net, Lawrence Lessig: <http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d55dfe52-77d2-11da-9670 0000779e2340.html>
BLOGPOST: Legal Tags, "When The Internet is Less Than We Think", Wendy Seltzer: <http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2006/01/03/when_the_internet_is_less_free_than_we_think.html>
*** Internet Governance ***
BLOGPOST: Wikipedia.de Controversy, Urs Gasser:
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ugasser/2006/01/20#a634>
BLOGPOST: "The Internet - Freedom or Privilege?" David Isenberg: <http://isen.com/blog/2006/01/internet-freedom-or-privilege.html>
*** Citizen Media ***
PODCAST: On Citizen Media, Dan Gillmor: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/uploads/439/902/dan_gillmor_010117.mp3>
BLOGPOST Q&A: On MA's Open Document Format Decision and More, David Berlind, C|Net Editor: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=898>
BLOGPOST: "Fact-based Ethics for Bloggers," David Weinberger: <http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/mtarchive/factbased_ethics_for_bloggers.html>
*** The Internet and Developing Countries ***
BLOGPOST: "Wireless for the Developing World", Ethan Zuckerman: <http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=348>
*** The Internet and Politics ***
ARTICLE: "Back to the Oven? The Next Idea for Since Sliced Bread," Zephyr Teachout: <http://www.personaldemocracy.com/node/806>
[5] COMMUNITY LINKS: Featuring our affiliates and friends
=========================================================
Electronic Frontier Foundation, DeepLinks: "New Senate Broadcast Flag Bill Would Freeze Fair Use": <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004340.php>
Public Knowledge and Empowering Creators Project, "Creators Primer - So What ... About Copyright": <http://www.publicknowledge.org/resources/artists/so-what-about-copyright>
Pew Internet and American Life Project, "The Strength of Internet Ties": <http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Internet_ties.pdf>
Creative Commons Media Kits: <http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/5763>
Global Voices Daily Digests: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=909>
"The Net for Journalists: A practical guide to the Internet for journalists in developing countries," UNESCO, Thomson Foundation, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association: <http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21010&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html>
Oxford Internet Institute Webcasts: <http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/>
PRX Youth Editorial Board, Generation PRX: <http://generation.prx.org/yeb.php>
"Tell us your cell phone locking stories," Stanford Center for Internet & Society: <http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/cellstory/>
[6] UPCOMING CONFERENCES
========================
Note: If you know of a conference that should be included in this section, please email both a url and conference name + date to filter@cyber.harvard.edu.
*** February ***
* February 9–10: Who Can You Trust? Privacy and Security is Everyone’s Responsibility — Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, <http://www.rebootconference.com/privacy2006/>
* February 11–14: e-Learning 2006 — Savannah, Georgia,
<http://www.itcnetwork.org/elearning2006.htm>
* February 15–16: Media and Identity in Asia — Sarawak, Malaysia, <http://mediaandidentity.curtin.edu.my/>
* February 22: Public Wi-Fi: The Transformation to Wireless Philadelphia — Online Seminar, <http://www.xtalks.com/wifi1.ashx>
* February 22–23: European e-ID Card Conference — Brussels, Belgium, <http://www.eema.org/>
* February 26–28: IADIS International Conference: Web Based Communities 2006 — San Sebastian, Spain, <http://www.iadis.org/wbc2006/>
* February 27–March 1: ECURE 2006: Preservation and Access for Digital College and University Resources — Tempe, Arizona,
<http://www.asu.edu/ecure/>
*** March ***
Note: The deadline to submit a proposal to Wikimania '06 is March 30: <http://cfp.wikimania.wikimedia.org/>
* March 6–7: The Digital Library and its Services — The British Library, London, UK, <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/bl-jisc-conference-2006/>
* March 10-19: South by Southwest (SXSW) — Austin, Texas,
<http://2006.sxsw.com/>
* March 10–11: Scholarship and Libraries in Transition: A Dialogue about the Impacts of Mass Digitization Projects — Ann Arbor, Michigan, <http://www.lib.umich.edu/mdp/symposium/>
* March 22–25: Museums and the Web — Albuquerque, New Mexico, <http://www.archimuse.com/mw2006/index.html>
* March 30–31: e-Crime Congress 2006 — London, UK, <http://www.e-crimecongress.org/ecrime2006/website.asp>
[7] STAYING CONNECTED: How to find out about Berkman's weekly events
====================================================================
* Every Friday we feature the week's online blog conversations in the Berkman Blog Buzz. If you would like to receive the Buzz via email, please send an email to amichel AT cyber.harvard.edu with "Blog Buzz subscribe" as the subject line. To take a look at last week's Berkman Blog Buzz, go here: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=914>
* We webcast every Tuesday Luncheon Speakers event. Luncheon Series events start at 12:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. The webcast link is <http://harmony.law.harvard.edu/luncheon.sdp> We will also host an IRC chat during the discussion - drop in and we'll take your questions from there: i<irc://irc.freenode.net/berkman>. The Berkman homepage features next week's guest speakers every Thursday. Tune in!
* The Berkman Center sends out an events email every Wednesday. If you'd like to be notified of upcoming events - virtual and otherwise - please sign up by emailing amichel at cyber.harvard.edu.
* Future events are listed on the Berkman public calendar. It is available here: <https://cyber.harvard.edu/calendar/month.php>
[6] FILTER FACTS
================
* Talk Back
Tell us what you think: send feedback and news announcements to filter@cyber.harvard.edu.
* Subscription Info
Subscribe or Unsubscribe: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/signup/>
* About Us
The Filter is a publication of the Berkman Center at Harvard Law School. Amanda Michel is the editor.
* Not a Copyright
This work is hereby released into the public domain. Please share it. To read the public domain dedication, go here:
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain>
CONTENTS:
[0] From the Editor
[1] News
[2] Berkman Updates
[3] Community Talk
[4] Networked: Bookmarks, Webcasts, Podcasts, Tags, and Blogposts
[5] Community Links
[6] Upcoming Conferences
[7] Staying Connected
[8] Filter Facts
[0] FROM THE EDITOR
===================
Thank you for your ideas and suggestions. Thanks to high demand, we've reinstated the popular conference section of the Filter (see [5]). If you know of a conference that should be included in that section, please send it to filter@cyber.harvard.edu. We've also introduced a new feature, "Community Talk." If you've got a question you'd like to ask of Berkman faculty and fellows, or if you've been puzzling over a recent event and would like some clarification, just send in your questions to filter@cyber.harvard.edu. One question will be selected and addressed by Berkman fellows and faculty in the next edition of the Filter. That's our new section [3]. And, as always, if you have ideas for new features or if there are changes you'd like to see made (or not!), just send me an email at filter@cyber.harvard.edu. All feedback is welcome.
— Amanda Michel
[1] NEWS: A bit of what's going on, and where to read more
==========================================================
*** Google offers censored Chinese-language search service, Google.cn ***
Web users in China have been able to access English- and Chinese- language search services at Google.com for several years, with the exception of several weeks in November 2004 when China blocked www.google.com. Chinese authorities have used filtering technologies to block users in China from accessing Google's cache, as well as Google News, and restrict users' searches by filtering for specific banned keywords. Google did not censor its own search results, as the system operated independently of Google at China's backbone level.
On January 25, 2006, Google launched Google.cn, a censored Chinese- language search service, a policy shift which follows Yahoo! and Microsoft's recent decisions to provide censored Internet services in compliance with Chinese state censorship policies. Google informs its users when their search results have been filtered — to date, Microsoft and Yahoo!'s Chinese search services do not) — and provides users with a link to the unfiltered Google.com home page. Since then there has been tremendous debate over Google's policy change, including a recent briefing on Capitol Hill and many stories in the press.
The Berkman Center has a long history of researching and analyzing issues concerning Internet filtering and censorship and, along with other members of the university-based OpenNet Initiative, has produced definitive reports on state-mandated Internet filtering in China, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Burma, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Tunisia, and Iran. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation recently awarded $3 million to the Berkman Center and its partners at the University of Toronto, Cambridge University, and Oxford University to support their filtering research. The grant will substantially expand ONI's overseas research operations and will go toward developing technological tools to increase the frequency and quality of its monitoring.
Learn more:
* ONI's report "Internet Filtering in China: 2004-2005": <http:// www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/china/>, <http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/china/>
* After Google's policy change was announced, ONI designed a tool to help users understand how the results of Google.com and Google.cn differ by simultaneously comparing search results: <http://opennet.net/google_china/>
* John Palfrey and Berkman affiliate Nart Villeneuve recently testified before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in Washington, DC regarding "Human Rights and the Internet — The People's Republic of China." Chaired by Congressman Tim Ryan, the purpose of the briefing was to inform lawmakers as they deliberate over relevant legislative measures.
- John Palfrey's written testimony:
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/palfrey/2006/02/01#a1058>
- Nart Villeneuve's written testimony:
<http://ice.citizenlab.org/?p=180#more-180>
* Berkman fellow and former CNN Beijing and Tokyo Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon has written and spoken extensively on these issues.
- Rebecca MacKinnon's editorial, "China's Firewall on the Internet": <http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/006/02/04/200602040003.asp>
- Rebecca MacKinnon's blogpost, "Testing the Castrated Google": <http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/2006/01/testing_the_cas.html>
*** Is A Neutral Net In Our Future? ***
By Berkman Fellow Susie Lindsay
Video-over-the-Internet is exploding. Gone are the days of iCraveTV, a Canada-based upstart that created a business of re-broadcasting television programming without the permission of the broadcaster. Now Google has announced it is following in the footsteps of Apple and will provide licensed video content for a fee. The behemoth companies are not the only ones. Many small startups, like veoh.com, brightcove.com, and akimbo.com, are attempting similar services.
Securing permission of the content holder clears these services of copyright liability, but using the bandwidth provided by distribution services such as Comcast, AT&T and Verizon may come at a price. Edward E. Whitacre, Chairman and CEO of SBC Communications Inc., said that SBC is not going to let companies use this space for free. The Supreme Court'’s decision in Brand-X and the subsequent FCC decisions remove legal obstacles preventing the distributor from taking such advantage. But if network neutrality — that is, allowing all applications to battle equally for the attention of end users — is the goal, how can we best achieve it?
On February 7, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation met and discussed open access, broadband discrimination and the future of innovation and content distribution with Internet luminaries Lawrence Lessig and Vint Cerf. To listen to their meeting, go here: <http://commerce.senate.gov/>
Public Knowledge.org has a resouce page devoted to net neutrality: <http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues>
Read more:
* About iCraveTV: <http://news.com.com/2100-1033-237450.html>
* About Google Video: <http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060131/LIFE/601310313/-1/NEWS01>
* Whitacre's statement: <http://www.freepress.net/news/12125>
*** Internet Governance and Privacy ***
By Berkman Fellow Wendy Seltzer
Ever since The New York Times broke the story in December that the U.S. government is wiretapping its citizens' communications without warrants, privacy has been in the spotlight. That light has illuminated our expectations of privacy in overseas telephone calls and emails. It has also reflected into still shadowy concerns about the amount of information that we scatter around us in other day-to- day activities of the electronic age. That concern hit its own flash point a few weeks later, when Google refused a wide-ranging government subpoena for records of searches performed through the company's service.
The privacy interests at stake in these two cases differ substantially. Government surveillance of private communications triggers fears about government power to punish political opponents, and of unchecked executive power when the administration bypasses procedural and judicial oversight. Although the FISA courts have granted almost every intercept request made of them, even that was too much of a hurdle to this government's hunger for information.
The Google subpoenas, by contrast, seem unlikely to reveal much private information. Yes, Google tracks much personally identifying information, but the government has said that was not part of its request, as it is not investigating individuals but assessing the effectiveness of content filters (to fight constitutional challenges to the Children's Online Protection Act). Nevertheless, the Google fight (and the news that Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo! responded to similar subpoenas) has gotten wide play on the Internet. Is this because more people see themselves typing medical queries into Google than emailing friends in Afghanistan?
What both stories have in common is that the privacy risks come from entrusting communications to third parties. In the digital age, we need third-party telephone companies and ISPs to carry our phone calls and emails, and third-party search engines to help us make sense of the web's massed information. We should put corresponding pressure on those intermediaries to keep our information private. But in the face of government subpoenas and warrantless information requests, that will not be enough. We also need the courts to recognize what Google's users have clearly stated: our expectation of privacy does not end when we give information to third parties necessary to its communication — neither should the protections of the Fourth Amendment.
[2] BERKMAN UPDATES: News from in and around the Center
=======================================================
*** Berkman Faculty Director and Harvard Law Professor Terry Fisher and Berkman Fellows Urs Gasser and Paul Hoffert at OECD Digital Content Conference ***
Last week, Terry Fisher, Urs Gasser and Paul Hoffert contributed to a major policy conference of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co- Operation and Development), titled "The Future Digital Economy: Digital Content — Creation, Distribution and Access" in Rome. Representatives of all stakeholders in the digital space and top policy makers, including the Italian and South Koreans Minister of Information and Technology,– discussed the policy implications of changes in content production, distribution, and use associated with the Internet. Among the hotly debated topics: the costs and benefits of DRM, the quest for common standards, the shift from passive receivers to active creators of digital content (“from amateurs to amateurs”), and the question of global copyright enforcement regimes.
If you are interested in questions concerning digital media, please check out the conference's "background reading," which includes reports on music, scientific publishing, the online computer and video game industry, and mobile content. Berkman's own Digital Media Project Team was involved in the composition of the OECD Digital Music study.
Read more:
* OECD background readings: <http://www.oecd.org/document/10/0,2340,en_21571361_35742275_35755658_1_1_1_1,00.html>
* Video and audio archive: <http://www.radioradicale.it/> (click on media & ict on the left navigation bar)
* Urs Gasser’s conference coverage: <http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ugasser/2006/01/31#a647>, <http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ugasser/2006/01/31#a645>, and <http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ugasser/2006/01/31#a644>
* Interview with Urs Gasser: <http://www.nzz.ch/2006/01/30/eng/article6418543.html>
***Berkman Center and Partners Launch StopBadware.org, an anti- spyware effort***
On January 25th, the Berkman Center, Oxford Internet Institute, Consumer Reports WebWatch, and a number of corporate sponsors launched the StopBadware.org initiative. StopBadware is a "neighborhood watch" movement against a broad range of malicious software. It is led by Berkman principals Prof. John Palfrey and Prof. Jonathan Zittrain with the support of an impressive collection of advisors and the sponsorship of Google, Lenovo, and Sun Microsystems.
StopBadware.org is currently in the process of collecting user badware "horror" stories and building a technical community to analyze research results. If you'd like to get involved, please go here: <http://www.stopbadware.org/home/action>
Read more:
* Press release: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/home? func=viewSubmission&sid=911&wid=10>
* About badware: <http://www.stopbadware.org/home/help>
* Draft badware guidelines: <http://www.stopbadware.org/home/reports>
* Prof. Zittrain's paper on the "Generative Internet": <http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=847124>
*** Berkman Professors Offer Winter Semster Cyberlaw and Evidence Classes ***
Approximately 100 lucky students attended classes in Cyberlaw, offered by Prof. Jonathan Zittrain, and Evidence, offered by Prof. Charles Nesson, during Harvard Law School's month-long winter semester. Students were treated to guest appearances by luminaries in the fields of cyberlaw and intellectual property, including former HLS professor and Berkman affiliate Lawrence Lessig, former RIAA director Hilary Rosen, EFF founder and Berkman fellow John Perry Barlow, and HLS Visiting Professor Cass Sunstein. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter discussed the importance of restorative justice in Jamaica at a large, public event.
The cyberlaw and evidence classes were taught entirely in the framework of the class wiki, available here: <http://hcs.harvard.edu/~cyberlaw/wiki/index.php/Cyberlaw>
Read more:
* Class wiki: <http://hcs.harvard.edu/~cyberlaw/wiki/index.php/Cyberlaw>
* Press release:
<http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/homewid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=887>
* "Restorative Justice" event: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/homewid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=904>
* Interview with Cass Sunstein: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/homewid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=906>
[3] COMMUNITY TALK: Your questions and comments
===============================================
If you've got a question you'd like to ask of Berkman faculty and fellows, or if you've been puzzling over a recent event and would like some clarification, send in your questions to filter@cyber.harvard.edu by February 17. One question will be selected and addressed by Berkman fellows and faculty in the next edition of the Filter.
[4] NETWORKED: PAPERS, BOOKMARKS, WEBCASTS, PODCASTS, TAGS, AND BLOGPOSTS
Links to Berkman conversations happening online
======================================================================== =
*** Digital Media ***
VIDEO: Presentation on whether Google Book Search is protected by Fair Use, Lawrence Lessig: <http://www.lessig.org/blog/archives/ 003292.shtml>
ARTICLE: Creatives Face a Closed Net, Lawrence Lessig: <http://news.ft.com/cms/s/d55dfe52-77d2-11da-9670 0000779e2340.html>
BLOGPOST: Legal Tags, "When The Internet is Less Than We Think", Wendy Seltzer: <http://wendy.seltzer.org/blog/archives/2006/01/03/when_the_internet_is_less_free_than_we_think.html>
*** Internet Governance ***
BLOGPOST: Wikipedia.de Controversy, Urs Gasser:
<http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/ugasser/2006/01/20#a634>
BLOGPOST: "The Internet - Freedom or Privilege?" David Isenberg: <http://isen.com/blog/2006/01/internet-freedom-or-privilege.html>
*** Citizen Media ***
PODCAST: On Citizen Media, Dan Gillmor: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/uploads/439/902/dan_gillmor_010117.mp3>
BLOGPOST Q&A: On MA's Open Document Format Decision and More, David Berlind, C|Net Editor: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=898>
BLOGPOST: "Fact-based Ethics for Bloggers," David Weinberger: <http://www.hyperorg.com/blogger/mtarchive/factbased_ethics_for_bloggers.html>
*** The Internet and Developing Countries ***
BLOGPOST: "Wireless for the Developing World", Ethan Zuckerman: <http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/?p=348>
*** The Internet and Politics ***
ARTICLE: "Back to the Oven? The Next Idea for Since Sliced Bread," Zephyr Teachout: <http://www.personaldemocracy.com/node/806>
[5] COMMUNITY LINKS: Featuring our affiliates and friends
=========================================================
Electronic Frontier Foundation, DeepLinks: "New Senate Broadcast Flag Bill Would Freeze Fair Use": <http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/archives/004340.php>
Public Knowledge and Empowering Creators Project, "Creators Primer - So What ... About Copyright": <http://www.publicknowledge.org/resources/artists/so-what-about-copyright>
Pew Internet and American Life Project, "The Strength of Internet Ties": <http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Internet_ties.pdf>
Creative Commons Media Kits: <http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/5763>
Global Voices Daily Digests: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=909>
"The Net for Journalists: A practical guide to the Internet for journalists in developing countries," UNESCO, Thomson Foundation, Commonwealth Broadcasting Association: <http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=21010&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html>
Oxford Internet Institute Webcasts: <http://webcast.oii.ox.ac.uk/>
PRX Youth Editorial Board, Generation PRX: <http://generation.prx.org/yeb.php>
"Tell us your cell phone locking stories," Stanford Center for Internet & Society: <http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/cellstory/>
[6] UPCOMING CONFERENCES
========================
Note: If you know of a conference that should be included in this section, please email both a url and conference name + date to filter@cyber.harvard.edu.
*** February ***
* February 9–10: Who Can You Trust? Privacy and Security is Everyone’s Responsibility — Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, <http://www.rebootconference.com/privacy2006/>
* February 11–14: e-Learning 2006 — Savannah, Georgia,
<http://www.itcnetwork.org/elearning2006.htm>
* February 15–16: Media and Identity in Asia — Sarawak, Malaysia, <http://mediaandidentity.curtin.edu.my/>
* February 22: Public Wi-Fi: The Transformation to Wireless Philadelphia — Online Seminar, <http://www.xtalks.com/wifi1.ashx>
* February 22–23: European e-ID Card Conference — Brussels, Belgium, <http://www.eema.org/>
* February 26–28: IADIS International Conference: Web Based Communities 2006 — San Sebastian, Spain, <http://www.iadis.org/wbc2006/>
* February 27–March 1: ECURE 2006: Preservation and Access for Digital College and University Resources — Tempe, Arizona,
<http://www.asu.edu/ecure/>
*** March ***
Note: The deadline to submit a proposal to Wikimania '06 is March 30: <http://cfp.wikimania.wikimedia.org/>
* March 6–7: The Digital Library and its Services — The British Library, London, UK, <http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/events/bl-jisc-conference-2006/>
* March 10-19: South by Southwest (SXSW) — Austin, Texas,
<http://2006.sxsw.com/>
* March 10–11: Scholarship and Libraries in Transition: A Dialogue about the Impacts of Mass Digitization Projects — Ann Arbor, Michigan, <http://www.lib.umich.edu/mdp/symposium/>
* March 22–25: Museums and the Web — Albuquerque, New Mexico, <http://www.archimuse.com/mw2006/index.html>
* March 30–31: e-Crime Congress 2006 — London, UK, <http://www.e-crimecongress.org/ecrime2006/website.asp>
[7] STAYING CONNECTED: How to find out about Berkman's weekly events
====================================================================
* Every Friday we feature the week's online blog conversations in the Berkman Blog Buzz. If you would like to receive the Buzz via email, please send an email to amichel AT cyber.harvard.edu with "Blog Buzz subscribe" as the subject line. To take a look at last week's Berkman Blog Buzz, go here: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=914>
* We webcast every Tuesday Luncheon Speakers event. Luncheon Series events start at 12:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. The webcast link is <http://harmony.law.harvard.edu/luncheon.sdp> We will also host an IRC chat during the discussion - drop in and we'll take your questions from there: i<irc://irc.freenode.net/berkman>. The Berkman homepage features next week's guest speakers every Thursday. Tune in!
* The Berkman Center sends out an events email every Wednesday. If you'd like to be notified of upcoming events - virtual and otherwise - please sign up by emailing amichel at cyber.harvard.edu.
* Future events are listed on the Berkman public calendar. It is available here: <https://cyber.harvard.edu/calendar/month.php>
[6] FILTER FACTS
================
* Talk Back
Tell us what you think: send feedback and news announcements to filter@cyber.harvard.edu.
* Subscription Info
Subscribe or Unsubscribe: <http://cyber.harvard.edu/signup/>
* About Us
The Filter is a publication of the Berkman Center at Harvard Law School. Amanda Michel is the editor.
* Not a Copyright
This work is hereby released into the public domain. Please share it. To read the public domain dedication, go here:
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain>