vigilant.tv

freedom and technology

archive : 2002-02

jackweigand: Dell screening customers for 'illegal purposes'
Excerpt: Via the cypherpunks list, a US gun dealer discovered Dell has a policy of screening its customers and refusing to sell to those it believes will use their computers for "illegal purposes"....

heise: Encryption in Company Networks Foiled
Excerpt: Heise online reports flaws in Microsoft's email encryption in an Exchange/Outlook environment. The problem lies in the fact that the appended file is transmitted immediately via the...

jackweigand: Dell screening customers for 'illegal purposes'
Excerpt: Via the cypherpunks list, a US gun dealer discovered Dell has a policy of screening its customers and refusing to sell to those it believes will use their computers for "illegal purposes"....

wired: High-Tech: U.S. Out of Hollywood
Excerpt: The US technology industry has made its first public response to the proposed SSSCA bill , which would require mandatory copy protection technologies in all digital devices. In a...

sacbee: Court says gang speech protected by First Amendment
Excerpt: A US appeals court has upheld a ruling that a man cannot be sentenced for advising a gang on criminal matters. "We are forced to agree that McCoy's speech, at most, constituted mere...

cnet: Cell phone tracking raises privacy issues
Excerpt: Concerns are mounting over US FCC regulations requiring carriers to implement cellphone location monitoring. Carriers are promising not to misuse the information, and privacy advocates are...

hbs: A High-Tech Solution to Security Versus Privacy?
Excerpt: Industry specialists have dismissed ID cards as ineffective security measures at a Harvard Business School panel on security technology. [In-Q-Tel CEO Gilman] Louie dismissed the...

haaretz: Bishara's trial for `supporting terrorist group' opens today
Excerpt: The trial of Knesset Member Azmi Bishara on charges of "supporting a terrorist group" began today in a Nazareth court. Bishara was indicted in November 2001 over two speeches he made...

latimes: Pentagon Closes Besieged Strategy Office
Excerpt: The Pentagon intends to continue its propaganda operations despite the abrupt closure of the Office of Strategic Influence . One military official claims - apparently with a straight face...

abc: Fairfax chief concerned at new pattern of media censorship
Excerpt: The CEO of Fairfax, one of Australia's major media companies, says news organisations are facing increasingly strict censorship rules. Fred Hilmer says the Federal Government has put...

independent: The Disappeared
Excerpt: The UK Independent reports on Rabih Haddad, imprisoned for over two months without charge, over unsubstantiated accusations his charity organisation was linked to al Qaeda. On the...

newsbytes: If Morpheus Is Illegal, So Is The Rest Of The Net - EFF
Excerpt: EFF lawyers have submitted their final written arguments in defense of the Morpheus and Grokster file sharing applications. They argue that if peer-to-peer sharing applications are...

bbc: More Mugabe opponents charged
Excerpt: Two more opponents of Zimbabwe's President Mugabe have been charged with treason over an alleged assassination plot. The opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai was charged yesterday. All...

wired: Yahoo Faces Trial in France
Excerpt: A French court has ruled it will try Yahoo's former president on charges of inciting racial hatred, after it failed to prevent the sale of Nazi memorabilia through its auction service....

cryptography: Number Field Sieve optimised?
Excerpt: Unconfirmed reports on the cryptography list suggest D.J. Bernstein may have found a way to greatly increase the speed of Number Field Sieve factoring. The paper has gone mostly...

bbc: 'Sex act' exhibit defended by gallery
Excerpt: A Birmingham art gallery has defended an exhibit which includes an explicit video of men "performing a sex act". Family groups have condemned the exhibition, despite signs and employees...

nytimes: Online Group to Give Advice Regarding Copyrights
Excerpt: The NY Times reports on the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse , a searchable database of advice and information about online free speech rights. Now, concerned that corporations are...

theregister: Grateful Dead lyricist lambasts DMCA
Excerpt: The Register accuses EFF co-founder and Greatful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow of contradicting himself with respect to music sharing. [...] One of the weird things about the Dead...

washingtonpost: Movies Get Framed
Excerpt: MPAA chairman and CEO Jack Valenti responds to accusations from Lawrence Lessig that copyright owners are stifling expression. He hints that passive media may be inadequate, that...

wired: Cafe Owners or Porn Police?
Excerpt: A committee of the Mumbai High Court wants to order internet cafe owners to monitor their customers. The owners say they'll lose customers, most of whom don't have any other way of...

cnn: China releases detained Christians
Excerpt: 47 Chinese Christians who were arrested while praying last week have been released. The government says they were arrested for holding an "illegal meeting", not for religious reasons....

bbc: Thailand expels two journalists
Excerpt: Two foreign jornalists have been ordered to leave Thailand after publishing an unauthorised magazine article mentioning the royal family. The two correspondents from the regional...

bbc: Mugabe opponent accused of treason
Excerpt: The leader of Zimbabwe's major opposition party has been charged with treason after an Australian TV news program alleged he was plotting to kill President Mugabe. Morgan Tsvangirai's...

bbc: Plans to charge drivers per mile
Excerpt: An unusual British plan for easing road congestion would use GPS tracking devices to record the locations of vehicles. It's unclear as to why this method has been chosen over tollways,...

ninemsn: Govt to consider Net privacy breaches
Excerpt: The Australian Youth Affairs Minister wants to outlaw offshore web pages which publish legal - and legally obtained - images. Via Privacy Digest . Mr Anthony today said he would...

latimes: China Censors Bush Speech in Print
Excerpt: The New China News Agency has been criticized for censoring its broadcast transcript of President Bush's speech to students at Qinghua University in Beijing. Almost half the...

washingtonpost: Risks Prompt U.S. to Limit Access to Data
Excerpt: The Washington Post reports on forthcoming US laws which would further limit FOI requests, ostensibly to limit terrorists' access to information about infrastructure and weaponry. Under...

rockymountainnews: Family sues over raid
Excerpt: The ACLU has filed suit against Colorado drug police on behalf of a family whose two sons were arrested and held without charge or evidence of any crime. Via New World Disorder ....

zdnet: Copy-protected CD makers lose battle
Excerpt: A California woman has won her lawsuit against Sunncomm , makers of CD copy protection technology. Attorneys for DeLise said the companies have agreed to stop tracking personally...

sfgate: Panel sets royalty rate for music on Web radio
Excerpt: The US Copyright Office has issued a ruling setting royalty rates for music streamed over the internet. The RIAA is reportedly "pleased" by the rate, which is high enough that they're...

reuters: Move to Ban Net 'Hate Speech' Draws Praise, Concern
Excerpt: ISPs and civil liberties groups have voiced concerns over the Eurpoean Council's proposed treaty which would ban "hate speech". The proposal, drafted by the Council of Europe, would...

wired: Judge: If You Own Music, Prove It
Excerpt: A US District Court judge has ordered record labels to prove they hold the copyright to the songs they say were illegally distributed via Napster's network. On Friday, the tide...

timesofindia: The latest weapon in anti-terror arsenal
Excerpt: The Times of India details some of the methods used by the Intelligence Bureau to track email between suspected terrorists. It is through a series of e-mail exchanges between Ansari...

politech: Bosnia wants to make Internet firms monitor, police their users
Excerpt: Draft licensing terms for Bosnian ISPs would make them responsible for any "objectionable" material carried over their network. "5.2. The LICENSEE shall ensure that objectionable,...

nytimes: Whistle-Blower Sites Mine Clues Amid Mountains of Suspicion
Excerpt: An NY Times article on the role of "whistle-blower" web sites is overly optimistic about the anonymity of the web. For those who are nervous about relaying information, tip sites offer...

nytimes: Europe Offers a Patent Law for Software
Excerpt: The EU Commission has proposed a new software patent law, promising that only "technical" software patents would be allowed. Business methods would not be patentable. This seems at odds...

guardian: CD-rom of key Nato secrets feared sold
Excerpt: The German magazine Stern claims to have received a CD-ROM containing classified NATO material from the bombing of Kosovo. The CD was found in a laptop computer sold as military...

theregister: Sky Ray Blu copy protection provokes concern
Excerpt: An update from The Register on the next generation recordable DVD standard raises the question of copy protection. Panasonic's press release mentions a "unique ID" written to Blu-ray...

ap: Court to Decide on Web Wiretapping
Excerpt: A US State Supreme Court will examine the legality of police reading email and instant messages without a warrant. In the meantime, those wishing to keep their communications private would...

wired: Beefed-Up Global Surveillance?
Excerpt: Wired reports on a meeting of the Council of Europe to draft a convention on communications interception and decryption. Details are scarce, and the Council of Europe has repeatedly...

latimes: 'Limitless' Copyright Case Faces High Court Review
Excerpt: The LA Times has a longer article about Eric Eldred's challenge to the length of US copyright extentions. His appeal challenges the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998,...

bbc: Cleric charged with inciting murder
Excerpt: A London-based Muslim cleric has been charged with incitement to murder after selling tapes "urging" followers to kill Jews. Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal allegedly "encouraged others to...

bbc: Swedish Somalis fight terror links
Excerpt: Three Swedish Somalis say they have been unfairly branded as terrorists, after their names were included on a US list of groups and individuals suspected of supporting al-Qaeda. The three...

cnet: IBM adds new levels of security
Excerpt: IBM plans to ship integrated file encryption with its ThinkPad notebooks, starting March 5. Biometric and token authentication products will also be launched. The fingerprint reader...

cnn: Supreme Court to decide online copyright debate
Excerpt: The US Supreme Court will hear a challenge to the length of time before copyright expires - currently 70 years past the author's death. The Bush administration urged the court to...

independent: Lawyers for Britons in Camp X-Ray argue they are being held 'illegally'
Excerpt: Lawyers for two British men held without charge as suspected terrorists have argued they are being detained illegally. A team of prominent human rights lawyers filed a petition...

guardian: Zimbabwe divides up foreign press corps over election coverage
Excerpt: The Zimbabwean government has been using its new media laws to restrict foreign media access to the country during the forthcoming elections. Meanwhile, human rights groups claim President...

aap: DSD probe a top priority
Excerpt: Australia's Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security has promised a prompt inquiry over allegations the DSD illegally monitored Australian citizens. According to the press...

afp: Pentagon office considers planting false news items: report
Excerpt: The US Government is reportedly considering circulating false news items as part of its war against terrorism. In 1999 NATO defended its bombing of Radio Television of Serbia, saying the...

cnn: Virtual e-mail shredders add control
Excerpt: The "disappearing email" meme does the rounds again, thanks to CNN. As with copy protection mechanisms, it's all snake oil - frustration, not prevention. But e-mail is changing those...

bbc: Porn watchdog under fire
Excerpt: Britain's internet censorship authority, the Internet Watch Foundation, is facing criticism for recomending ISPs remove entire newsgroups. Via also not found in nature . In a major...

theregister: Censor-buster Peek-A-Booty goes public
Excerpt: The Register reports Peek-A-Booty - the anonymous peer-to-peer vapourware originally slated for release at Defcon last year - was demonstrated at CodeCon on Sunday. It's not quite as...

nytimes: Record Labels' Answer to Napster Still Has Artists Feeling Bypassed
Excerpt: Musicians are discovering that fee-based music downloading services run by the record labels are no better than Napster in compensating them for use of their work. Because the sites...

nytimes: Fine-Tuning for Privacy, Hong Kong Plans Digital ID
Excerpt: A planned smart ID card for Hong Kong residents will include keys for digital signatures. Starting next year, Hong Kong plans to introduce an identity card with a computer chip that...

nytimes: Though Not Linked to Terrorism, Many Detainees Cannot Go Home
Excerpt: 87 people arrested during the US Justice Department's terrorism investigation are being detained without charge or evidence, while investigators look for links to terrorist networks....

bbc: Bangladesh students allege police torture
Excerpt: Bangladeshi police have been accused of brutality and arbitrary arrest after a raid on Dhaka University. The government said the operation represented the fulfilment of Prime Minister...

bbc: 'Metric martyrs' lose court battle
Excerpt: Five British market traders have lost their appeal against EU regulations prohibiting them from selling goods in imperial measures. Customers are permitted to ask for goods by the pound,...

theage: Media changes 'a threat' to press
Excerpt: The Australian Press Council has expressed concern over government plans to have the Australian Broadcasting Authority oversee editorial separation between print and television media....

bbc: Net snooping laws 'too costly'
Excerpt: UK ISPs are beginning to complain about the potential costs of implementing wiretapping and data retention requirements under the RIP Act. The Act makes provisions for reimbursing costs...

Minor technical problems
Excerpt: My network access has been limited since Saturday, after the worst storms in a decade blacked out power to 100,000 homes in Sydney - mine included (see the SMH , Australian )....

nytimes: U.S. Tightening Rules on Keeping Scientific Secrets
Excerpt: The US government is stepping up its campaign to restrict access to scientific information in an attempt to keep documents - many of which have been publicly available for decades - out of...

guardian: New shocker from the man who invented death-row chic: the Christian swastika
Excerpt: A Catholic organisation is attempting to ban a movie poster which links Nazi imagery with the Christian church. The poster, rather than the film's content, has put the release date in...

afp: Phone bills give clue to terrorists
Excerpt: This report on the investigation of Osama bin Laden's satellite phone suggests communications companies may be retaining records of outgoing calls for several years. Billing records...

independent: New laws to suppress academic research
Excerpt: The UK Independent reports on proposed new laws which would restrict the publication and communication of cryptographic research. See also this earlier report . The Bill, a revision...

cnn: Detained student said he felt threatened by FBI
Excerpt: FBI agents have been accused of abuse and intimidation over the arrest of a student suspected of links to terrorists. Had he been using a steganographic or deniable encryption system such...

theregister: Freedom Network source code now available
Excerpt: ZeroKnowledge has released the source code to its discontinued anonymous network. The license prohibits commercial use. Until early last October, Freedom Network offered anonymous...

newsbytes: Charges To Be Dropped Against Raisethefist.com Owner
Excerpt: Charges against Sherman Austin , arrested over the anarchist web site Raise the Fist, have been dropped by federal prosecutors. The web site is still down, seized computers have not been...

techreview: The Death of Digital Rights Management?
Excerpt: According to MIT's Technology Review, companies selling digital rights management systems are quickly going broke. The article considers two possible causes - the failure of new media like...

cnn: Will anonymous e-mail become a casualty of war?
Excerpt: CNN uses the email ransom note for Daniel Pearl as an excuse to trot out a backgrounder on anonymous email. Mixmaster gets a mention, as does anonymizer.com. The FBI likens anonymous...

politech: U.S. Customs deems serial cables to be violations of the DMCA?
Excerpt: A brief article from Politech suggests the US customs service is making broad decisions about what does and does not constitute a DMCA circumvention device. Colin is using the...

cnn: Turkey shuts down Kurdish TV
Excerpt: The Turkish government has shut down a local television station for playing music with Kurdish lyrics. The move seems at odds with the constitution, which was amended last year to allow...

cnet: Patent ruling hangs over Net music, video
Excerpt: SightSound gets a step closer to being yet another middle man in the online music distribution disaster, with a preliminary ruling in its patent infringement suit against CDNow. The patent...

cnet: Securing signatures for Web services
Excerpt: W3C has released a recommendation on XML signature syntax and processing . "XML Signature is a critical foundation on top of which we will be able to build more secure Web services,"...

guardian: Chomsky wins case for Turkish publisher
Excerpt: Turkish prosecutors have dropped incitement charges against the Turkish publisher of some of Noam Chomsky's work, after Professor Chomsky flew to Turkey and asked to be tried as a...

salon: Big Brother is watching you read
Excerpt: A Salon piece on Tattered Cover's fight to keep its customer records secret highlights the link between a free market and free speech. "If we allow law enforcement access to customer...

reuters: Washington Plans Unprecedented Camera Network
Excerpt: Inspired by the use of CCVT in Britain, Washington is installing a network of surveillance cameras to monitor public spaces. The cameras will not include face-recognition technology, but...

jpost: Israel lagging behind in Web information war
Excerpt: The Israeli government has been warned of a vast Islamic pro-Palestinian propoganda network on the Internet involving Nazism, racism and copyright violation. MKs have urged young internet...

nytimes: Free Speech and Enron Play in Debate Over Soft Money
Excerpt: The US Republican Party has attacked plans to limit campaign contributions, saying they will restrict free speech. Representative Thomas M. Reynolds, Republican of New York, led off...

cnn: Canberra pushes new terror laws
Excerpt: The Australian parliament is due to examine the first of its post-September 11 anti-terrorism bills. The maximum penalty for sending hoax material will be doubled to 10 years'...

newscientist: Supply of low-cost DVDs in Europe set to dry up
Excerpt: Slashdot CD copying hero Philips is using its patents to drive up the cost of DVD players and disks in Europe. Taxpayers are footing the bill of course. Philips, Sony and Pioneer have...

cnet: La. asks PayPal to halt service in state
Excerpt: US banking regulators give PayPal further incentive to move its operations offshore . In a letter sent last week, Louisiana asked the online payments company to cease offering its...

wired: Cybercrime Bill Ups the Ante
Excerpt: A new US bill proposed by Crime Subcommittee chairman Lamar Smith seeks to improve computer security by increasing sentences for "cyberterrorism" and blocking lawsuits against ISPs for...

wired: SafeWeb's Holes Contradict Claims
Excerpt: Two researchers have released a report detailing security flaws in SafeWeb's on-again, off-again anonymous web proxy service. In a paper (PDF) released on Tuesday, David Martin, a...

wired: Porn Hunters Unwelcome in Canada?
Excerpt: A proposed Canadian law would prohibit not only the posession of child pornography, but the act of searching for it - unless you're a police officer of course. Presumably this means...

independent: The truth about my arrest. And the lies that followed
Excerpt: Basildon Peta, the journalist arrested earlier this month by Zimbabwe police, denies claims his story was fabricated. The last thing I expected in my fight for press freedom in...

bbc: Theft exposes security pass 'flaw'
Excerpt: The BBC reports on security problems at Heathrow airport. Finally, a quote from somebody who understands credential-based security is not the answer. Keiron Daly, editor of Air...

aap: Government under pressure over Tampa spy allegations
Excerpt: Australia's Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security will investigate claims that the DSD illegally monitored phone conversations involving the Norwegian ship involved in the...

foxnews: China Accused of Torture, Killings in Crackdown on Unregistered Christians
Excerpt: A report from the Committee for Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China accuses the Chinese government of a campaign of torture and re-education designed at wiping out independent...

nytimes: French Decision Prompts Questions About Free Speech and Cyberspace
Excerpt: The NY Times features an update on the continuing attempts by French anti-racist groups to prevent Yahoo from allowing auctions of nazi memorabilia. Two groups have appealed the ruling...

bbc: Zimbabwe rejects EU observers
Excerpt: EU delegates critical of President Mugabe will not be accredited as observers to Zimbabwe's forthcoming elections. Meanwhile, newspapers and publishers are (unsuccessfully) firebombed....

aap: Federal government spied on Australians - Crean
Excerpt: Australia's Defence Signals Directorate has been accused of illegally spying on citizens during last year's refugee crisis. Transcripts of phone conversations between the International...

theregister: UK to censor hi-tech contact with Johnny Foreigner
Excerpt: The Register reports on a proposed new law which would restrict the export of "sensitive technologies" - including cryptographic research papers - from the UK. [Cambridge University...

Thanks to Libertarian Samizdata
Excerpt: Many thanks to Perry de Havilland of Libertarian Samizdata for his very favourable review , which has resulted in many new visitors to my poorly named weblog. To those following the...

nytimes: How to Fake a Passport
Excerpt: A long report from the NY Times on measures to crack down on passport forgery around the world, focusing on Belgium. As is typical with this kind of identity fraud report, there's plenty...

latimes: China Frees Supplier of Bibles
Excerpt: The Chinese governemnt has granted a limited reprieve to the Hong Kong man imprisoned last month for smuggling bibles into China. He has been returned to Hong Kong and released under...

independent: Celebrities try to use new law to stop invasion of their privacy
Excerpt: Two forthcoming court cases will test British privacy laws as celebrities attempt to prevent newspapers publishing articles about them. The supermodel is suing The Mirror for...

independent: How crime is exploding in the capital
Excerpt: The UK Independent reports on the increasing violent crime rate in London - home of gun control and surveillance cameras . In 2001, there were 3,986 reports of guns being used...

ananova: Egyptian rights group says it can't defend homosexuality
Excerpt: The Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights says it is unable to criticize the prosecution of homosexual men for fear of losing its funding. Last week another Egyptian human rights group...

bbc: Nepal MPs hold key debate
Excerpt: The BBC reports briefly on the 3-month old state of emergency in Nepal, which has led to media censorship and limited independent reporting. Opposition parties have accused the...

afp: Sunni Muslims protest Newsweek image of prophet Mohammad
Excerpt: The latest issue of the US magazine Newsweek has been banned in Indonesia and Bangladesh for publishing an image of the prophet Mohammed. The online edition does not appear to include...

bbc: Airport tests passenger eye IDs
Excerpt: London's Heathrow airport is running a trial of iris scanners as an alternative to passports. Instead of showing their passport on arrival they will go into a kiosk where in seconds a...

cnet: Companies fear costly MPEG-4 licenses
Excerpt: Licensing fees proposed by the 18 patent holders with claims to MPEG-4, the compression codec being pushed as a new standard for online video, are threatening to render the technology dead...

bbc: Watching your every move
Excerpt: A BBC piece on digital surveillance cameras debates the effectiveness of closed-circuit television as a crime prevention measure. The article mentions a Glasgow study, possibly this one ,...

newsbytes: Teen Anarchist's Supporters Accuse FBI Of AIM Hack
Excerpt: Supporters of Sherman Austin, arrested last week over the anarchist web site Raise The Fist , have accused the FBI of using Austin's instant messenger accounts to harrass and entrap...

newsbytes: Scientist Ends Crusade Against Copyright Law
Excerpt: Newsbytes reports on Edward Felten's decision to drop his DMCA challenge, after the RIAA promised not to send any more threatening letters. The decision to drop the case means there is no...

wired: New York Says No-No to NA
Excerpt: The New York State Attorney General has filed a suit against Network Associates over clauses in its software shrinkwrap licenses prohibiting the publication of benchmarks and reviews. The...

washingtonpost: Tolkien Estate Sues Over Rewrite
Excerpt: The Tolkien estate has sued the author of "The Lord of the Rings Diary" to prevent its publication, despite not having seen the manuscript. According to its author the diary is a...

guardian: EU parliament backs anti-terror warrant
Excerpt: The EU parliament has voted to support an EU-wide arrest warrant, rejecting an amendment which would have limited the length of time suspects can be held. All 15 members, including...

nola: Judge throws out ban on rave gear
Excerpt: A US federal judge has overturned a ban on glow sticks and pacifiers that was part of an anti-drug campaign aimed at raves. "The government cannot keep legal items out of places...

csmonitor: Terrorism's slippery definition eludes UN diplomats
Excerpt: Despite 30 years of trying, the UN still can't decide on a definition of terrorism. The question has vexed the United Nations for 30 years, and diplomats last week again failed to...

informationweek: Amendment Would Expand Porn Reporting Law
Excerpt: Illinois will consider expanding laws requiring film developers to report possible child pornography to include computer technicians. IT workers who fail to report child pornography found...

bbc: Egypt rights activist gets new trial
Excerpt: 28 people charged with "tarnishing Egypt's image" have been granted a retrial in Egypt's Supreme State Security Court after pressure from human rights groups. Those charged include the...

bbc: Swazi sedition trial collapses
Excerpt: The trial of Swaziland's opposition leader Mario Masuku on sedition charges has been discontinued after revelations the presiding judge's employment contract had expired last year. Masuku...

washingtonpost: Lindh Indicted On Conspiracy, Gun Charges
Excerpt: Lawyers for John Lindh, who faces charges of conspiring to kill US nationals and providing support to terrorists, have argued his statements were given under duress. The indictment...

nytimes: Muslims Feel Sept. 11 Chill as Mecca Plays It Safe
Excerpt: The NY Times reports on Saudi security measures in preparation for the hajj pilgrimage. Via Privacy Digest . Bleary-eyed travelers, many of whom have disembarked from the first...

bbc: Move towards compulsory ID cards
Excerpt: British Home Secretary David Blunkett has proposed a compulsory national ID card. This follows the announcement last week of a new smart card, which stores biometric information, to be...

aap: Net gambling ban a failure, casino operators say
Excerpt: The Australian Casino Association says government regulation of internet gambling sites is a failure, as gamblers simply use offshore sites. As with his internet censorship regime ,...

independent: 'Independent' reporter freed by Zimbabwe authorities
Excerpt: UK Independent reporter Basildon Peta was arrested and later released by the Zimbabwe police after being accused of organising a protest without permission. British MPs have condemned...

MojoNation public network shutting down
Excerpt: MojoNation, the encrypted peer-to-peer publishing project, is shutting down its public network. A simplified version of the MojoNation technology will resurface in a new project named MNnet....

cryptome: USA v. Raise the Fist
Excerpt: Cryptome has published the affidavit and search warrant granting permission for last week's raid on the anarchist web site Raise the Fist . The sections governing the seizure of encrypted...

wired: Philips Burning on Protection
Excerpt: Wired examines the standoff between Philips and the recording industry over CD copy protection, predicting an end to the compact disc format. Incidentally, the article points out that some...

salon: The encrypted jihad
Excerpt: Salon belatedly criticizes US export controls on cryptographic products. Since Sept. 11, some commentators and lawmakers have suggested that the U.S. reverse itself once again, and...

cnet: Studios race to choke DVD copying
Excerpt: The MPAA appears to have missed the boat on recordable DVDs. DVD burners withough copy prevention mechanisms are selling rapidly and dropping in price, and software such as SmartRipper...

independent: 'Independent' journalist is harassed by police
Excerpt: A UK Independent journalist located in Zimbabwe faces arrest after taking part in a protest against plans to restrict the media. Also in the Independent is a piece by Basildon Peta, Today,...

guardian: Canadians need a little Inuition
Excerpt: The Canadian government is considering a law requiring the use of Inuktitut signs in the northern territory of Nunavut, despite there being no definitive written version of the language....

bbc: Argentina blocks lawsuits over cash limits
Excerpt: The Argentine government has banned lawsuits against itself over unconstitutional restrictions on cash withdrawls from banks. The move followed a ruling by the Supreme Court on Friday,...

bbc: Shayler appeals for 'fair trial'
Excerpt: A former MI5 agent appealing charges of breaching the official secrets act has asked for the right to plead that he was acting in the public interest. David Shayler maintains he released...

heraldsun: Law aims to plug leaks
Excerpt: According to the Herald-Sun, Australia's proposed new espionage laws will stifle journalists and prevent the exposure of government corruption. Journalists or MPs who receive leaked...

a-g: Government Gets Tough On Spies - Not Freedom Of Speech
Excerpt: The Australian Attorney General has issued a press release insisting the government's new espionage legislation is not intended to silence the public. His statement is true enough; the...

latimes: 2 Men Tied to Internet Piracy Gang Plead Guilty
Excerpt: Two members of the "warez" group DrinkorDie have pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement charges, and agreed to turn in their former associates in return for reduced sentences. The...

washingtonpost: Intricate Screening Of Fliers In Works
Excerpt: US airlines are working on data mining systems designed to profile passengers' travel histories and personal information for suspicious habits and links to other passengers, in order to...

seattlepi: Listener complaint leads to hefty fine for KNDD
Excerpt: A Seattle radio station has been fined by the US FCC after discussing penises on the air. Lawyers for the station are considering an appeal. Via Doc Searls The commission, acting on...

cdrinfo: Cactus Data Shield 200
Excerpt: CDR-info reviews Cactus Data Shield CD copy protection, including ways to bypass the system and listen to the CDs with an unsupported player. The new Natalie Imbruglia CD, White Lilies...

ananova: HP computers packaged with privacy software
Excerpt: HP is to begin preinstalling ad-blocking and anti-spyware software from Zero Knowledge on its Pavilion range of personal computers. ZKS has issued a press release about the offer. Via...

newsbytes: FBI Raid Silences Teen Anarchist's Site
Excerpt: Anarchist site Raise the Fist has been raided by the FBI, its owner accused of defacing web sites and publishing bomb-making information. The incident was first mentioned on Politech late...

bbc: Asylum seekers given 'smart' ID cards
Excerpt: Refugees seeking asylum in Britain will now be issued with smart cards instead of paper identification documents. The cards will store biometric information. Civil rights groups are...

bbc: Zimbabwe curbs media freedom
Excerpt: Zimbabwe's parliament has finally passed President Mugabe's restrictive media legislation. Amendments by opponents of the bill appear to have made little difference. The controversial...

search

search 3159 articles:

contact

tips, lawsuits and suggestions: vigilant@vigilant.tv

archives

• current
• Aug 2003
• Jul 2003
• Jun 2003
• May 2003
• Apr 2003
• Mar 2003
• Feb 2003
• Jan 2003
• Dec 2002
• Nov 2002
• Oct 2002
• Sep 2002
• Aug 2002
• Jul 2002
• Jun 2002
• May 2002
• Apr 2002
• Mar 2002
• Feb 2002
• Jan 2002
• Dec 2001
• Nov 2001
• Oct 2001
• Sep 2001
• Aug 2001
• Jul 2001
• Jun 2001
• May 2001
• Apr 2001
• Mar 2001
• Feb 2001
• Jan 2001
• Dec 2000

subscribe

rss
mailing list

privacy policy