The Platform for Privacy Preferences Proposal Privacy from Companies5/5/2000; 10:37:57 AM The Platform for Privacy Preferences is a proposal from the W3C, the group that sets web standards, for a way of handling privacy issues on the web (and presumably other Internet connections that may arise). The idea is that you specify what kind of privacy you want, and when you use your browser to visit some server (like Amazon.com), the server asks your browser what kind of privacy you want, and either respects your wishes or kicks you off the site as they aren't interested in talking to anyone who doesn't bare their soul to them.An intriguing idea, but one that is far from implementation. It's a great idea, though. Power to the people!
Judge Explains MP3.com Ruling Music & MP35/5/2000; 10:22:59 AM "[Judge] Rakoff disagreed with MP3.com's argument that its music service is the "functional equivalent" of storing CDs that had already been purchased. "'In actuality defendant is replaying for the subscribers converted versions of the recordings it copied, without authorization, from plaintiffs' copyrighted CDs,' Rakoff wrote. "The San Diego company had argued that it acted lawfully under the fair-use provisions of copyright laws that allows copying to take place under certain circumstances. However, Rakoff said MP3.com could not meet the standards required to win a fair-use defense."
Link Ban 'Threatens Free Speech' Free Speech5/5/2000; 9:59:14 AM Experts speaking in defense of hacker magazine 2600 say a ruling that prevents sites from linking to a controversial DVD-descrambling utility imperils traditional free speech. A federal judge should not order 2600.com to yank hyperlinks to the DeCSS program from its website because it "would constitute a gross prior restraint of speech," 2600 magazine says in court documents filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in New York. Good luck to 2600.
LinkBack Outage
LinkBack
5/3/2000; 11:13:24 AM The LinkBack program will cease to function over the next few days... I hope I can set it up to function elsewhere, but it may stop working with no-one to repair it, so we'll see how it goes.
A Little More Privacy, Eh? Country Watch: Canada5/3/2000; 12:07:46 AM Mar 15, 2000: "A Canadian senator who says her country's pending information privacy act does not go far enough is proposing legislation that would enshrine privacy as a fundamental right. . . The senator's proposal, which is now open for public comment before it goes on to Parliament in April, provides far-reaching protections for privacy in all aspects of life."I've never heard a better argument for moving to Canada. Just the simple fact that such actions are being considered on behalf of the people of the country and not the businesses is a giant step ahead.US, wake up! Companies are no longer the ones who need protection, people do!
Date Rape Site Taken Down Misc.5/3/2000; 12:04:37 AM Mar 14, 2000: "Web hosting company MyInternet.com deactivated Daterape.org, which described itself as 'a one-stop shop for all your date rape needs.'"I do not disagree with the removal; it amounts to conspiracy to commit horrible crimes. Interesting point, though:"'It's potentially dangerous,' Schnall [president of feminist.com] said. 'Although the site only got about 500 hits, if even one person got the idea to go out and rape someone, it's terrible.'"Shut down in less then 500 hits. That's pretty speedy. I suppose people were watching that domain name, but still... you can't always hide as well as you think you can on the Internet.
In A Virtual World, Who Owns Ideas? General IP Issues5/3/2000; 12:03:11 AM Mar 14, 2000: Some days I think Jon Katz is OK, some days I think he's a complete idiot. In his recent two part essay, In A Virtual World, Who Owns Ideas? (Part 2), he has successfully wasted a lot of his time.Go ahead and browse through the essay. See if you caught what I caught. (Nobody did on slashdot on the day the first part came out.) Jon Katz's entire essay was completely tainted by one gigantic mistake, one that is unfortunately all-too-common in this sort of debate.(BTW, today is not a "Jon Katz is OK" day, in case you couldn't tell.)
Anti-spam e-mail suit tossed out Spam & E-Mail5/2/2000; 11:58:10 PM Mar 14, 2000:
'The victory came when King County Superior Court Judge Palmer Robinson dismissed a case in which the state charged Jason Heckel with violating Washington's anti-spam law. Robinson said the law, generally regarded as the nation's toughest, violates the interstate-commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.' To tell the truth, I can't find an "interstate-commerce clause" of the US Constitution. I'm going to guess it's the full faith and credit clause, but I could be wrong.
Article IV, Section 1: Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.Samuel Reynolds thinks it's Article I, section 8.
The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States:To borrow money on the credit of the United States;To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes; ....(Emphasis his.)
No Voting Opportunity for All Political Speech5/2/2000; 11:55:48 PM Mar 13, 2000: "i" and "Rights" collided in a new way recently, with the online-voting for the Arizona Democratic primary. As you might expect, such an event was not without controversy, as described in the Wired article No Voting Opportunity for All.I think those who are claiming that voting on the Internet should be blocked as it discriminates against minorities who tend not to have access to computers should be considering their actions carefully. I don't remember all the details, but as I recall, the rate of increase in internet use is higher for blacks then whites, though the other minorities that we so casually lump into the group "minorities" are not necessarily increasing at that rate.Frankly, internet voting through your cheap 50$ WebNotebook is a better deal for minorities then the current polling process. In fact, it's a better deal for everyone. They really need to be careful how they proceed in court. By the time they obtain the injunction (assuming they do)... it may be out of date.
Site No Longer Bugs Terminix Free Speech5/2/2000; 11:53:40 PM Mar 13, 2000: Carla Virga ran a web site criticizing Terminix for bad service. Terminix fixes their service... no wait, that's how it's SUPPOSED to work. Instead, Terminix sues Carla Virga. Good news: Terminix has dropped the suit (I think they basically realized they were going to loose. ""This tells other consumers with Web sites that they shouldn't roll over and play dead if a corporation comes after them," said Paul Alan Levy, a lawyer for Public Citizen."It also sends a message to other companies that the way to respond to criticism is by answering it, not suing to stop it."I hope Carla Virga pursues a malicious prosecution case against Terminix.