LibertyVoice

Busted By The FBI: The Life Of An Elite Teen BitTorrent Uploader

enigmax — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:43:31 +0000

Releasers and torrent racers are the select few counted on by millions to bring the latest movies, music and video games to the wider Internet in record time. One such person, a 15-year-old school kid, eventually gained access to elite piracy sites and went on to become the top uploader on one of the world's most famous BitTorrent trackers. But how did the buzz of the elite compare to being hunted down by a Patriot Act-empowered FBI?

Source: Busted By The FBI: The Life Of An Elite Teen BitTorrent Uploader

We Need Copyright Reform, Not ACTA!

Marietje Schaake — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:49:05 +0000

As a Member of the European Parliament, I very much welcome the increased attention the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) has received in the past weeks. It has taken a while for massive outcry to emerge, but we are seeing protest voices getting louder and louder.

Source: We Need Copyright Reform, Not ACTA!

This Week in Civil Liberties (2/3/2012)

Rekha Arulanantham, ACLU — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:59:00 +0000

This week we sued the government for information on what program? Why was ACLU of Ohio client Zach bullied and beaten in school? Which movie rental company will be able to share your video rental records perpetually if H.R. 2471 is passed? Which go...

Threat to Current Sentencing Law Looms: Are We Headed Back to Mandatory Guidelines?

Sandhya Bathija, Washington Legislative Office — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:43:00 +0000

The debate over sentencing guidelines is about to heat up in Congress, according to a recent report by NPR. In a story that ran on Tuesday’s Morning Edition, Carrie Johnson reports that some GOP members of Congress aren’t happy with the ...

Cybersecurity Bill Advances in House – But Does it Advance Privacy?

Michelle Richardson, Washington Legislative Office — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:06:00 +0000

Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity passed a bill that will permit greater information sharing for cybersecurity efforts. Called the PRECISE Act, the bill as reported out of the subcommittee, will create an exceptio...

Gerson Gets it Wrong on Contraception

Sarah Lipton-Lubet, Washington Legislative Office — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Earlier this week, Michael Gerson’s disregard for the health of women and their families appeared once again on the pages of the Washington Post. The affront? The administration’s announcement that all new health insurance plans &#821...

Civil Liberties in the Digital Age: Weekly Highlights (2/3/2012)

Caitlin O'Neill, ACLU of Northern California — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:19:00 +0000

In the digital age that we live in today, we are constantly exposing our personal information online. From using cell phones and GPS devices to online shopping and sending e-mail, the things we do and say online leave behind ever-growing trails of pers...

Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration: Weekly Highlights

Alex Stamm, Center for Justice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:39:00 +0000

Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it’s ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system ...

PBS’ "Perpetuating Stigma" Highlights HIV Criminalization

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:17:00 +0000

Earlier this week, PBS aired the documentary Perpetuating Stigma about the ongoing criminalization of women with HIV. Through the stories of several women impacted by HIV criminalization — the use of criminal law to target people diagnosed with...

This Week in Censorship: Arrested Bloggers in Vietnam, Google’s New Censorship Policy, and China Blocks Tibetan-Language Blogs

maira — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:23:12 +0000

Paulus Le Son, a blogger detained in Vietnam since August 2011 Arrests of Dissident Bloggers Continue in Vietnam As we have previously covered, the Vietnamese government continues to crack down on bloggers and writers who have spoken out against the C...