LibertyVoice

Freedom and internet

Citizen Counter-Surveillance of the Police? There’s an App For That.

Despite the welcome 7th Circuit decision
in ACLU
v. Alvarez on May 8 that directed a federal district court to enjoin the
application of the Illinois eavesdropping statute to an ACLU police
accountability program, citizens around the country remain v…

The ‘Mugshot Racket’ II: A Commercial Purpose Exemption?

When Tim Donnelly, a 26-year-old job seeker, Googled his name recently he found that the first link provided was that to a mugshot of him taken seven years ago. He got into a fight as a teenager and was arrested for criminal trespass and assault. Acco…

U.S. Marine Faces Uphill Battle in First Amendment Challenge

What happens when the First Amendment collides with military decorum and respect for chain of command?  

It looks like we’ll get to find out as the matter of Sgt. Gary Stein, the Marine who on a Tea Party Facebook page slammed President Obama and …

Is ‘Liking’ on Facebook Protected Speech?

Venkat Balasubramani and Eric Goldman, over on Eric’s blog, have highlighted a rather interesting if fundamentally flawed decision from the Eastern District of Virginia. 

The case is Bland v. Roberts, and involves six plaintiffs who were civilian …

United States – US sanctions on Iranian and Syrian entities and individuals for monitoring and tracking dissidents online

Reporters Without Borders welcomes the executive order that President Barack Obama signed on 23 April imposing new sanctions on those who provide the Syrian and Iranian regimes with “information and communications technology that facilitates computer or network disruption, monitoring, or tracking that could assist in or enable grave rights abuses.” The sanctions, which are to include financial penalties and bans on entering the United States, have been prompted by the use of mobile phone (…)

United States – "For Press Freedom" Video Contest – Winner

Reporters Without Borders USA, CNN and the Ford Foundation are pleased to announce the winners of the “For Press Freedom” Video Contest, a nationwide competition challenging university students to create a video PSA that will air on CNN on World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2012. The winning video was created by Cassandra Stagner and Wil Granaderos from Western Michigan University. The international jury of journalists and human rights defenders selected the winning video answering the (…)

Viacom v. YouTube: The Second Circuit Punts on ‘Right and Ability to Control’

I’m not all that worried about YouTube’s legal fate as such (I’m pretty sure Google can afford plenty of lawyers), but when the Second Circuit speaks on the DMCA, I listen. And really, the Court of Appeals’ opinion (DMLP threat entry on the case here;…

Is It a Prior Restraint for Police to Delete Video of Their Conduct?

A pedicab driver was arrested in D.C. recently for pretending to record police arresting one of his passengers. He wasn’t actually filming anything – apparently he wasn’t even sure how to operate his new camera.

One would think that with all t…

United States – Internet Advocacy Coalition Announces Twitter Campaign to Fight Privacy-Invasive Bill (CISPA)

Civil liberties organizations are launching a week of Internet-wide protests today against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA), the controversial cybersecurity legislation that would negate existing privacy laws and allow companies to share user data with the government without a court order. The coalition is urging the US public to take part in a Twitter protest directed at their lawmakers. The campaign will use the hashtags #CongressTMI and #CISPA. In (…)

United States – Draconian cyber security bill could lead to Internet surveillance and censorship

Reporters Without Borders is deeply concerned with the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2011 (CISPA), the cyber security bill now before the US Congress. In the name of the war on cyber crime, it would allow the government and private companies to deploy draconian measures to monitor, even censor, the Web. It might even be used to close down sites that publish classified files or information. “Freedom of expression and the protection of online privacy are increasingly under (…)

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