The House is Attempting to Slip the Senate Version of FISA Update Bill Past the Public

Washington D.C.--This is more of the same: wait until the public has forgotten that this legislation will let the telecommunications companies off-the-hook for allowing illegal domestic surveillance through their major switching stations without a warrant from the White House.

Again, this is against the law, and retroactive immunity not only isn't going to make us safer, it's going to compromise our collective right to privacy guaranteed under the 4th amendment to the Bill of Rights. It's unconstitutional, but since when has that ever bothered this Congress or White House? This Electronic Frontier Foundation missive was forwarded to me in the last few minutes:

From: EFFector list <editor@eff.org>
Date: 2008/5/7
Subject: EFFector 21.16: Archive.org Fights FBI Demand
To:


EFFector Vol. 21, No. 16 May 7, 2008 editor@eff.org

A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
ISSN 1062-9424

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In our 469th issue:

* THE INTERNET ARCHIVE, along with its counsel EFF and the
ACLU, successfully challenged a national security letter
issued to the Archive's digital library. The NSL, which had
unconstitutionally gagged the Archive for months, was
withdrawn, and we are now able to bring this story to the
public for the first time. This settlement -- and the
extensive dialogue about the case -- are critical
supplements to widespread reports of NSL abuse.
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/05/06

* ACTION ALERT: A NEW FISA BILL is being drafted behind
closed doors. Although all may appear quiet in the House as
it publicly focuses on other major legislation, House
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has been negotiating with
Senator Rockefeller -- the architect of the terrible
Senate bill that would fully immunize lawbreaking telecoms
-- on a possible FISA "compromise".

Once a deal is struck, it could come to the House floor
with little warning. So, please contact your
Representatives now and remind them that we're watching --
and that they must not provide immunity for lawbreaking
telecoms.
http://stopthespying.org/

* ACTION ALERT: AN OUTRAGEOUS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROPOSAL
directs federal law enforcement agencies to collect DNA
samples from anyone they arrest. This new proposal
threatens to swell the government's DNA database with the
sensitive genetic information of innocent people --
Americans involved in peaceful political protests, for
example.

The public comment period will end on Monday, May 19, so
now's time to speak out against this proposal that turns
the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" on its
head!
http://www.eff.org/action/protectdna

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From Deeplinks

* MSN Music Debacle Highlights EULA Dangers
Like DRM, click-through license agreements can fiddle with
your rights as a user and a consumer.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/msn-music-debacle-highlights-eula-dangers

* Do You Own Your Software? WoW Glider Case Not Just About
Getting to Level 70.

Glider users may irritate some World of Warcraft players,
but Blizzard is simply wrong in its attempt to call them
copyright infringers.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/do-you-own-your-software-wow-glider-case-not-just-

* Patent Reform Act Stalls in the Senate
Disagreement among Senate Judiciary Committee members halts
progress on patent reform legislation.
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/patent-reform-act-stalls-senate

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miniLinks
The week's noteworthy news, compressed.

~ Wiretaps Increase by 20%
The US government's statistics for 2007 show that (legal)
wiretap requests have increased. (Illegal wiretaps are not
included in the government's statistics.)
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080504-government-wiretapsthe-ones-we-know-aboutup-20-for-2007.html

~ Patent Court Appointees Under Question
A law professor claims to have discovered a flaw in the
appointment of patent judges -- the appointments may be
unconstitutional, calling into question thousands of patent
rulings. (log-in may be required)
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/06/washington/06bar.html

~ Security Gaps When ISPs Hire Third Parties
The use of third parties to intercept web traffic and
direct users to advertising can open major security holes.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/apwire/7109e033b5e429834fd4c7f324e45cf4.htm