Eddan Katz

EFF has long pointed out that technology companies are complicit in human rights violations when they knowingly sell customized human surveillance technologies to repressive regimes that are then used to target people for arrest, torture, and disappearance. Now a lawsuit filed recently against Nokia Siemens in Virginia by Isa Saharkhiz, an imprisoned Iranian dissident, and his son Mehdi Saharkhiz, brings this issue to the fore.

The Internet has been integral to the globalization of a range of goods and production, from intellectual property and scientific research to political discourse and cultural symbols. Yet the ease with which it allows information to flow at a global level presents enormous regulatory challenges. Understanding if, when, and how the law should regulate online, international flows of information requires a firm grasp of past, present, and future patterns of information flow, and their political… Show more

The Internet has been integral to the globalization of a range of goods and production, from intellectual property and scientific research to political discourse and cultural symbols. Yet the ease with which it allows information to flow at a global level presents enormous regulatory challenges. Understanding if, when, and how the law should regulate online, international flows of information requires a firm grasp of past, present, and future patterns of information flow, and their political, economic, social, and cultural consequences.

In The Global Flow of Information, specialists from law, economics, public policy, international studies, and other disciplines probe the issues that lie at the intersection of globalization, law, and technology, and pay particular attention to the wider contextual question of Internet regulation in a globalized world. While individual essays examine everything from the pharmaceutical industry to television to “information warfare” against suspected enemies of the state, all contributors address the fundamental question of whether or not the flow of information across national borders can be controlled, and what role the law should play in regulating global information flows.

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Last week, the German Constitutional Court issued a much-anticipated decision, striking down its data retention law as violating human rights. It was an important victory for Europe’s Freedom Not Fear movement, which was formed to oppose the EU Data Retention Directive. But it was also a reminder of the political work which remains to be done to defeat it.

U.S. trade policy on Intellectual Property (IP) enforcement is at a crossroads in the governance of the global knowledge economy. Calls for a war on counterfeiting and piracy have intensified, led by a coalition of multinational corporations in the entertainment, pharmaceutical, and luxury goods industries, that rely on expanding IP protection for their business models.

Outline Summary:
International Harmonization - TRIPs agreement
History of Intellectual Property & Trade
Development Agenda at WIPO
Exceptions & Limitations to Copyright
Digital Education
Access to Knowledge
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement

This essay explores the issue of access to knowledge; why it is
fundamental for the Information Society, how internet technologies can enable increasing
access, and the challenges that exist to realizing this potential. The most prominent of these
challenges are the barriers to A2K created by IPRs. What are IPRs, how and why they came
into being, the history of their effectiveness, and how they are governed are important
questions this essay will address.

The Internet has dramatically altered the landscape of crime and national security, creating new threats, such as identity theft, computer viruses, and cyberattacks. Moreover, because cybercrimes are often not limited to a single site or nation, crime scenes themselves have changed. Consequently, law enforcement must confront these new dangers and embrace novel methods of prevention, as well as produce new tools for digital surveillance—which can jeopardize privacy and civil liberties.

As the 2004 presidential election approaches, revelations of security and accuracy flaws in the electronic voting machines that were intended to correct the failures of the discredited voting technology threaten to further undermine the public's trust in voting. Testing results, independent reports, and internal corporate documents released to the public have exposed not only the vulnerabilities to tampering of some voting machine software, but have also exposed its potential for malfunction… Show more

As the 2004 presidential election approaches, revelations of security and accuracy flaws in the electronic voting machines that were intended to correct the failures of the discredited voting technology threaten to further undermine the public's trust in voting. Testing results, independent reports, and internal corporate documents released to the public have exposed not only the vulnerabilities to tampering of some voting machine software, but have also exposed its potential for malfunction. Although the Supreme Court's application of equal protection to election administration in Bush v. Gore could have sweeping consequences, this Article is more concerned with standards, specifically technical standards. This Article argues that our country is in a critical and difficult transition to novel voting technology. Federal technical standards are needed to quiet raging debates about the most important values in American voting. Standards have the opportunity to provide guidance or to only further cloud the debate over voting standards. Show less

Revolution is not an AOL Keyword*

You will not be able to stay home, dear Netizen.
You will not be able to plug in, log on and opt out.
You will not be able to lose yourself in Final Fantasy,
Or hold your Kazaa download queues,
Because revolution is not an AOL Keyword.

As the holiday season approaches, bargain shoppers not only have to deal with getting through their gift lists and waiting in store lines, but this year they will also have to contend with the chilling effects of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). When major retail stores including Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Staples, and Office Max learned that content from their upcoming "black Friday" sales circulars was being posted on the Web, they sent their lawyers to get the information taken… Show more

As the holiday season approaches, bargain shoppers not only have to deal with getting through their gift lists and waiting in store lines, but this year they will also have to contend with the chilling effects of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). When major retail stores including Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Staples, and Office Max learned that content from their upcoming "black Friday" sales circulars was being posted on the Web, they sent their lawyers to get the information taken down. Show less