This is a call to action letter I sent out to my contacts when switching e-mail. Please read it and give it some consideration.
If any of you have been following the recent COPA trial you will know that the Department of justice has subpoenaed the 3 largest internet search engines for information pertaining to a random sampling of one million users habits. MSN and AOL have complied handing over records of words keyed in for searches, and search results. AOL stated the demand for information was a violation of privacy. But chose to comply in order avoid a fight with the US government. Google, however, has chosen to take a stand and refused to hand over this information. For that I applaud them!
To explain the situation further let me explain COPA or Child Online Protection Act. I do not refute that is important to limit a child’s ability to access ‘material unsuitable for minors’ Which is what the COPA laws hope to accomplish. However the problem comes from the fact that it tramples our privacy. It has already been ruled unconstitutional 5 times since 1998! The law does not solve the problem either, parent awareness campaigns, and better filtering technology have had a larger effect then legislation overall.
I also need to point out a common misconception regarding COPA laws- they do not have anything to do with child abuse, or child pornography…only children having access to material that is questionable. This could include medical texts, paintings, or common information taught in school health classes. For more information please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_Online_Protection_Act
The problem with the recent legal action the Department of Justice has taken is multi-faceted.
First off the Dept of Justice is seeking to prove that:
1. Pornography is indexed by search engines
2. Users searched for words on those sites.
This is simply not enough to prove any minor ever went to a porn site from Google, as an example, by accident. The law itself doesn't even bring into account intent, or that an adult should be able to have access to the information. The DoJ is not trying to prove the effectiveness of filtering software. Google has built in filters, but the information pertaining to search results is not requested. They asked for the terms, and the sites available. Putting these two pieces together removes the filtering and removes the age of the person conducting the search.
It is also important to note, a subpoena is a request to testify. The data requested by the DoJ will be presented as testimony provided by Google and others. Since the data omits several facts, it will be the DoJ forcing testimony from Google to meet the DoJ's needs.
Imagine if you provided a written affidavit and when it was presented in court, entire paragraphs were blackened out. Those paragraphs that remain also had words blackened out to change the entire meaning of your testimony. To make matters worse, the blackened areas aren't visible, making something like "He was sleeping while at home in bed and was not driving the car that ran over the victim" ...into… "He was sleeping while driving the car that ran over the victim".
While that is important to this case, the DoJ has left it out because they are under executive order to request this information and prove their case.
I urge you to look as the recent legislation and actions of the executive branch you will see a growing trend. Things like the Patriot Act, and wire tapping US citizens with out a warrant. I can see the recent legal action paving the way for other internet privacy invasions. Querying a set of server logs from Google is only 1 small step from doing the kind of widespread cross-referenced keyword searches that NSA specializes in. I would like to challenge everyone who supports Google and their actions to consider taking some -- if not all -- of the following actions:
1. Write Google and let them know that you appreciate their stand. The more of us who show our support, the more they will likely feel reinforced to continue their strong stand.
2. Get a g-mail account, and dump those providers who have complied with the federal request if possible. Let those providers know exactly why you are stopping your service. Again, this goes back to the premise "strength in numbers." While it certainly won't reverse the actions of those providers who have complied, it will let them know that the public is watching and we are prepared to take action when we feel our rights are being compromised.
3. Inform your friends! It's imperative that we let others know about this! Silence is deadly.
4. Write to elected officials in your area informing them of your outrage and unwillingness to tolerate such fascist actions.
Above all, remember, "All that is necessary for evil to succeed over good is for good men to do nothing."
If any of you have been following the recent COPA trial you will know that the Department of justice has subpoenaed the 3 largest internet search engines for information pertaining to a random sampling of one million users habits. MSN and AOL have complied handing over records of words keyed in for searches, and search results. AOL stated the demand for information was a violation of privacy. But chose to comply in order avoid a fight with the US government. Google, however, has chosen to take a stand and refused to hand over this information. For that I applaud them!
To explain the situation further let me explain COPA or Child Online Protection Act. I do not refute that is important to limit a child’s ability to access ‘material unsuitable for minors’ Which is what the COPA laws hope to accomplish. However the problem comes from the fact that it tramples our privacy. It has already been ruled unconstitutional 5 times since 1998! The law does not solve the problem either, parent awareness campaigns, and better filtering technology have had a larger effect then legislation overall.
I also need to point out a common misconception regarding COPA laws- they do not have anything to do with child abuse, or child pornography…only children having access to material that is questionable. This could include medical texts, paintings, or common information taught in school health classes. For more information please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_Online_Protection_Act
The problem with the recent legal action the Department of Justice has taken is multi-faceted.
First off the Dept of Justice is seeking to prove that:
1. Pornography is indexed by search engines
2. Users searched for words on those sites.
This is simply not enough to prove any minor ever went to a porn site from Google, as an example, by accident. The law itself doesn't even bring into account intent, or that an adult should be able to have access to the information. The DoJ is not trying to prove the effectiveness of filtering software. Google has built in filters, but the information pertaining to search results is not requested. They asked for the terms, and the sites available. Putting these two pieces together removes the filtering and removes the age of the person conducting the search.
It is also important to note, a subpoena is a request to testify. The data requested by the DoJ will be presented as testimony provided by Google and others. Since the data omits several facts, it will be the DoJ forcing testimony from Google to meet the DoJ's needs.
Imagine if you provided a written affidavit and when it was presented in court, entire paragraphs were blackened out. Those paragraphs that remain also had words blackened out to change the entire meaning of your testimony. To make matters worse, the blackened areas aren't visible, making something like "He was sleeping while at home in bed and was not driving the car that ran over the victim" ...into… "He was sleeping while driving the car that ran over the victim".
While that is important to this case, the DoJ has left it out because they are under executive order to request this information and prove their case.
I urge you to look as the recent legislation and actions of the executive branch you will see a growing trend. Things like the Patriot Act, and wire tapping US citizens with out a warrant. I can see the recent legal action paving the way for other internet privacy invasions. Querying a set of server logs from Google is only 1 small step from doing the kind of widespread cross-referenced keyword searches that NSA specializes in. I would like to challenge everyone who supports Google and their actions to consider taking some -- if not all -- of the following actions:
1. Write Google and let them know that you appreciate their stand. The more of us who show our support, the more they will likely feel reinforced to continue their strong stand.
2. Get a g-mail account, and dump those providers who have complied with the federal request if possible. Let those providers know exactly why you are stopping your service. Again, this goes back to the premise "strength in numbers." While it certainly won't reverse the actions of those providers who have complied, it will let them know that the public is watching and we are prepared to take action when we feel our rights are being compromised.
3. Inform your friends! It's imperative that we let others know about this! Silence is deadly.
4. Write to elected officials in your area informing them of your outrage and unwillingness to tolerate such fascist actions.
Above all, remember, "All that is necessary for evil to succeed over good is for good men to do nothing."