========================================================================= ________________ _______________ _______________ /_______________/\ /_______________\ /\______________\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ ||||||||||||||||| / //////////////// \\\\\________/\ |||||________\ / /////______\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\/____ |||||||||||||| / ///////////// \\\\\___________/\ ||||| / //// \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/ ||||| \//// ========================================================================= EFFector Online Volume 09 No. 05 May 2, 1996 editors@eff.org A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424 IN THIS ISSUE: Big Day for Crypto: New Bill, New Campaign, New Coalition Sen. Leahy Uses PGP in Open Letter to the Net on Crypto NewsNybbles New EFF Organizational Memberships Georgia Online Trademark Law Passed Upcoming Events Quote of the Day What YOU Can Do Administrivia * See http://www.eff.org/Alerts/ or ftp.eff.org, /pub/Alerts/ for more information on current EFF activities and online activism alerts! * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Big Day for Crypto: New Bill, New Campaign, New Coalition ------------------------------------------------------------------ For Immediate Release May 2, 1996 EFF Helps Plant Seeds of 'Golden Key' Grassroots Campaign For Secure Electronic Communications Electronic Frontier Foundation Contact: Lori Fena, Exec. Dir. +1 (415)436-9333 lori@eff.org Using the symbols of a key and an envelope, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), along with many other organizations concerned with the security of electronic communication, is helping to spread the word about a new international grassroots campaign promoting online privacy. The purpose of the "Golden Key" Campaign for Private Communications Online is to urge the online community, computer industry, government agencies and lawmakers to support the protection of privacy and security on the rapidly growing Internet * About the Golden Key Campaign for Private & Secure Communications Online Both the key and the envelope symbolize historic means for communicating privately and protecting personal information. Today, encryption tools provide this privacy in the electronic world. "The importance of privacy as a common good in a society which values democracy is not new," said Lori Fena, executive director of EFF. "For the same reasons you would not send a love letter or your credit card number through the mail on the back of a post card, we need to ensure that encryption -- the electronic version of an envelope -- remains widely available and truly useful." The Golden Key Campaign is being launched to raise awareness and support for the preservation of the right to communicate privately and the availability of new techniques which make it possible. Privacy, a fundamental human right, has been affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, the constitutions and laws of many countries, and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Privacy must be preserved as we move from paper to electronic communications. EFF is encouraging members of the online community to display the Golden Key logo wherever possible and help educate legislators in the U.S. and abroad about the importance of secure online communication. The logo may be freely obtained and redistributed by downloading any one of the several versions available on EFF's Golden Key site, at http://www.eff.org/goldkey.html - and please link your Golden Key encryption freedom icon to this URL or one of the ones mentioned below (the IPC home page or the Crypto Policy Resource Page). * Recent Events Highlight Importance of Electronic Encryption While security and privacy of communication is an age-old value, recent events in the courts and U.S. Congress (and elsewhere) have brought new attention to the issue. Just today, U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, R-MT, introduced legislation that would relax export controls on commercial & public domain products containing technologies for privacy, such as encryption. Hearings on the Burns bill are expected to take place in early June. The proposal has already gathered support from a bipartisan coalition in Congress. The name of the legislation is the "Promotion of Commerce Online in the Digital Era (Pro-CODE) Act of 1996". Bill number: S. 1786. Two other similar bills, the "Encrypted Communication Privacy Act of 1996 (ECPA96)" (S. 1587) and the "Security And Freedom through Encryption (SAFE) Act of 1996" (H.R. 3011), were introduced March 5, by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-VT, and Rep. Robert Goodlatte, R-VA, respectively. The texts of these bills and various statements regarding them can be found at http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy/ITAR_export/Crypto_bills_1996/ Electronic communication security and export of encryption has also been an important issue in Federal courts recently. In a landmark decision two weeks ago, a U.S. District Judge in San Francisco denied the government's motion to dismiss mathematician Daniel Bernstein's case in which he seeks the ability to freely export his encryption algorithm, "Snuffle." The decision was the first time that a U.S. court recognized software as Constitutionally protected speech. See http://www.eff.org/pub/Legal/Cases/Bernstein_v_DoS/ for more info. On the down side, a case in some ways similar to Bernstein's - the Phil Karn case - was dismissed with a largely opposite ruling, in a different district. That dismissal is on appeal. And the State Department is even sending legal threat letters to authors of software that does not include encryption capabilities, but only software "hooks" to allow encryption functions to be added. Crypto export overhaul could not come a moment sooner. Outside the US: France, Beligium, Russia and other coutries have cracked down on even the use of encryption, while the United Kingdom is a step closer to imposing an crypto key "escrow" system, in which all users' private keys are duplicated and held by a third party or the government itself, for the conveniece of law enforcement and intelligence agents. For more information see: http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy/Key_escrow/Foreign_and_local/UK/ Users and organizations abroad are urged to create their own Golden Key resource pages, to inform users in their own areas about crypto-privacy action on the local front. * EFF Joins EPIC, CDT, VTW & Others in Forming Internet Privacy Coalition The Internet Privacy Coalition (IPC) is the first attempt to bring together a broad base of companies, cryptographers and public interest organizations around the central goals of promoting privacy and security on the Internet and urging relaxation of export controls on encryption tools. The coalition is maintaining a web page at http://www.privacy.org/ipc/ The site will serve as a central depository for information and discussion regarding online encryption and secure electronic communication. There is also a sister site that will be of interest, whether you are new to the topic, or an active participant in the debate: the Encryption Policy Resource Page at http://www.crypto.com * The Electronic Frontier Foundation The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is a nonprofit public interest organization devoted to the protection of online privacy and free expression. EFF was founded in 1990, and is based in San Francisco, California. It maintains an archive of information on privacy and cryptography at http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy/ EFF has been involved for several years with the protection of secure and private electronic communication. In 1993-4, EFF and other civil liberties organizations successfully opposed implementation of the U.S. Administration's "Clipper" or "Skipjack" system - hardware encryption for voice and data communications in which all encryption keys are held by government for the convenience of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In 1994, EFF helped ensure that crypto export became a major legislative topic, laying the groundwork for eventual liberalization of the ITARs. In 1994 and 1995 EFF opposed implementation of and helped defeat funding for the FBI's "Digital Telephony" scheme, in which up to one person on every city block could be simultaneously wiretapped in some areas. ------------------------------ Subject: Sen. Leahy Uses PGP in Open Letter to the Net on Crypto ---------------------------------------------------------------- [Note: The URL given below for the Senator's homepage appears to have changed to http://www.senate.gov/member/vt/leahy/general/ or http://www.senate.gov/~leahy (both of these work.) This letter was sent by Sen. Leahy today, to various organizations and mailing list forums, including EFF's "ACTION" list.] From: Senator_Leahy@leahy.senate.gov Date: Thu, 02 May 96 12:02:02 EST Message-Id: <9604028310.AA831063527@smtpgwys.senate.gov> Subject: Letter From Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) On Encryption To: action@eff.org (action mailing list) Please post where appropriate - ---BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- LETTER FROM SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY (D-VT) ON ENCRYPTION May 2, 1996 Dear Friends: Today, a bipartisan group of Senators has joined me in supporting legislation to encourage the development and use of strong, privacy-enhancing technologies for the Internet by rolling back the out-dated restrictions on the export of strong cryptography. In an effort to demonstrate one of the more practical uses of encryption technology (and so that you all know this message actually came from me), I have signed this message using a digital signature generated by the popular encryption program PGP. I am proud to be the first member of Congress to utilize encryption and digital signatures to post a message to the Internet. As a fellow Internet user, I care deeply about protecting individual privacy and encouraging the development of the Net as a secure and trusted communications medium. I do not need to tell you that current export restrictions only allow American companies to export primarily weak encryption technology. The current strength of encryption the U.S. government will allow out of the country is so weak that, according to a January 1996 study conducted by world-renowned cryptographers, a pedestrian hacker can crack the codes in a matter of hours! A foreign intelligence agency can crack the current 40-bit codes in seconds. Perhaps more importantly, the increasing use of the Internet and similar interactive communications technologies by Americans to obtain critical medical services, to conduct business, to be entertained and communicate with their friends, raises special concerns about the privacy and confidentiality of those communications. I have long been concerned about these issues, and have worked over the past decade to protect privacy and security for our wire and electronic communications. Encryption technology provides an effective way to ensure that only the people we choose can read our communications. I have read horror stories sent to me over the Internet about how human rights groups in the Balkans have had their computers confiscated during raids by security police seeking to find out the identities of people who have complained about abuses. Thanks to PGP, the encrypted files were undecipherable by the police and the names of the people who entrusted their lives to the human rights groups were safe. The new bill, called the "Promotion of Commerce On-Line in the Digital Era (PRO-CODE) Act of 1996," would: o bar any government-mandated use of any particular encryption system, including key escrow systems and affirm the right of American citizens to use whatever form of encryption they choose domestically; o loosen export restrictions on encryption products so that American companies are able to export any generally available or mass market encryption products without obtaining government approval; and o limit the authority of the federal government to set standards for encryption products used by businesses and individuals, particularly standards which result in products with limited key lengths and key escrow. This is the second encryption bill I have introduced with Senator Burns and other congressional colleagues this year. Both bills call for an overhaul of this country's export restrictions on encryption, and, if enacted, would quickly result in the widespread availability of strong, privacy protecting technologies. Both bills also prohibit a government-mandated key escrow encryption system. While PRO-CODE would limit the authority of the Commerce Department to set encryption standards for use by private individuals and businesses, the first bill we introduced, called the "Encrypted Communications Privacy Act", S.1587, would set up stringent procedures for law enforcement to follow to obtain decoding keys or decryption assistance to read the plaintext of encrypted communications obtained under court order or other lawful process. It is clear that the current policy towards encryption exports is hopelessly outdated, and fails to account for the real needs of individuals and businesses in the global marketplace. Encryption expert Matt Blaze, in a recent letter to me, noted that current U.S. regulations governing the use and export of encryption are having a "deleterious effect ... on our country's ability to develop a reliable and trustworthy information infrastructure." The time is right for Congress to take steps to put our national encryption policy on the right course. I am looking forward to hearing from you on this important issue. Throughout the course of the recent debate on the Communications Decency Act, the input from Internet users was very valuable to me and some of my Senate colleagues. You can find out more about the issue at my World Wide Web home page (http://www.leahy.senate.gov/) and at the Encryption Policy Resource Page (http://www.crypto.com/). Over the coming months, I look forward to the help of the Net community in convincing other Members of Congress and the Administration of the need to reform our nation's cryptography policy. Sincerely, Patrick Leahy United States Senator - ---BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMYjdVBM5YGSLu9/1AQGFwwQArk/HYG65cSOr3dsykvkDFonjISjur7xb SEMCFLI3E4KSoXSy4+6cNogICGADxDnwI8j/29Gviu+d93eQ2veeNmKP43+r0R+S Zcv86b3/pK6btq3QqVN6+x3G8CEA2MnDtuSWbNyANEdValtpOYTCzU2Sm6gNfg9Q 4QxUZ4R4+Ps= =VJ87 - ---END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------------------------------ Subject: NewsNybbles -------------------- * New EFF Organizational Memberships EFF now has two new membership categories: - Nonprofit/Educational/Library - $100/year Open to any not-for-profit NGO, or similar organization (e.g. in countries that don't have official non-profit categories, or organizations denied such status for political reasons by hostile governments). Also open to schools and to libraries. - Corporate - $5000 Please pledge your support, and help us make a difference! This category is for the large and small companies alike. If you'd like to help out with larger contributions, donation of services or equipment, or with project cooperation, please contact us at ask@eff.org or +1 415 436 9333 (voice), +1 415 436 9993 (fax). For an EFF membership for (for fax, snail mail, email or upload), please see: http://www.eff.org/EFFdocs/join_eff.html ftp.eff.org, /pub/EFF/join.eff (login: anonymous) or gopher.eff.org, path: 1/EFF/join.eff * Georgia Online Trademark Law Passed The Georgia "Net Police" bill reported on last issue was signed into law, despite objections from the public, the industry, and civil liberties organizations. The bill poses many potential free speech and privacy threats due to its poor wording. A new bill to repeal this law has been introduced in the state legislature. (No online text available as of yet). BellSouth denies being behind the legislation, despite suggestions to the contrary from at least one Georgia State Representative. Whatever really went on behind closed doors, BellSouth did have this to say about the bill: "...it is probably overkill and unduly complicating to make acts of trademark infringement, misrepresentation and passing off on the Internet a crime under state law. There is already ample legislation and common law in place to effectuate the intent of this law." ------------------------------ Upcoming Events --------------- This schedule lists EFF events, and those we feel might be of interest to our members. EFF events (those sponsored by us or featuring an EFF speaker) are marked with a "*" instead of a "-" after the date. Simlarly, government events (such as deadlines for comments on reports or testimony submission, or conferences at which government representatives are speaking) are marked with "!" in place of the "-" ("!?" means a govt. speaker may appear, but we don't know for certain yet.) And likewise, "+" in place of "-" indicates a non-USA event. If it's a foreign EFF event with govt. people, it'll be "*!+" instead of "-". You get the idea. The latest version of the full EFF calendar is available from: ftp: ftp.eff.org, /pub/EFF/calendar.eff gopher: gopher.eff.org, 1/EFF, calendar.eff http://www.eff.org/pub/EFF/calendar.eff May 3 + Symposium: "The Law of Information Superhighways and Multimedia," sponsored by the Eurpoean Lawyers Union, Monaco. URL: http://www.iway.mc/groupecx/uae - "THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1996: PROSPECTS, PROBLEMS, PROJECTIONS," sponsored by the MIT Research Program on Communication Policy; 1:00-5:30pm, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT Room 9-15, Cambridge, MA. Contact: +1 253 0108 Email: weinmann@mit.edu URL: http://web.mit.edu/tac/www/home.html May 4 - ACLU forum on Censorship and the Internet User; Souls Unitarian Church, 4500 Warwick, Kansas City, MO; featuring Laura Murphy, Executive Director of ACLU's national office in Washington, D.C. Contact: +1 816 756 3113 Email: bbarrish@falcon.cc.ukans.edu - Internet and Journalism Conference, sponsored by the Detroit Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists; 9am-3:30pm, Dearborn Inn & Marriott Hotel, 20301 Oakwood, Dearborn, MI. Contact: +1 313 336 1503 May 6- 7 - Automated Medical Payments Conference; San Francisco, CA. Contact: +1 312 983 6133 May 6- 8 - IEEE/IACR Security & Privacy Symposium; Oakland, Calif. Deadline for submissions: Nov. 6, 1995. Contact: +1 503 725 5842 (voice), +1 503 725 3211 (fax) Email: sp96@cs.pdx.edu URL: http://www.cs.pdx.edu/SP96/ FTP: ftp.cs.pdx.edu, /pub/SP96/ May 6- 10 + 5th International WWW Conference; Paris, France. Email: bneu@ncsa.uiuc.edu URL: http://jeeves.ncsa.uiuc.edu/Public/IW3C2/#conf May 7 - National Library Legislative Day, sponsored by the District of Columbia Library Association and the American Library Association; Washington, DC. Contact: Mary Costible +1 202 628 8410 Email: mrc@alawash.org May 9 - HotWired Electronic Frontiers Forum; online event, 7pm PST "speak"ers will include Jerod Pore of Scamizdat. Users can participate via either WWW (http://www.hotwired.com/club/) or telnet (chat.wired.com2428). URL: http://www.hotwired.com/club/ May 9- 11 + Visions of Privacy for the 21st Century: A Search for Solutions; Victoria, BC, Canada. Contact: http://www.cafe.net./gvc.foi May 10 *! Last day in court on appellate-level EFF/CDT/VTW/CIEC/ACLU/ALA Communications Decency Act legal challenge (ACLU & ALA, et al. v. Reno & Dept. of Justice, merged case). Next stop: the Supreme Court! Help pack the Philadelphia Courtroom! Contact: ACLU, +1 212 944 9800 Email: cda-stat@cdt.org (update infobot) - New Jersey Intercampus Network presents "Telecommunications Act of 1996: Should we? Can we? Must we?"; Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ. Contact: Kraig Roajphlastein, +1 201 216 5483 - Workshop on Medical Records Privacy, sponsored by the Consumer Project on Technology, Washington, D.C. Contact: Manon Ress, +1 202 387 8030 Email mress@essential.org URL: http://www.essential.org/cpt May 10- 12 - Alliance for Community Media/Northeast Region and Community Technology Centers Network's Spring 1996 regional conference: "Public Access Goes Digital - Building Out Communities in the Information Age"; Champlain College, Burlington, VT. Contact: Marisa Vitielo, +1 802 862 1645 Email: Marisa@CCTV.org URL: http://www.together.net/~onectc3/ne-conf.htm May 14- 17 - Community Networking '96 Conference: "Bringing People Together"; Taos, NM Email: mailing@laplaza.taos.nm.us URL: http://laplaza.taos.nm.us/comnet96.html May 15 ! Telecommunication and Education National Issues Forum, sponsored by the Douglass Policy Institute; Washington Court Hotel; Washington, D.C. Contact: +1 202 488 8458 Fax: +1 202 484 7029 URL: http://www.council100.org/dpi.html May 15- 17 - 4th CICNet Conference on Datafication; Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia. Proposals due by "mid December" '95. Contact: +1 708 866 804 (voice) Email: rd-reg@cic.net URL: http://www.marshall.edu/rd4/ May 16 - HotWired Electronic Frontiers Forum; online event, 7pm PST "speak"ers will include Sameer Parekh of Community Connection. Users can participate via either WWW (http://www.hotwired.com/club/) or telnet (chat.wired.com 2428). URL: http://www.hotwired.com/club/ May 16- 17 - CLE/University of Texas Law School presents, "Communicating and Conducting Business Online"; Four Seasons Hotel, Austin, TX Contact: +1 512 475 6700 Fax: +1 512 475 6876 Email: utcle@mail.law.utexas.edu May 20- 21 ! Internet Privacy and Security Workshop, sponsored by the Privacy and Security Working Group of he Federal Networking Council and the Research Program on Communications Policy Center for Technology, Policy, and Industrial Development at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Haystack Observatory, Boston, MA. Deadline for abstracts: April 14. Contact: Internet Security and Privacy Workshop c/o Joseph Reagle, Research Program on Communications Policy, MIT, One Amherst St. (E40-218), Cambridge, MA 02139 Voice: +1 617 253 4138 Fax: +1 617 253 7326 Email: papers@rpcp.mit.edu May 20- 22 - The Digital Revolution: Assessing the Impact on Business, Education and Social Structures, and ASIS Annual Meeting; San Diego, CA. Notification of intent to submit a paper must be received by November 15, 1995. [NOTE! We've also seen the date given as May 18-22, so you should ask what the correct dates are.] Email: asis96@chestnut.lis.utk.edu URL http://pepper.lis.utk.edu/call.html May 23 - HotWired Electronic Frontiers Forum; online event, 7pm PST "speak"ers will include Gary Chapman. Users can participate via either WWW (http://www.hotwired.com/club/) or telnet (chat.wired.com 2428). URL: http://www.hotwired.com/club/ May 28- 31 - Harvard Conference on the Internet and Society, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Contact: +1 617 432 1NET Email: harvnet@harvard.edu URL: http://www.harvnet.harvard.edu May 29- 31 - 18th Annual Meeting of the Society for Scholarly Publishing: Assessing the Reality of New Markets and New Media; Minneapolis Hilton and Towers, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Contact: 303-422-3914 Fax: 303-422-8894 May 30- 31 - "Networked Information: Challenges and Solutions," sponsored by CAUSE and the Coalition for Networked Information, University of Pennsylvania, Phialdephia, PA. Contact: +1 303 939 0315 Email: conf@cause.colorado.edu URL: http://cause-www.colorado.edu/conference/regional-hp.html ------------------------------ Subject: Quote of the Day ------------------------- "This court can find no meaningful difference between computer language, particularly high-level [programming] languages..., and German or French...Whether source code and object code are functional is immaterial to the analysis at this stage. Contrary to [government] defendants' suggestion, the functionality of a language does not make it any less like speech...Defendants argue in their reply that a description of software in English informs the intellect but source code actually allows someone to encrypt data. Defendants appear to insist that the higher the utility value of speech the less like speech it is. An extension of that argument assumes that once language allows one to actually do something, like play music or make lasagne, the language is no longer speech. The logic of this proposition is dubious at best. Its support in First Amendment law is nonexistent." - Federal District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel, decision rejecting government motion to dismiss, _Bernstein_v._US_Dept._of_State_, Apr. 15, 1996 Find yourself wondering if your privacy and freedom of speech are safe when bills to censor the Internet are swimming about in a sea of of surveillance legislation and anti-terrorism hysteria? Worried that in the rush to make us secure from ourselves that our government representatives may deprive us of our essential civil liberties? Concerned that legislative efforts nominally to "protect children" will actually censor all communications down to only content suitable for the playground? Alarmed by commercial and religious organizations abusing the judicial and legislative processes to stifle satire, dissent and criticism? Join EFF! Even if you don't live in the U.S., the anti-Internet hysteria will soon be visiting a legislative body near you. If it hasn't already. ------------------------------ Subject: What YOU Can Do ------------------------ * The Communications Decency Act & Other Censorship Legislation The Communications Decency Act and similar legislation pose serious threats to freedom of expression online, and to the livelihoods of system operators. The legislation also undermines several crucial privacy protections. Business/industry persons concerned should alert their corporate govt. affairs office and/or legal counsel. Everyone should write to their own Representatives and Senators, letting them know that such abuses of public trust will not be tolerated, that legislators who vote against your free speech rights will be voted against by you in the next elections. Join in the Blue Ribbon Campaign - see http://www.eff.org/blueribbon.html PARTICIPATE IN BLUE RIBBON ACTIVISM EFFORTS: http://www.eff.org/blueribbon/activism.html Support the EFF Cyberspace Legal Defense Fund: http://www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/cyberlegal_fund_eff.announce For more information on what you can do to help stop this and other dangerous legislation, see: ftp.eff.org, /pub/Alerts/ gopher.eff.org, 1/Alerts http://www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/ If you do not have full internet access (e.g. WWW), send your request for information to ask@eff.org. IMPORTANT! KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR LOCAL LEGISLATURE. All kinds of wacky censorious legislation is turning up at the US state and non-US national levels. Don't let it sneak by you - or by the online activism community. Without locals on the look out, it's very difficult for the Net civil liberties community to keep track of what's happening locally as well as globally. * New Crypto-Privacy Legislation Urge your Represenatitives to support the Pro-CODE crypto export bill (and to fix the few remaining bugs in it). Join in the Golden Key Campaign! See http://www.eff.org/goldkey.html http://www.privacy.org/ipc/ http://www.crypto.com/ for more info. * Digital Telephony/Comms. Assistance to Law Enforcement Act The FBI has been seeking both funding for the DT/CALEA wiretapping provisions, and preparing to require that staggering numbers of citizens be simultaneously wiretappable. To oppose the funding, write to your own Senators and Representatives urging them to vote against any appropriations for wiretapping. We are aware of no major action on this threat at present, but keep your eyes peeled. It will be back. * Anti-Terrorism Bills Several bills threatening your privacy and free speech have been introduced recently. One passed, but none of the rest them are close to passage at this very moment - however, this status may change. Urge your Congresspersons to oppose these unconstitutional and Big-Brotherish bills, which threaten freedom of association, free press, free speech, and privacy. One such bill passed last week, stripped of most of the more onerous provisions. Keep it up. Write to your legislators: No secret trials and deportations, no expansion of wiretapping scope or authority, no national or "smart-card" ID systems! For more information on some of this legislation, see http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy/Terrorism_militias/ * The Anti-Electronic Racketeering Act This bill is unlikely to pass in any form, being very poorly drafted, and without much support. However, the CDA is just as bad and passed with flying colors [the jolly roger?] in Congress. It's better to be safe than sorry. If you have a few moments to spare, writing to, faxing, or calling your Congresspersons to urge opposition to this bill is a good idea. * Medical Privacy Legislation Several bills relating to medical privacy issues are floating in Congress right now. Urge your legislators to support only proposals that *truly* enhance the medical privacy of citizens. More information on this legislation will be available at http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy/Medical/ soon. Bug mech@eff.org to make it appear there faster. :) * Find Out Who Your Congresspersons Are Writing letters to, faxing, and phoning your representatives in Congress is one very important strategy of activism, and an essential way of making sure YOUR voice is heard on vital issues. EFF has lists of the Senate and House with contact information, as well as lists of Congressional committees. (A House list is included in this issue of EFFector). These lists are available at: ftp.eff.org, /pub/Activism/Congress_cmtes/ gopher.eff.org, 1/EFF/Issues/Activism/Congress_cmtes http://www.eff.org/pub/Activism/Congress_cmtes/ The full Senate and House lists are senate.list and hr.list, respectively. Those not in the U.S. should seek out similar information about their own legislative bodies. EFF will be happy to archive any such information provided. If you are having difficulty determining who your Representatives are, try contacting your local League of Women Voters, who maintain a great deal of legislative information, or consult the free ZIPPER service that matches Zip Codes to Congressional districts with about 85% accuracy at: http://www.stardot.com/~lukeseem/zip.html Computer Currents Interactive has provided Congress contact info, sorted by who voted for and against the Communcations Decency Act: http://www.currents.net/congress.html * Join EFF! You *know* privacy, freedom of speech and ability to make your voice heard in government are important. You have probably participated in our online campaigns and forums. Have you become a member of EFF yet? The best way to protect your online rights is to be fully informed and to make your opinions heard. EFF members are informed and are making a difference. Join EFF today! For EFF membership info, send queries to membership@eff.org, or send any message to info@eff.org for basic EFF info, and a membership form. ------------------------------ Administrivia ============= EFFector Online is published by: The Electronic Frontier Foundation 1550 Bryant St., Suite 725 San Francisco CA 94103 USA +1 415 436 9333 (voice) +1 415 436 9993 (fax) Membership & donations: membership@eff.org Legal services: ssteele@eff.org General EFF, legal, policy or online resources queries: ask@eff.org Editor: Stanton McCandlish, Online Activist, Webmaster (mech@eff.org) Assoc. 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You can also get the file "current" from the EFFector directory at the above sites at any time for a copy of the current issue. HTML editions available at: http://www.eff.org/pub/EFF/Newsletters/EFFector/HTML/ at EFFweb. HTML editions of the current issue sometimes take a day or longer to prepare after issue of the ASCII text version. ------------------------------ End of EFFector Online v09 #05 Digest ************************************* $$