Berkman Buzz: July 12, 2013

Yesterday the Digital Media Law Project, with help from the Cyberlaw Clinic, filed an amicus brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in United States v. Auernheimer, arguing that the First Amendment prohibits the government from punishing Auernheimer’s disclosure of true, newsworthy information. The case is on appeal from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, which found Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer guilty of felony charges under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) and federal identity theft law.

Deepest harm of PRISM may be not the surveillance itself but the destruction of rule-of-law (FISA) & whistle-blower protections (Snowden).
—Zeynep Tufekci (@zeynep)

Revelations about the extent of the US government’s surveillance of digital media has triggered a range of reactions around the world. In the world outside the US, citizens and their governments are rightly furious that the National Security Agency is systematically monitoring communications on some of the world’s most widely used communications platforms. That the US apparently spies on its closest allies in EU offices merely adds insult to injury.

The reaction within the US to these revelations has been disappointingly subdued. Civil libertarians and advocates for free speech online are struggling to productively channel their anger and are planning a major protest in Washington DC on July 4. But more widespread responses include a nodding acceptance of any invasion of privacy in exchange for prevention of terrorist violence, and a cynical, world-weary insistence that no one should be surprised that all digital networks are monitored both by corporations and by governments.

Earlier this month Anthony Judge, who worked from the 1960s until 2007 for the UN’s Union of International Associations and is known for developing the most extensive databases on global civil society, published a detailed proposal titled “Circumventing Invasive Internet Surveillance with Carrier Pigeons.” In the proposal, Judge discusses the proven competence of carrier pigeons for delivering messages, their non-military and military messaging capacity, and the history of using pigeons to transfer digital data.

Do you have a stellar idea for a #DPLAfest 2013 workshop, discussion topic, or hands-on activity? Let us know! http://bit.ly/11KXhch
—Digital Public Library of America (@dp.la)

Following last week’s news about changes at the Cyberlaw Clinic, we wanted to formally announce the launch of the Clinic’s new website: cyberlawclinic.berkman.harvard.edu. The site describes the Clinic’s practice; collects some of the amicus briefs, other court filings, and publications to which the Clinic has contributed over the years; summarizes past and future Clinic-related events; and offers information relevant to both prospective students and potential clients.

In Japan, dancing in the wrong place at the wrong time can get you in trouble.

Japanese law requires that public venues be licensed to permit dancing. Clubs and dance halls that are unlicensed can be – and are often – raided by the police. The Entertainment Business Act [ja] (“Fueiho” in Japanese) also requires venues to close no later that one o’clock in the morning. Venues that host all-night dance parties without a license are thus considered to be law breakers.

But on this island nation, home to a lively club scene, and the headquarters of world-renowned manufacturers of DJ turntables and loudspeakers, such as Vestax, AKAI and Pioneer, the party-people are fighting back.