Intellectual Poverty

Kim Dotcom wants to encrypt half of the Internet to end government surveillance

"The United States government says that Kim Dotcom, a German millionaire formerly known as Kim Schmitz, masterminded a vast criminal conspiracy by operating the file-storage site Megaupload. Dotcom, on the other hand, begs to differ. One year after the high-profile raid of his home and the shut-down of one of the most popular sites on the Web, Dotcom hosted a launch party for his latest endeavor, simply called Mega. On the anniversary of the end of Megaupload, Dotcom discusses the year since his arrest and what the future holds in regards to both his court case and the Internet alike." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKim Dotcom wants to encrypt half of the Internet to end government surveillance

Unlocking Cellphones Becomes Illegal Saturday

"In October 2012, the Librarian of Congress, who determines exemptions to a strict anti-hacking law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), decided that unlocking mobile phones would no longer be allowed. Unlocking a phone frees it from restrictions that keep the device from working on more than one carrier's network, allowing it run on other networks that use the same wireless standard. This can be useful to international travellers who need their phones to work on different networks. Other people just like the freedom of being able to switch carriers as they please." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnlocking Cellphones Becomes Illegal Saturday

Major ISPs set to implement ‘six strikes’ online piracy program

"A new voluntary system aimed at rooting out online copyright piracy using a controversial 'six strikes' system is set to be implemented by US Internet providers soon, with the impact unclear. The program was created with the music and film industry and the largest Internet firms, with some prodding by US government. Participating in the program are the five largest broadband Internet providers — Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Cablevision and Verizon — covering some 85 percent of US residential customers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMajor ISPs set to implement ‘six strikes’ online piracy program

Patent Troll with Patent on Podcasting Threatens to Shut Down—or Shake Down—Podcasters

"On This Week in Tech, Leo Laporte, who is understandably worried, suggests that podcasters get together and fight this patent, instead of being picked off one by one. This may be a good strategy, but another thing podcasters should do is reevaluate their (typical) support for IP—for patent and copyright." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPatent Troll with Patent on Podcasting Threatens to Shut Down—or Shake Down—Podcasters

Kim Dotcom poised for return with Megaupload successor

"Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom will launch a new file-sharing site at his Auckland mansion on Sunday, exactly a year after armed police arrested him at the same venue in the world’s largest online piracy case. Dotcom’s new venture, mega.co.nz, aims to recreate the success of his Megaupload empire, which boasted 50 million daily visitors and accounted for four percent of all Internet traffic before it was shut down after the police raid. Details of the planned service are scarce, but the site promises to use state-of-the-art encryption methods that mean only users, not the site’s administrators, know what they are uploading." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKim Dotcom poised for return with Megaupload successor

U.S. attorney defends handling of Aaron Swartz case as ‘appropriate’

"A US prosecutor at the center of a controversy over the handling of a case involving an Internet activist who committed suicide has defended the government’s actions as 'appropriate.' Assistant US Attorney Carmen Ortiz expressed regret over the death of Aaron Swartz, who was accused of illegally copying and distributing millions of academic articles from a database but said prosecutors were merely doing their job." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. attorney defends handling of Aaron Swartz case as ‘appropriate’

Debate intensifies over ‘draconian’ cyber crime laws after Aaron Swartz’s death

"As funeral services were held for Internet activist Aaron Swartz, the debate intensified over what some called a 'draconian' US computer crime law used by allegedly overzealous prosecutors. An online petition calling for the removal of the prosecutors in his case garnered more than 31,000 signatures Tuesday and some of Swartz’s supporters blamed a 1986 computer crimes statute for his suicide. Swartz, who was just 14 when he co-developed the RSS feeds that are now the norm for publishing frequent updates online and went on to help launch social news website Reddit, hanged himself in his New York apartment on Friday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDebate intensifies over ‘draconian’ cyber crime laws after Aaron Swartz’s death

Glenn Greenwald: Carmen Ortiz and Stephen Heymann: accountability for prosecutorial abuse

"Prosecutors are vested with the extraordinary power to investigate, prosecute, bankrupt, and use the power of the state to imprison people for decades. The US has become a society in which political and financial elites systematically evade accountability for their bad acts, no matter how destructive. Those who torture, illegally eavesdrop, commit systemic financial fraud, even launder money for designated terrorists and drug dealers are all protected from criminal liability, while those who are powerless - or especially, as in Swartz's case, those who challenge power - are mercilessly punished for trivial transgressions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Carmen Ortiz and Stephen Heymann: accountability for prosecutorial abuse

US Attorney files dismissal of Swartz’s case, refuses to comment on his death

"Despite Swartz’s family literally placing the blame for his death on the state, and both MIT and JSTOR releasing public statements that were largely positive in how they portrayed him, a spokesperson for Ortiz told the Los Angeles Times, 'We want to respect the privacy of the family and do not feel it is appropriate to comment on the case at this time.' After a year and a half of state harassment, the threat of over 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine hanging over Swartz’s head, after both JSTOR and MIT dropped their criminal charges, the government went after Swartz like a rabid dog – and got a kill." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS Attorney files dismissal of Swartz’s case, refuses to comment on his death

US court drops charges on Aaron Swartz days after his suicide

"A federal court in Massachusetts has dismissed the hacking case against Reddit co-founder Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide on January 11 while facing decades behind bars and a $1 million fine. Though JSTOR decided not to press charges – and even urged the US government to drop the case – MIT went ahead with a civil suit. As a result, Swartz faced serious legal consequences, which observers believe led to his suicide last week. According to a Huffington Post report, Swartz's defense team suspected federal attorneys were using Swartz as an example to show how serious they could be with online crime cases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS court drops charges on Aaron Swartz days after his suicide