Liveblogged at HOPE X. The speakers have cautioned that this talk is not legal advice.
Nate Cardozo, Attorney
Kurt Opsahl, Attorney
Adi Kamdar, Activist
Peter Eckersley, Technology Projects Director
Eva Galperin, Global Policy Analyst
It’s been a busy year at the EFF. They’ve been focusing a lot on the national security space over the last year.
Kurt Opsahl works on NSA cases. Jewel v. NSA has been going on since 2008, related to AT&T’s involvement with NSA wiretapping. First Unitarian v. NSA is focused on the right of association, and your right to anonymity in who you associate with. Just earlier this week, the EFF and ACLU joined Smith v. Obama. Kurt also works on a case arguing that National Security Letters are unconstitutional and is defending the decision against appeal.
Peter Eckersley leads the EFF’s team of technologists. They advise the EFF’s legal team on technology issues, and also build tools. They are working to encrypt the web, and ensure that encryption is actually secure. They’re working on STARTTLS Everywhere to improve email encryption. Fighting traffic discrimination
Eva Galperin worries about all the places that are not the United States. She’s been focusing on vulnerable populations like journalists, dissidents, and activists. She updates the EFF’s surveillance self-defense guide and digital first aid kit.
Adi Kamdar’s team works on organizing people to sign petitions, join marches, etc. Lately they’ve been working on patent reform. He also works on Open Access to research.
Nate Cardozo works on free speech and privacy. He participates on FOIA legislation. The EFF is suing the NSA for information on their criteria . They’re also suing the Ethiopian government for wiretapping a US citizen in his Maryland home. He works with Kurt on the EFF’s Coders’ Rights project. They provide legal advice to researchers.
Q: How can you use FOIA?
Nate: FOIA is for federal information, but every state has their own version. You write a letter and have 21 days to get a response. If you don’t get it, you can sue. There are exemptions, and you may be told your documents are exempt from FOIA requirements. It’s not that hard. EFF FOIA complaints are available online.
Q: How safe is speech from DDoS?
Eva: The traditional EFF answer: it depends, and it’s complicated. Your free speech rights online are under threat no matter where you live on the planet. Some places are worse than others. The US is protected by the First Amendment, but places like China have much stricter restrictions. Australia and the UK have recently been attacking free speech online by expanding GCHQ and outlawing whistleblower reporting. If you think that free speech is only under threat in authoritarian regimes, it’s not true.
Especially in post-soviet states, government dissidents are being targeted by state-sponsored DDoS. There are companies that are now offering DDoS protection to journalists.
Q: In the US, have there been any important legal decisions in recent years affecting the strength of the First Amendment online.
Kurt: There haven’t been a lot of cases, and the First Amendment is holding up pretty well, overall. One of the more troubling decisions was Garcia v. Google, in which Google had to take down a video based on a copyright claim from an actor in the video. That decision is being appealed currently.
Eva: The great exception to free speech is copyrighted material. One of the things we’ve seen in the past few years is an attempt to export this globally. Now we’re seeing this in the Trans Pacific Partnership. Normalizing copyright law is a threat to free speech. Another concern is that speech isn’t really free online because you’re using someone else’s platform. You don’t have free speech on Twitter, Facebook, G+.
Q: One technique to prevent gag orders under NSLs is to report that you haven’t received one until you have.
Kurt: This is called a warrant canary. A number of companies have done this, but it hasn’t been tested. It would be unusual in the US legal system for the NSA to compel a company to lie about having received 0 NSLs. The EFF is looking forward to testing
Response: Companies are issuing these reports on a several month delay. This gives them time to litigate if necessary.
Q: People say “Privacy is dead, get over it.” How do you respond?
Eva: This is what oppressive governments want you to think. When you believe you have no privacy and give up, they win. There’s a reason why you lock your door, shut your curtains, and don’t share your passwords with everyone. Even if you have nothing to hide, you also have a duty to protect the rights of people who have something to hide. Muslims have been disproportionately targeted by the US government. You need to fight for these people, it’s not enough to cover your own ass.
Peter: In a room full of hackers, it’s up to you whether the government knows everything already. If we build systems that can’t be tapped easily, then that’s not the world we’ll live in.
Adi: Privacy is now part of the conversation. It’s important that everyone talks about this. Even if people think privacy is dead, it’s important to have discussions about it.
Q: What work is being done in Canada?
Eva: Most of the work is being done in affiliation with Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. The EFF works with Iranian ex-pats based in Canada, Canadian IP law, and surveillance. They collaborate with Michael Geist as well.
Adi: Work on TPP and global copyright agreements involves international campaigns, and they’ve done some in EFF.
Q: The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace is an open process, and poses a threat to pseudonymity and anonymity online. Why isn’t the EFF engaging in open processes like these?
Peter: We’ve had some involvement in NSTIC. The government wants to be able to authenticate citizens reliably online. The process is pathologically complicated. The EFF has participated by issuing proposals and worked with academics who are seeking grants to work on NSTIC. As a small organization, the EFF has to be strategic about participating in large complicated processes.
Q: Some judges don’t even know how to check their own email. What types of strategies do you use to explain complex issues to judges? Do the judges really understand?
Nate: We have 6 technologists who collaborate with legal experts. We’ve had noted success. Sometimes they don’t get it, but often they do. Justice Sotomayor knows what 30 days of GPS tracking is.
Q: In Ecquador, there’s a roaming internet freedom community. What is the EFF doing in Latin America?
Eva: The EFF has an activist in Latin America right now. They work with the UN and governments to define what surveillance law looks like, and whether it is compatible with human rights.