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Join EFF in Demanding a Digital Upgrade to 25-Year-Old Electronic Privacy Law

74 points by zoowar 15y ago

Natsu 15y ago
This is long overdue. The law, as it stands now, draws strange and arbitrary distinctions between certain types of communications and affords protection only to certain things. It needs an update.
- Natsu 15y ago
  For anyone who wants more details, take a look at Wikipedia's overviews of the relevant laws: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Stored_Communications_Act https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Stored_Commun... https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Electronic_Communications_Privacy_Act https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Electronic_Co... Yes, one of the things that matters is how long the email has been stored. The law appears to think that we have less of an interest in the privacy of old emails than we do in new ones for some reason.
larrik 15y ago
"Super Mario Bros. 2 was the hot videogame" Actually, no. The U.S. version of Super Mario Brothers 2 came out in 1988. (At that time, Japan had a "Super Mario Brothers 2" that was completely different, but it's just not relevant to to the article). As for the REAL issues, I wholeheartedly support it.
Bud 15y ago
What's also needed here is some direct heat applied to the Republican Party, which deliberately politicized this area of policy after 9/11 to force the Patriot Act through and has steadfastly protected it since, labeling all opposition to it as un-American, unpatriotic, and similar bullshit. Until it is made politically dangerous to do things like this, you can bet that those folks will continue on the same path.
stealthyb 15y ago
EFF is great and I would encourage anyone to donate/join. If you get a chance to attend, they frequently speak at the DefCon conference in Las Vegas, NV (http://www.defcon.org http://www.defcon.org) and field digital rights questions. They also produce useful info for anyone concerned with digital privacy like the "Surveillance Self-Defense Project". If nothing else, it's gives some perspective on the complicated legal state of data security and communications. https://ssd.eff.org/ https://ssd.eff.org/

74 points by zoowar 15y ago

Natsu 15y ago

This is long overdue. The law, as it stands now, draws strange and arbitrary distinctions between certain types of communications and affords protection only to certain things. It needs an update.

Natsu 15y ago
For anyone who wants more details, take a look at Wikipedia's overviews of the relevant laws: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Stored_Communications_Act https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Stored_Commun... https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Electronic_Communications_Privacy_Act https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Electronic_Co... Yes, one of the things that matters is how long the email has been stored. The law appears to think that we have less of an interest in the privacy of old emails than we do in new ones for some reason.

larrik 15y ago

"Super Mario Bros. 2 was the hot videogame" Actually, no. The U.S. version of Super Mario Brothers 2 came out in 1988. (At that time, Japan had a "Super Mario Brothers 2" that was completely different, but it's just not relevant to to the article). As for the REAL issues, I wholeheartedly support it.

Bud 15y ago

What's also needed here is some direct heat applied to the Republican Party, which deliberately politicized this area of policy after 9/11 to force the Patriot Act through and has steadfastly protected it since, labeling all opposition to it as un-American, unpatriotic, and similar bullshit. Until it is made politically dangerous to do things like this, you can bet that those folks will continue on the same path.

stealthyb 15y ago

EFF is great and I would encourage anyone to donate/join. If you get a chance to attend, they frequently speak at the DefCon conference in Las Vegas, NV (http://www.defcon.org http://www.defcon.org) and field digital rights questions. They also produce useful info for anyone concerned with digital privacy like the "Surveillance Self-Defense Project". If nothing else, it's gives some perspective on the complicated legal state of data security and communications. https://ssd.eff.org/ https://ssd.eff.org/