Center for Democracy and Technology

CDT Submits Comments in Music Licensing Rulemaking

In comments submitted today to the Copyright Office, CDT, EFF, Public Knowledge, and four other groups expressed support for the goal of providing greater licensing clarity to digital music services. That clarity could assist in the continued growth of the lawful online music market. The comments warned, however, that this goal could be undermined by rules that unnecessarily address controversial questions with important implications outside the music licensing context, such as the legal status of "buffer copies." CDT and its allies instead argued for a narrowly-tailored rule that would serve as a "safe harbor" covering any copies created in the course of providing a digital music service.

Limits Needed On DHS Border Crossing and Driver Information Databases

In comments filed with the Department of Homeland Security today, CDT highlighted privacy concerns implicated by DHS' new system of databases to record personal information and border crossing history. CDT called on DHS to reduce the 15-year period for retaining records of the date, time and place an American re-enters the United States at the land borders, and to limit the vast array of "routine uses" for which that data can be shared with other government agencies, foreign governments, and the public. In related comments, CDT urged DHS to work with states and other issuers of new "enhanced drivers licenses" to provide the department with access only to personal information about drivers crossing the border rather than information about all those holding EDLs, and to ensure that states do not create their own records of drivers' border crossing activities.

Dempsey to Be Nominated to Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board

President Bush today announced his intention to nominate CDT Vice President for Public Policy James X. Dempsey to serve a five year term on the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent agency within the executive branch that will review the civil liberties impact of anti-terrorism policies and programs, providing advice on policy development and implementation and oversight of government actions relating to terrorism. In legislation adopted last year, Congress reconstituted the Board and made it independent of the White House. The position, which is subject to Senate confirmation, is part-time, so Dempsey, if confirmed, will continue in his position with CDT.

Study: State AGs Fail to Adequately Protect Online Consumers

State attorneys general received thousands of complaints about online fraud and abuse in 2006 and 2007. Yet, with the exception of several notable standouts, few states brought significant cases in response to those complaints, according to a report released today from the Center for American Progress and the Center for Democracy and Technology. The study finds online fraud and abuse aren't given a high priority by most attorneys general. The report recommends several steps state attorneys general can take to protect online consumers, such as: assess the applicability and adequacy of state laws; develop computer forensic capabilities; train investigators and prosecutors to identify Internet fraud; and devote greater resources to enforcement efforts.

CDT Files Supreme Court Brief In Support of Free Speech on Broadcast

Today CDT and the Progress & Freedom Foundation jointly filed a "friend of the court" brief in the U.S. Supreme Court against the FCC's regulation of "fleeting expletives," arguing that the Commission's new policy of censoring one-off curse words violates both the Constitution and administrative law. CDT also called into question the FCC's overall authority to regulate speech on broadcast, noting that dramatic changes in media and technology over the past 30 years no longer make broadcast a "unique" medium deserving less than full First Amendment protection. The brief also argues that the convergence of broadcast with the Internet and other new media, and the rise of technological tools that allow families to control what media content enters the home, eliminates the need for continued government regulation of broadcast.

Constitution Protects Location Information, CDT Argues

In a July 31 amicus brief filed in a federal court in Pennsylvania, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, joined by CDT, ACLU and the ACLU of Pennsylvania, argued that cell phone location information is protected by the Fourth Amendment. The brief argues that a court should require the government to obtain a warrant based on probable cause in order to gain access to cell site location information stored by a cell phone company.

CDT Files Brief Arguing Against Criminal Liability for Violating Terms-of-Service

CDT on Friday joined the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Public Citizen, and a group of 14 law professors in an "friend of the court" brief arguing that violating an online service's Terms of Service agreement isn't a criminal offense under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The brief, submitted in the case of United States v. Lori Drew, explains that the legal theory behind the Government's indictment of Ms. Drew would effectively criminalize the actions of millions of Internet users and raise significant due process and constitutional concerns.

Appeals Court Reverses "Remote DVR" Decision

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals today reversed a lower court decision that, as CDT and a number of others argued in a 2007 amicus brief, had the potential to chill innovation in products that use the Internet to provide storage and computing functions from remote locations. The lower court ruling had blocked Cablevision from rolling out a digital video recorder (DVR) system that stores recorded television programs on remote servers instead of in set top devices in the customers' homes. CDT applauds today's decision, which finds that providing such a remote DVR does not constitute direct copyright infringement. CDT also welcomes the court's finding that transitory data held in buffers for a mere 1.2 seconds do not constitute "copies" for purposes of the Copyright Act.

Broad Laptop Search Authorities Claimed At the Border

Newly released documents confirm that U.S. government border officials assert authority to rifle through the contents of laptop computers, cell phones and flash drives that travelers bring into the United States, even when officials have no suspicion that a device contains evidence of a crime. Devices can be taken from travelers, removed to a remote location, examined by officials unknown to the travelers, and returned days, weeks, or even months later.

FCC Reprimands Comcast in Traffic Management Dispute

The FCC today voted 3-2 to reprimand Comcast for interfering with some of its subscribers' BitTorrent uploads and failing to disclose the action. The ruling is a major development in the long-running debate over "Internet neutrality" and "network management." CDT agrees with the ruling's apparent premise that broadband providers should not target specific applications for inferior treatment and should be much more transparent about network management practices. CDT has serious concerns, however, about the potential breadth of the Commission's assertion of authority and the risk that it could open the door to greater FCC regulatory involvement in Internet issues. The full impact of the ruling will depend on the actual text of the order, which is not yet available.

CDT Policy Post: A Primer on Behavioral Advertising

CDT issued a policy post today on the emerging practice of online behavioral advertising. Behavioral advertising involves the compilation of detailed information about an Internet user’s online activities. That data, when collected, can be turned into detailed consumer profiles including articles read, web sites visited, and items purchased. Ad networks contract with web sites to determine what type of advertising shows up on a consumer's web browser based on those profiles. In efforts to obtain more complete consumer profiles, some ad networks are now contracting with ISPs to buy the full web streams of the ISP's subscribers. That ad network-ISP model raises privacy concerns discussed in this policy post.

Study: Customer, Corporate Data at Risk in Telecommuting Environment

Telecommuting and the virtual office put sensitive corporate data, including the personal information of customers, at risk of compromise, according to a report released today by the Center for Democracy & Technology and Ernst & Young. The report is based on a survey of 73 organizations and recommends that companies with a telecommuting workforce need to pay more attention to the unique privacy and security risks posed by remote access. The report offers practical advice to companies on securing data accessed by employees working from home or other remote locations.

CDT Policy Post: Security and Privacy Issues Associated With Federal RFID-Enabled Documents

CDT issued a policy post today addressing security and privacy issues associated with federal RFID-enabled border crossing documents. CDT traces the troubling history of the U.S. government's adoption of this flawed technology despite warnings from internal government watchdogs. DHS response to security and privacy concerns has been inadequate, CDT said. RFID-enabled border crossing documents could fall victim to "mission creep," like the Social Security Number before them, and become a target for identity thieves, CDT said, noting there is still time for the Congress and public to act, forcing the State Department and DHS to reconsider the using this flawed technology.

CDT Files Comments Opposing Censorship on Nationwide Wireless Network

CDT filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission -- on behalf of more than twenty public interest and industry groups -- against the FCC's proposal to require censorship of a free nationwide wireless Internet access network. Although CDT supports the broad goal of deploying broadband nationwide, the comments argued that such government-mandated censorship would violate the First Amendment and would create an effectively unusable service due to the large amount of content and online services that would be blocked.