- nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

TechDirt: "Breaking News: Feds Falsely Censor Popular Blog For Over A Year, Deny All Due Process, Hide All Details..."
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 9, 2011

Dec. 9, 2011

Breaking News: Feds Falsely Censor Popular Blog For Over A Year, Deny All Due Process, Hide All Details... from the /copyright-as-censorship/ dept Imagine if the US government, with no notice or warning, raided a small but popular magazine's offices over a Thanksgiving weekend, seized the company's printing presses, and told the world that the magazine was a criminal enterprise with a giant banner on their building. Then imagine that it never arrested anyone, never let a trial happen, and filed everything about the case under seal, not even letting the magazine's lawyers talk to the judge presiding over the case. And it continued to deny any due process at all for /over a year/, before finally just handing everything back to the magazine and pretending nothing happened. I expect most people would be outraged. I expect that nearly all of you would say that's a classic case of prior restraint, a massive First Amendment violation, and exactly the kind of thing that does not, or should not, happen in the United States. But, in a story that's been in the making for over a year, and which we're exposing to the public for the first time now, this is /exactly/ the scenario that has played out over the past year -- with the only difference being that, rather than "a printing press" and a "magazine," the story involved "a domain" and a "blog." There are so many things about this story that are crazy, it's difficult to know where to start, so let's give the most important point first: The US government has effectively admitted that it totally screwed up and falsely seized & censored a non-infringing domain of a popular blog, having falsely claimed that it was taking part in *criminal* copyright infringement. Then, after trying to hide behind a totally secretive court process with absolutely no due process whatsoever (in fact, not even serving papers on the lawyer for the site or providing timely notifications -- or providing any documents at all), for /over a year/, the government has finally realized it couldn't hide any more and has given up, and returned the domain name to its original owner. If you ever wanted to understand why ICE's domain seizures violate the law -- and why SOPA and PROTECT IP are almost certainly unconstitutional -- look no further than what happened in this case. Okay, now some details. [...] Continua qui: *http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111208/08225217010/breaking-news-feds-falsely-censor-popular-blog-over-year-deny-all-due-process-hide-all-details.shtml*

1 0

C'e' un'alternativa a SOPA e PIPA!
by Marco Pancini Dec. 8, 2011

Dec. 8, 2011

*http://keepthewebopen.com/* -- Marco Pancini | Senior Policy Counsel | pancini(a)google.com | +32.28948492 +32.473531203 This email may be confidential or privileged. If you received this communication by mistake, please don't forward it to anyone else, please erase all copies and attachments, and please let me know that it went to the wrong person. Thanks.

1 0

Salon: "Twitter takes sides on the Internet’s future"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 8, 2011

Dec. 8, 2011

Sunday, Dec 4, 2011 9:00 AM EST Twitter takes sides on the Internet’s future While some tech companies aim to sell surveillance, one aims to thwart it. By Nancy Scola <http://www.salon.com/writer/nancy_scola/> If you’re wondering where Internet and other digital technologies are headed, take note of two news items from this past week. The first was a piece in the Washington Post profiling the Wiretappers’ Ball <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trade-in-surveillance…>, a recent gathering in suburban Maryland for those who make tools for surveilling, monitoring and throttling the Internet — and for the people who buy them. The get-together, according to the Post, featured more than three dozen countries and nearly as many U.S. federal agencies. It’s a showcase event for an industry in which behemoths like Cisco, and smaller players like Blue Coat, help control and track the Internet activities of the government’s enemies in China (Falun Gong) and Syria (revolutionaries). The second, smaller development, reported by the Wall Street Journal, was thatSan Francisco-based Twitter Inc. had acquired Whisper Systems <http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/11/28/twitter-adds-team-who-created-privac…>, a two-person firm that specializes in securing the Android mobile operating system. The firm’s only employees — the marvelously named Moxie Marlinspike and fellow researcher Stuart Anderson — seek to make it harder for snoops to monitor who and how) you are texting, calling and otherwise connecting with digitally. These seemingly unrelated events represent alternative visions of the roles technology companies, large and small, will play in the future of the Internet. Will the Internet remain a healthy, flexible, sustainable platform for discourse? Or will it turn into yet another medium controlled by whoever has the most offline power? [...] Continua qui: http://www.salon.com/2011/12/04/the_difference_between_twitter_and_cisco/si…

2 2

Gina Nieri su ISP e internet
by Alberto Dec. 8, 2011

Dec. 8, 2011

Ciao a tutti, sempre di Gina Nieri, consigliera Mediaset, vi segnalo questa intervista<http://www.mediaset.it/gruppomediaset/bin/66.$plit/prima_24_11_11_nieri.pdf>rilasciata a Prima Comunicazione. Nieri illustra le attività di lobbying di RTI e altri produttori di contenuti a livello europeo. Spiega anche la sua visione sugli ISP e internet. L'intervista è un po' bipolare, ma significativa. Un caro saluto, Alberto Il 08 dicembre 2011 02:14, J.C. DE MARTIN <demartin(a)polito.it> ha scritto: > Sull'argomento segnalo l'interessante botta e risposta con Gina Nieri > (consigliera Mediaset) sul Fatto Quotidiano > di giovedi' 8 dicembre, pp. 2-3. > > > juan carlos > > > > > On 07/12/11 16:43, Stefano Quintarelli wrote: >> >> ciao, >> penso che il tema sia interessante e come dice JC bisogna capire se c'e' >> un nesso diretto. >> di quali frequenze stiamo parlando ? (io non seguo molto le vicissitudini >> della TV...) >> ci sono handset e celle per operatori che operano in quelle frequenze ? >> il contesto ed eventuali accordi internazionali (piani internazionali >> delle frequenze per evitare interferenze) consnetono un uso diverso da >> broadcast ? >> purtroppo e' un argomento che non conosco.. >> ciao, s. >> >> On 07/12/2011 19:58, J.C. DE MARTIN wrote: >>> >>> Articola il collegamento con Internet e siamo in tema. >>> >>> Ma il collegamento ci deve essere e deve essere diretto, >>> perche' altrimenti piu' o meno tutto ha a che fare con tutto... >>> >>> juan carlos >>> >>> On 07/12/11 11:05, a.dicorinto(a)uniroma1.it wrote: >>>> >>>> Veramente no, JC, scusa se dissento, ma il tema delle frequenze ha a >>>> che fare col dividendo digitale e quindi con la possibilità di usare >>>> le rdiofrequenze per la banda larga e Internet... >>>> >>>> ********************** >>>> “The Net interprets censorship as damage and routes around it.” >>>> – John Gilmore >>>> >>>> -----nexa-bounces(a)server-nexa.polito.it ha scritto: ----- >>>> >>>> Per: nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >>>> Da: "J.C. DE MARTIN" >>>> Inviato da: nexa-bounces(a)server-nexa.polito.it >>>> Data: 07/12/2011 02.57PM >>>> Oggetto: Re: [nexa] asta ferquenze >>>> >>>> E' un tema molto importante, Mariella (anche se quel numero e' >>>> sicuramente >>>> esagerato, per quel che ne so io). E non parliamo del tema piu' >>>> generale >>>> della televisione italiana! >>>> >>>> Ma sia uno sia l'altro tema sono - presi in sé e per sé - >>>> fuori dall'ambito di questa lista nonché fuori dell'ambito di >>>> azione del centro NEXA. >>>> >>>> Grazie comunque, >>>> un caro saluto, >>>> >>>> juan carlos >>>> >>>> >>>> On 07/12/11 08:28, Mariella Berra wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Un provvedimeno urgente è la messa all'asta delle frequenze per >>>>> la televisione digitale terrestre. >>>>> Molti lo hanno chiesto. Secondo alcune stime di gionalisti ci >>>>> sarebbe un risparmio, per me forse sopravalutato, di circa 15 >>>>> miliardi di euro. >>>>> Come Nexa pensiamo di fare qualcosa? >>>>> Un caro saluto Mariella >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> nexa mailing list >>>>> nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >>>>> https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> nexa mailing list >>>> nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >>>> https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> nexa mailing list >>> nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it >>> https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa >> >> > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa -- Alberto Bellan Milan, ITALY twitter: @albertobellan blog: parolecomplicate.it skype: albertobellan

2 1

The bandwidth hog is a myth
by Paolo Brini Dec. 8, 2011

Dec. 8, 2011

Interessante rapporto di Wagner e Felten. "To help prove the bandwidth hog was a mythical creature, Wagner and Felten put out a request for raw data from any ISP would like to participate -- or who wanted to contest their argument. They only got one substantive volunteer, an anonymous "mid size company from North America" selling DSL, but they've issued a new report after thoroughly parsing the data received. In a blog post, Felten notes that the pair took real user data for all customers connected to a single aggregation link and analyzed the network statistics on data consumption -- in five minute time increments -- over a whole day. What they found is that capping ISPs often don't really understand customer usage patterns, and are confusing data consumption (how much data was downloaded over a whole period) and bandwidth usage (how much bandwidth capacity was used at any given point in time). What they discovered is data that runs in stark contrast to a lot of the claims put out there by some familiar, larger ISPs when justifying caps and overages. Among the pair's findings is that the top 1% of data consumers (which they call "very heavy consumers," instead of the already adversarial "hog") account for 20% of the overall consumption. Data consumption for these "very heavy consumers" was 9.6 GB, while the average for all users was 290MB -- roughly equating to data consumption of 288 GB per month and 8.7 GB per month, respectively. Data caps as currently implemented may act as deterrents for all users at all times, but can also spur customers to look for fairer offerings in competitive markets. Looking deeper into the data, they also found that about 61% of very heavy data consumers download 95% of the time or more, but only 5% of those who download at least 95% of the time are very heavy data consumers. While 83% of very heavy data consumers are amongst the top 1% of bandwidth users during at least one five minute time window at peak hours, they only represent 14.3% of said Top 1% of users at those times." <http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/The-Bandwidth-Hog-is-a-Myth-117230> Ciao, Paolo

2 1

ESN-IAMCR Call for Papers for Durban 2012
by Francesca Musiani Dec. 8, 2011

Dec. 8, 2011

Buongiorno, inoltro questo call for papers di possibile interesse per i giovani studiosi della lista NEXA... Resto a disposizione per eventuali chiarimenti (e mi scuso per eventuali doppioni). Cordialmente, Francesca Musiani (ESN-IAMCR communications coordinator) ------ International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) DURBAN 2012 EMERGING SCHOLARS NETWORK SECTION CALL FOR PAPERS The Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) invites you to participate in the 2012 International Congress of the IAMCR to be held on July 15-19, 2012 at the Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa. This year’s theme is South North Conversations. We call for general academic papers in Communication and Media Studies as well as papers addressing the concrete conference theme. Diverging from traditional world systems implications, this theme reflects the asymmetry of global communication flows, without suggesting the negatives that usually accompany discussions of the 'digital divide' within the context of the “global south.” The term ‘global south’ refers to countries, territories and communities that have been excluded from the mainstream of economic, social and communication development. In much of the discourse around global geo-politics, these countries and communities are still regarded as the recipients of economic and technical largesse from more developed sources. It is the theme of this conference to interrogate this assumption, and to emphasize the communicative empowerment and the positive potential of media and communication in and from the ‘Global South’. For more information on this year’s conference theme please see the general call for papers. The ESN is a section dedicated to the work and careers of emerging scholars in the field of media and communication. Hence, we especially look for works in progress from graduate students and new university instructors/professors who are interested in substantial feedback and comments intended to advance their projects. The ESN organizes emerging scholar panels and joint panels with other sections. Our emerging scholar panels provide a comfortable environment for the presentation of theses and works in progress, where emerging scholars can receive feedback from colleagues also at the beginning of their careers and from senior scholars who act as respondents to individual papers. The joint panels with other sections allow for the exchange of ideas with senior scholars in the field and networking. Should there be enough submissions we are planning to co-sponsor panels together with the following IAMCR Sections and Working Groups: Law Section; Gender and Communication Section; Political Communication Section; Health, Communication and Change Working Group; and the Task Force on Media Policies. In line with the purpose of our section, the ESN also organizes panels about issues affecting emerging scholars, such as: - Publishing research results; - Mentoring and the Student-mentor relationship; - Academic work and academic jobs; - Neoliberalism in the academy; - Language barriers in academia. Scholars who wish to organize or contribute to an issue-related panel are welcome to contact Sara Bannerman at Sara.Bannerman [at] gmail.com and Stefania Milan at stefania.milan [at] eui.eu. SUBMISSIONS The deadline for submission of abstracts is February 14, 2012. Please note that this deadline will not be extended. The OCS system at http://iamcr-ocs.org will open on December 1, 2012, and will close on February 14, 2012. Decisions on acceptance of abstracts will be communicated to individual applicants by their Section or Working Group Head no later than March 12, 2012. On the same day, March 12, 2012, conference registration will open for bookings by participants. For those whose abstracts are accepted, full conference papers are to be submitted via the IAMCR OCS by June 10, 2012. - Questions may be addressed to the section co-chairs, Stefania Milan stefania.milan(a)eui.eu and Sara Bannerman at Sara.Bannerman(a)gmail.com. - Submissions must include author name(s), affiliation, address, e-mail address, and paper title. - If you are submitting a work in progress, we welcome your submission! Please state that it is a work in progress in your abstract. - Abstracts should be 250-300 words. Please also take a look at our suggestions on how to write an abstract: http://iamcr.org/component/docman/doc_download/315-2010-esn-how-to-write-an… New ! Special Call ESN in Spanish / ESN Hispanohablante El grupo de estudios ESN Hispanohablante y Comunicación Latinoamericana abre una convocatoria para presentar trabajos en idioma español en la Conferencia IAMCR 2012. Para el grupo ESN Hispanohablante y Comunicación Latinoamericana es especialmente pertinente el tema de la conferencia en Durban, “Conversaciones Norte-Sur”, que vincula los problemas sociales, las propuestas de desarrollo sostenible, y los contextos interculturales de América Latina con varias perspectivas de comunicación ciudadana, estudios de recepción, comunicación para el desarrollo y metodologías participativas de la comunicación. Invitamos investigadores emergentes a presentar propuestas de ponencia en idioma español y con un enfoque latinoamericano de la comunicación, que pone énfasis en comunicaciones y contextos socioculturales diferentes; reflexiona en lo intercultural e interdisciplinar, adecuando epistemologías, definiciones y metodologías de la comunicación a la realidad social. Los planteamientos de la comunicación en América Latina incluyen la diversidad de sujetos múltiples, negociando identidades y significados ante la modernidad y procesos de urbanización, mestizaje sociocultural, nuevas narrativas, medios, lugares y espacios de la comunicación. Para dudas o preguntas antes de enviar la propuesta, se puede escribir a Franklin Cornejo (fcu_75(a)yahoo.com) coordinador de ESN-Hispanohablante y Comunicación Latinoamericana y a la coordinadora de comunicación de ESN Francesca Musiani (francesca.musiani(a)gmail.com) MORE INFORMATION AND UPDATES ABOUT THE ESN - Please take a look at our website ((http://iamcr.org/s-wg/cctmc/esn) - Join the ESN Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=44068562342) - Or subscribe to the ESN listserv (http://iamcr.org/mailman/listinfo/esn_iamcr.org) -- Francesca Musiani Ingénieur de recherche ARMINES Doctorante, Centre de Sociologie de l'Innovation (associé au CNRS, UMR7185) MINES ParisTech 60, Boulevard Saint Michel 75272 PARIS Cedex 06 France 33 (0)1 40 51 92 77 33 (0)6 45 31 90 53 francesca.musiani(a)mines-paristech.fr www.csi.mines-paristech.fr/Perso/Musiani/

1 0

Iniziativa al Parlamento Europeo contro PIPA/SOPA
by Marco Pancini Dec. 8, 2011

Dec. 8, 2011

Vi segnalo questa interessante iniziativa di Marietje Schaake, Membro del Parlamento Europeo: Letter to US Congress about SOPA and PROTECT IP http://euletter-sopa-pipa.tumblr.com/ Un caro saluto. marco Dear Members of Congress, We, Members of the European Parliament, civil society organizations and businesses would like to draw your attention to the extra territorial effects of current intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement acts being proposed in the US Congress. The two houses are expected to vote on the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011 (PROTECT IP) and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). The European Parliament, in its joint motion for a resolution on the EU-US Summit of 28 November 2011, objects the proposed legislation by stating: *"Stresses the need to protect the integrity of the global internet and freedom of communication by refraining from unilateral measures to revoke IP addresses or domain names;"* Several Members of Congress as well as the business and civil society community have spoken out against the proposed legislation. We would like to thank them for that and join their objections for the following reasons. Even though the two proposed acts are different, their aim, scope and effect is more or less the same and we will treat them together in this letter. We are concerned that SOPA and PROTECT IP will be detrimental to internet freedom, internet as a driver for economic growth and for fundamental rights, not only in the EU, but globally. The legitimate aim is to halt infringements of intellectual property rights online. However, since the internet is used for nearly every aspect of citizens' lives, business activity or government regulation, the effects of these acts will lead to enormous collateral damage. The acts suggest blocking of websites by court order or in the Domain Name System (DNS), a worldwide resource and essential component for the functionality of the internet. Not only the infringing part of a website would be blocked, but a whole domain would be made inaccessible, thereby violating the freedom of expression. Further, by blocking at the DNS level, these websites would be made inaccessible far beyond US jurisdiction, as the websites would be inaccessible world wide. The definitions in the two acts in question are too vague to target only websites which enable infringement on a large scale. The acts jeopardize many positive activities and may overwrite laws on online services, safe harbour (or 'intermediary liability'). Companies should not be held liable for what consumers use a service or product for. Is the owner of a street responsible for an accident on its pavement, or should be hold the individual responsible for speeding accountable? By maintaining vague definitions in these far-reaching acts, companies are faced with an increased risk for liability. This will have an adverse effect on investment, as the risk for entrepreneurs increases beyond levels which stimulate innovation. Companies wishing to offer online services will be forced to monitor all communication on their platforms and filter anything which could possibly be an infringement of IPR. The methods of monitoring would almost certainly challenge people's fundamental rights. Considering the world wide character if the internet, European companies will be forced to adhere to US standards to prevent DNS blocking. Article 15 of the European E-Commerce Directive prohibits obligations for the general monitoring of their services. The European Court of Justice has recently ruled in the Scarlet/SABAM case that monitoring and filtering of communication online is a breach of fundamental rights such as privacy, freedom of communication and freedom of information and should not be applied to halt infringements of IPR. Finally, blocking of websites, by DNS or otherwise, severely undermines America's credibility in the global information society. Diplomatic efforts for a free and open internet will be rendered useless, since repressive regimes will be free to install filters or block websites which enable or facilitate information exchanges deemed illegal in their jurisdiction. We have already seen several examples of governments misusing filters aimed at halting IPR infringements. It would allow China to justify its Great Firewall, and Iran to legitimize its ´Halal internet´. Concluding, SOPA and PROTECT IP will create tensions across the Atlantic in a time where we need to work more closely together. We ask you to vote against SOPA and PROTECT IP and to work with us on effective laws, which enable a fair remuneration of artists and creators online, without violating fundamental rights or fragmenting the free and open internet as we know it. We also believe in close cooperation in promoting internet freedom world wide, in line with our foreign policy objectives. Yours sincerely, 1. Marietje Schaake -- Marco Pancini | Senior Policy Counsel | pancini(a)google.com | +32.28948492 +32.473531203 This email may be confidential or privileged. If you received this communication by mistake, please don't forward it to anyone else, please erase all copies and attachments, and please let me know that it went to the wrong person. Thanks.

1 0

PI: "Svizzera, scaricare resta lecito"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 8, 2011

Dec. 8, 2011

Svizzera, scaricare resta lecito /La copia pirata per uso personale rimarrà legale. La condivisione selvaggia non avrebbe affatto distrutto il mercato. Perché gli scariconi rientrerebbero tra i migliori amici del business autorizzato/ Roma - Ad annunciarlo è stato un recente comunicato <http://www.ejpd.admin.ch/content/dam/data/pressemitteilung/2011/2011-11-30/…> (in tedesco, NdJC) diramato dal Consiglio Federale Elvetico: *lo scaricamento su Internet di contenuti audiovisivi per uso personale resterà un'attività lecita*. Nessuna modifica alle attuali leggi in materia di diritto d'autore, niente implementazione di misure punitive come quelle adottate in Francia con HADOPI o preventivate negli Stati Uniti con l'imminente /Stop Online Piracy Act/ (SOPA). Secondo uno studio <http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2397173,00.asp> riportato dal governo svizzero, *il 30 per cento della popolazione al di sopra dei 15 anni ha scaricato musica, film e videogiochi* senza pagare nulla. Ma più della metà dei quasi 8 milioni di abitanti - censimento al 2010 - ha anche acquistato contenuti in maniera legale, ovvero consumato esperienze dell'/entertainment/ autorizzato. La pirateria digitale sarebbe infatti un fenomeno complementare e non alternativo. [...] Continua qui: http://punto-informatico.it/3355677/PI/News/svizzera-scaricare-resta-lecito…

2 2

Wired: "Busted! Two New Fed GPS Trackers Found on SUV"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 8, 2011

Dec. 8, 2011

<http://www.wired.com/threatlevel> Busted! Two New Fed GPS Trackers Found on SUV * By Kim Zetter <http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/author/kimzetter/> Email Author <mailto:kzetter@wired.com> * <http://www.twitter.com/KimZetter> * November 8, 2011 | * 5:30 am | * Categories: Surveillance <http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/category/surveillance/> As the Supreme Court gets ready to hear oral arguments in a case Tuesday that could determine if authorities can track U.S. citizens with GPS vehicle trackers without a warrant, a young man in California has come forward to Wired to reveal that he found not one but two different devices on his vehicle recently. The 25-year-old resident of San Jose, California, says he found the first one about three weeks ago on his Volvo SUV while visiting his mother in Modesto, about 80 miles northeast of San Jose. After contacting Wired and allowing a photographer to snap pictures of the device, it was swapped out and replaced with a second tracking device. A witness also reported seeing a strange man looking beneath the vehicle of the young man's girlfriend while her car was parked at work, suggesting that a tracking device may have been retrieved from her car. Then things got really weird when police showed up during a Wired interview with the man. The young man, who asked to be identified only as Greg, is one among an increasing number of U.S. citizens who are finding themselves tracked with the high-tech devices. The Justice Department has said that law enforcement agents employ GPS as a crime-fighting tool with "great frequency," <http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/09/public-privacy/> and GPS retailers have told Wired that they've sold thousands of the devices <http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/09/public-privacy/> to the feds. [...] Continua qui: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/11/gps-tracker-times-two/

1 0

Libertà online, Hillary Clinton: ‘I diritti umani vanno difesi anche sul web’
by a.dicorinto＠uniroma1.it Dec. 7, 2011

Dec. 7, 2011

2 1