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EFFector        Vol. 10, No. 02        Feb. 27, 1997       [email protected]
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation        ISSN 1062-9424

IN THIS ISSUE:

Pro-CODE Bill Announced Today:  Free Crypto From Cold-War Regs
An Open Letter to the Internet Community from Senator Burns
Upcoming Events
Quote of the Day
What YOU Can Do
Administrivia

* See http://www.eff.org/hot.html or ftp.eff.org, /pub/Alerts/ for more
information on current EFF activities and online activism alerts! *

----------------------------------------------------------------------


Subject: Pro-CODE Bill Announced Today:  Free Crypto From Cold-War Regs
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Below is a joint advisory from CDT, EFF and VTW about the re-introduction
of Sen. Conrad Burns's "Pro-CODE" encryption export deregulation bill. EFF
commends Burns and co-sponsors for continuing to raise this issue in
Congress, and for their opposition to the Administration's obsolete (and
unconstitutional) policies.

Though EFF does not *endorse* this legislation (principally because it
may perpetuate a policy of excluding the public from government
decision-making on encryption policy), we do recognize and laud the
bill as an improvement over the status quo in almost all respects.
Pro-CODE would turn the current export process upside down, permitting
export of most encryption, and requiring reportage of an encryption
program's capabilities only *after* export. The bill also creates no new
or redundant crime categories.



                    PRO-CODE BILL ANNOUNCED TODAY
   BILL WOULD LIBERATE ENCRYPTION FROM ANTIQUATED COLD-WAR REGULATIONS

                         February 27, 1997

     Please widely redistribute this document with this banner
                   intact until March 15, 1997

           From the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT),
             the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and
                the Voters Telecommunication Watch (VTW)

________________________________________________________________________
CONTENTS
       The Latest News
       What You Can Do Now
       Background On Pro-CODE
       What's At Stake
       For More Information / Supporting Organizations

________________________________________________________________________
THE LATEST NEWS

Today, a bi-partisan group of seventeen United States Senators, led by
Conrad Burns (R-MT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), introduced the "Promotion
of Commerce Online in the Digital Era (Pro-CODE) Act", a bill designed
to promote privacy and security on the Internet by relaxing government
controls on encryption technologies.

Encryption technologies are the locks and keys of the Information age
-- enabling individuals and businesses to protect sensitive information
as it is transmitted over the Internet. Pro-CODE aims to enable this by
removing some of the regulations that currently prevent Americans from
using this technology.

A short summary of the bill and background on the encryption policy
debate are attached below, along with information on what you can do to
help ensure that Congress takes action on this important issue.

________________________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW

1. CALL THE Pro-CODE SPONSORS AND THANK THEM FOR THEIR EFFORTS

  Members of Congress tend to hear from their constituents only when
  they do something constituents don't like.  Today however, several
  Senators have taken a stand on an issue of critical importance to
  Internet users.  It's crucial that we encourage them with phone
  calls of support.

  If you live in any of the states listed below, please take a moment
  to give these Senators a call.

  Allard (R-CO)     Ashcroft (R-MO)     Boxer (D-CA)     Brownback (R-KS)
  Burns (R-MT)      Craig (R-ID)        Dominici (R-NM)  Dorgan (D-ND)
  Faircloth (R-NC)  Grahms (R-MN)       Hutchison (R-TX) Inhoffe (R-OK)
  Kempthorne (R-ID) Leahy (D-VT)        Lott (R-MS)      Murray (D-WA)
  Nickles (R-OK)    Thomas (R-WY)       Wyden (D-OR)

  Please take a moment to give these Senators a call.

       <Dial 1-202-224-3121>
       <ring ring!>
       You:Senator Mojo's office please!
       Sen:Hello, Senator Mojo's office!

       You:

SAY     I heard that the Senator introduced Pro-CODE to add more privacy
on
THIS->  the Internet.  Please thank the Senator for me and I support
       efforts to fix antiquated encryption export laws.  I live in <your
       state>.

       Sen: Ok, thanks!<click>

2. ADOPT YOUR LEGISLATOR

  If you were one of the thousands of people that have adopted their
  legislator at http://www.crypto.com/, you would have received a
  personalized letter telling you that your legislator announced his
  or her sponsorship of Pro-CODE today.

  These personalized letters contain all the phone numbers you need,
  and we'll send them to you any time your legislator takes any action
  that would have a significant impact on the net.

  The Adopt Your Legislator campaign is the most effective method of
  mobilizing grass-roots support available today.  Since late last
  year, VTW and CDT have been building a network of thousands of
  Internet users who are active and engaged in the fight for privacy
  and security on the Internet.

  By focusing our efforts on the constituents of specific legislators
  as well as on the net as a whole, we can ensure that members of
  Congress know that they have support within their district as well
  as throughout the Internet community.

  You can adopt your legislator at http://www.crypto.com/adopt/

________________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND ON THE PRO-CODE BILL

The Promotion of Commerce Online in the Digital Era (Pro-CODE) Act is
similar to a bill introduced by Senators Burns (R-MT) and Leahy (D-VT)
last year (then S.1726).  Pro-CODE enjoyed broad bi-partisan support in
the Senate and was the subject of 3 hearings, including 2 which were
cybercast live on the Internet.

This year's Pro-CODE bill (no bill number yet available) is designed to
encourage the widespread availability of strong, easy-to-use encryption
technologies to protect privacy and security on the Internet.
Specifically, Pro-CODE would:

1. Encourage the widespread availability of strong privacy and security
  products by relaxing export controls on encryption technologies that
  are already available on the mass market or in the public domain.
  This would include popular programs like Pretty Good Privacy (PGP)
  and World Wide Web browsers like those made by Netscape and Microsoft.

  Current US encryption policy restricts export of encryption products
  with key-lengths of more than 40 bits.  A recent study by renowned
  cryptographers including Whit Diffie (one of the fathers of modern
  cryptography), Matt Blaze, and others concluded that 40 bits is
  "woefully inadequate" to protect personal and business communications.
  Over the last eighteen months, several examples of the weakness of
  40-bit encryption have been demonstrated by college students with
  spare personal computers.

2. Prohibit the federal government from imposing mandatory key-escrow or
  key-recovery encryption policies on the domestic market and limit the
  authority of the Secretary of Commerce to set standards for
  encryption products.

3. Require the Secretary of Commerce to allow the unrestricted export of
  other encryption technologies if products of similar strength are
  generally available outside the United States.

For more information on the Pro-CODE bill, background information on
efforts to pass encryption policy reform legislation last year, and
other materials please visit:

For more information, see the Encryption Policy Resource Page at
http://www.crypto.com/

________________________________________________________________________
WHAT'S AT STAKE

Encryption technologies are the locks and keys of the Information age
-- enabling individuals and businesses to protect sensitive information
as it is transmitted over the Internet. As more and more individuals
and businesses come online, the need for strong, reliable, easy-to-use
encryption technologies has become a critical issue to the health and
viability of the Net.

Current US encryption policy, which limits the strength of encryption
products US companies can sell abroad, also limits the availability of
strong, easy-to-use encryption technologies in the United States. US
hardware and software manufacturers who wish to sell their products on
the global market must either conform to US encryption export limits or
produce two separate versions of the same product, a costly and
complicated alternative.

The export controls, which the NSA and FBI argue help to keep strong
encryption out of the hands of foreign adversaries, are having the
opposite effect. Strong encryption is available abroad, but because of
the export limits and the confusion created by nearly four years of
debate over US encryption policy, strong, easy-to-use privacy and
security technologies are not widely available off the shelf or "on the
net" here in the US. Because of this policy problem, US companies are
now at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace.

All of us care about our national security, and no one wants to make it
any easier for criminals and terrorists to commit criminal acts. But we
must also recognize encryption technologies can also aid law
enforcement and protect national security by limiting the threat of
industrial espionage and foreign spying.

What's at stake in this debate is nothing less than the future of
privacy and the fate of the Internet as a secure and trusted medium for
commerce, education, and political discourse.

________________________________________________________________________
FOR MORE INFORMATION / SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

This alert was brought to you by the Center for Democracy and
Technology, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the Voters
Telecommunications Watch.

http://www.cdt.org           http://www.eff.org       http://www.vtw.org

There are many excellent resources online to get up to speed on the
crypto issue including the following WWW sites:

          http://www.crypto.com       http://www.privacy.org

Please visit them often.    Press inquiries should be directed to:

Jonah Seiger of CDT at [email protected] or +1.202.637.9800
Stanton McCandlish of EFF at [email protected] or  +1.415.436.9333
Shabbir J. Safdar of VTW at [email protected] or +1.917.978.8430 (beeper).

________________________________________________________________________
End alert

------------------------------


From: Conrad Burns <[email protected]>
Subject: An Open Letter to the Internet Community from Senator Burns
--------------------------------------------------------------------

February 27, 1997

Today I am pleased to announce that I have reintroduced legislation to
reform US encryption policy in a way that recognizes the realities of
the global information infrastructure and the need for strong privacy
and security protections on the Internet.   The "Promotion of Commerce
Online in the Digital Era (Pro-CODE) Act" would promote the growth of
electronic commerce, encourage the widespread availability of strong
privacy and security technologies for the Internet, and repeal the
cold war-era regulations limiting the export of encryption
technologies. The bill enjoys widespread support from both my
Republican and Democratic colleagues and was introduced with 20
cosponsors.

As a fellow Internet user, I am excited by the vast potential of the
Net to facilitate new forms of commerce and communication.  In order
for the Net to reach its potential as a trusted medium for personal
communications and proprietary business transactions however,
Internet users must have access to strong privacy and security
technologies.  Yet for years, the federal government has pursued an
encryption policy which has limited the availability of privacy and
security products -- leaving Internet users and businesses out in the
cold.

Last year, the Pro-CODE bill (then S. 1726) received broad bipartisan
support in the Senate.  Internet users, rallying to the cry of "My
Lock, My Key," expressed their support for the bill in meetings
members of Congress in live interactive chat sessions.  Netizens also
participated in the first interactive online Senate hearings and
provided valuable testimony for the Committee on this issue.

Yet almost a year after Congress entered this critical Internet policy
debate, and despite the overwhelming call for encryption policy
reform, the Administration remains committed to an outdated and
unworkable approach to US Encryption policy.  In November of 1996, the
Administration announced yet another effort to reform US encryption
policy.  The proposal, which would allow the export of strong
encryption programs only if they include government-approved
"key-recovery" mechanisms, has met with uniform criticism from
Internet users, privacy experts, and the computer and communications
industry.

Current export controls are serving only to limit the availability of
privacy and security technologies for Internet users inside the US and
disadvantage US industry on the competitive global market, while doing
nothing to keep strong encryption out of the hands of foreign
adversaries.

By relaxing encryption export controls, the Pro-CODE bill will reform
US encryption policy in a way that recognizes the realities of the
information revolution and the competitive global marketplace.

The Internet community has been instrumental in helping to educate my
colleagues in the Congress about the importance of encryption policy
reform.  In the coming months I will need your help and support as
this bill makes its way through the legislative process.

As the bill moves forward, I want to invite you to take advantage of
several online resources set up to educate the Congress and the public
about the need for encryption policy reform.  You can find out more by
visiting my web page at http://www.senate.gov/~burns/.

Thank you for your support,

Conrad Burns
United States Senator
<[email protected]

------------------------------


Subject: Upcoming Events
------------------------

This schedule lists EFF events, and those we feel might be of interest to
our members.  EFF events (those sponsored by us or featuring an EFF speaker)
are marked with a "*" instead of a "-" after the date.  Simlarly, government
events (such as deadlines for comments on reports or testimony submission,
or conferences at which government representatives are speaking) are marked
with "!" in place of the "-" ("!?" means a govt. speaker may appear, but
we don't know for certain yet.)  And likewise, "+" in place of "-"
indicates a non-USA event.  If it's a foreign EFF event with govt. people,
it'll be "*!+" instead of "-".  You get the idea. To let us know about an
event, please send details to Dennis Derryberry, [email protected], with a
subject line containing "CALENDAR:" followed by the name of the event.

The latest version of the full EFF calendar is available from:

ftp: ftp.eff.org, /pub/EFF/calendar.eff
gopher: gopher.eff.org, 1/EFF, calendar.eff
http://www.eff.org/pub/EFF/calendar.eff

See also our new Now-Up-to-Date HTML calendar at:
http://events.eff.org


1997

Mar. 1-
    2 - SEATTLE, WA - Community Space & Cyberspace: What's the
        Connection?; Will cyberspace destroy society by turning us all
        into high tech couch potatoes?  Or will it provide unprecented
        opportunities for community involvement? Conference's aim is to
        challenge some of the cyber-spacy hype and bring the discussion \
        back to earth to the communities we live in; 9:00 am - 5:00 pm;
        University of Washington HUB; for more information:
        Doug Schuler, [email protected], 206.634.0752
        URL: http://www.scn.org/tech/diac-97

Mar. 1-
    5 -  ACM97: The Next 50 Years of Computing; San Jose Convention
         Center, March 1-5, 1997; Registration information:
         URL: http://www.acm.org/acm97
         tel: +1 800 342 6626

Mar. 3 - SAN FRANCISCO - Virtual Activist Workshop; For four consecutive
        Mondays, (March 3, 10, 17, and 24, from 6:30-9:30 p.m.) learn how
        to make better use of the Internet for organizing, advocacy,
        media outreach, building membership, education, and fund raising.
        Participants should have some experience using a computer, but
        previous online experience is not required; To register, phone
        415-546-6491.  Cost is $95 for members of Media Alliance,
        NetAction, and IGC; $125 for non-members; Media Alliance,
        814 MissionStreet, Suite 205; Activists and organizations interested
        in co-sponsoring Virtual Activist Workshops in communities
        outside the San Francisco Bay Area should contact Audrie Krause
        at NetAction, by phone: 415-775-8674, or by E-mail:
        [email protected].

Mar. 4 - WASHINGTON, DC - Class on the Internet: Implications for Lesson
        Planning and Curriculum Development; sponsored by The George
        Washington University School of Engineering and Applied
        Science; 4-6 pm; Room 403 Marvin Center, 21st & H St. NW,
        Washington, DC Washington, D.C. 20006
        URL: http://www.cpi.seas.gwu.edu

Mar. 3-
    5 -  NEW YORK CITY - Consumer Online Services TV; Jupiter
         Communications conference featuring Steve Case of AOL and
         Steve Perlman of WebTV; for more information contact:
         tel: +1 800 488 4345
         URL: http://www.jup.com

Mar. 7 *! CDA unconstitutionaly Supreme Court case: govt. reply brief due.

Mar. 11-
    14 * 7th Conference on Computers, Freedom & Privacy (CFP97), San
         Francisco Airport Hyatt Regency Hotel in Burlingame, CA.
         The "cyberliberties" mega-event.  Speakers will include EFF
         staff counsel Mike Godwin, and many others. EFF's annual Pioneer
         Awards ceremony will be held at CFP97. Early registration is
         advised (registration will probably open in Jan., and reg. info
         will appear on the CFP site listed below).
         Email: [email protected].
         URL: http://www.cfp.org

Mar. 24 ! Deadline for reply comments on FCC inquiry into technological
         hurdles for Net growth
         URL: http://www.fcc.gov/isp.html

Apr. 1 + PARIS, FRANCE - 1st INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON COMPUTATIONAL
        SEMIOTICS; Paper submission deadline; conference to be held May
        26-27, 1997; send four copies of an abstract (approximately 500
        words) in english to:
        Irene Ludman - IWCS'97
        Pele Universitaire Leonard de Vinci
        92916 PARIS-LA DEFENSE-CEDEX, FRANCE
        Phone: (33) 01 41 16 73 05
        Fax : (33) 01 41 16 73 35
        Email : [email protected]
        URL: http://www.devinci.fr/home/actua.htm

Apr. 1-
    2 - WASHINGTON, DC - Virtual Diplomacy: The Global Communications
        Revolution And International Conflict Management; Omni Shoreham
        Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street NW, Washington, D.C.; an international
        conference to explore how information and communication
        technologies are affecting the sovereignty of nations and shaping
        global affairs; conference registration ranges from $75 for
        students to $150 for on-site registration;
        URL: http://www.usip.org/virtual_dipl.html
        E-mail: [email protected]

Apr. 1-
    3 *- SAN FRANCISCO - Spring '97 VON Conference: "Telecommunications
         and Streaming Media on the Net";  This conference has three
         major tracks: Net Broadcasting, Regulatory Issues and Internet
         Telephony; featured speakers include EFF Board Member David
         Farber and EFF Emeritus Board Member Rob Glaser;
         Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, CA
         URL: http://www.pulver.com/von97

Apr. 7-   BONN, GERMANY - first Annual Conference of the G7 Project "A
    9 +  Global Marketplace for SMEs"; conference aims to raise the
         interest of SMEs in the fast growing market of electronic
         commerce and stimulate the debate in the industry and
         policy-making on electronic commerce. A series of major
         announcements, political as well as business related, are already
         projected for the event; for more information contact:
         Ms Sandra Herms
         D3 Group
         Oxfordstr. 2
         53111 Bonn, Germany
         Tel: +49-228-9853888
         Fax: +49-228-9853889
         Email: [email protected]
         URL: http://www.g7ec.de/

Apr. 8-
    11 - FRACTAL 97: Fractals in the Natural & Applied Sciences 4th
         International Working Conference; Denver Colorado.  Sponsored by
         IFIP; paper submissions due by Aug. 5, 1996.
         Contact: Miroslav Novak, +44 181 547 2000 (voice),
                  +44 181 547 7562 or 7419 (fax)
         Email: [email protected]

Apr. 9-
    10 - WASHINGTON, DC - Networking '97: Exploring the Continued
         Evolution of Internet Technology for Research and Education;
         sponsored by CNI, CRA, Educom, & FARNET; Sheraton City Centre,
         Washington, DC; registration cut-off date for both the
         conference and the hotel is March 7; register via the Internet:
         URL: http://www.educom.edu/web/nttf/net97.html
         If you would like to register by mail but have not received the
         brochure or if you need more information, contact Krystal
         Bullers by email <[email protected]> or call 202-872-4200

Apr. 22-
    24 - CHICAGO, IL - DCI Internet Expo; the world's largest Internet,
         Web and email conference and exposition; comprehensive program
         will cover Web-enabled marketing, best practices for e-commerce
         and application development; San Jose Convention Center; also
         will be held February 18-20 at the San Jose Convention Center;
         email: [email protected]
         URL: http://www.dciexpo.com

June 2-
    4  - American Society for Information Science 1997 Mid-Year Conference;
         gathering will focus on privacy and security issues online;
         Scottsdale Arizona; paper submissions due Nov. 1, 1996.
         Contacts:
               Gregory B. Newby, Co-Chair GSLIS/UIUC
                Tel: (217) 244-7365; Email: [email protected]
               Mark H. Needleman, Co chair UCOP
                Tel: (510) 987-0530; Email: [email protected]
               Karla Petersen, Panel  Sessions
                Tel: (312) 508-2657; Email: [email protected]
               Richard Hill, Executive Director, ASIS
                Tel: (301) 495-0900; Email: [email protected]
         URL: http://www.asis.org

June 14-
    19 + CALGARY, CANADA
         ED-MEDIA/ED-TELECOM 97--World Conference on Educational
         Multimedia and Hypermedia and World Conference on Educational
         Telecommunications are jointly held international conferences,
         organized by the Association for the Advancement of Computing
         in Education (AACE). These annual conferences serve as multi-
         disciplinary forums for the discussion and dissemination of
         information on the research, development, and applications on all
         topics related to multimedia/hypermedia and distance education.
         We invite you to attend ED-MEDIA/ED-TELECOM 97 and submit proposals
         for papers, panels, roundtables, tutorials, workshops,
         demonstrations/posters, and SIG discussions. Proposals may be
         submitted in either hard copy (send 5 copies or fax 1 copy)
         or in electronic form.  Electronic proposals in the form of
         URL addresses or ASCII files (uncoded) are preferred.
         Submission Deadline: Oct. 25, 1996; Send to:
         Program Chairs
         ED-MEDIA 97/AACE
         P.O. Box 2966
         Charlottesville, VA 22902, USA
         E-mail: [email protected]; Phone: 804-973-3987; Fax: 804-978-7449
         URL: http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia

June 19-
    20 - WASHINGTON, DC - CyberPayments '97
         Conference will investigate issues of online commerce including
         electronic cash and checks, credit cards, encryption systems
         and security products; Sheraton Washington Hotel, Washington, DC
         For more information contact:
         email: [email protected]
         tel: +1 216 464 2618 x228
              +1 800 529 7375

June 20-
    21 + GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - International Symposium on Technology and
         Society 1997 (ISTAS'97): Technology and Society at a Time of
         Sweeping Change; University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland
         ISTAS '97 aims to tackle questions of how advancements in
         technology are affecting the social and natural landscape;
         ISTAS '97 Secretariat
         Conference Services Department
         The Institution of Electrical Engineers
         Savoy Place
         London WC2R 0BL
         UK
         Tel: + 44(0)171 344 5469/8425
         Fax: +44 (0)171 240 8830
         E-mail: [email protected]
         URL: http://www.iee.org.uk/LSboard/Conf/call_for/istas97.htm

June 22-
    25 + TORONTO - GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE '97; given the vital role of
         knowledge in economic and social development, and the
         opportunities and challenges posed by new information
         and communication technologies, how can developing countries,
         and particularly the world's poor, access and harness knowledge
         for development, so as to promote empowerment, enable life-long
         learning, and reduce poverty?
         URL: http://www.bvx.ca/ict/gk97.htm
         Conference Secretariat
         The World Bank Economic Development Institute
         1818 H Street, NW, M7-075
         Washington, DC 20433 USA
         Tel: 202-473-6442
         Fax: 202-676-0858
         E-mail: [email protected]
         Alain Brousseau
         Phone: (819) 997-6849
         Fax: (819) 953-6356
         E-mail: [email protected]

July 13-
    17 - ACUTA 26th Annual Conference; Atlanta, Georgia.
         Contact: +1 606 278 3338 (voice)

Aug. 24 + NAGOYA, JAPAN - IJCAI-97 Workshop on AI in Digital Libraries:
         Moving From Chaos to (More) Order; Nagoya Congress Center,
         Nagoya, Japan;
         URL: http://www.dlib.com/people/innes/aiindl/cfp.html

Sep. 7 -
    11 + LANCASTER, UK - ECSCW'97, the Fifth European Conference on
         Computer Supported Cooperative Work; deadline for paper
         submissions is January 13, 1997; papers must contain an abstract
         of not more than 100 words and not exceed 16 pages in length; full
         formatting instructions are available from
         http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/research/cseg/ecscw97/papers/
         queries: [email protected]
         for more information:
         snail mail: ECSCW'97 Conference Office
                     Computing Department
                     Lancaster University
                     Lancaster  LA1 4YR  UK
         URL: http://www.comp.lancs.ac.uk/computing/research/cseg/ecscw97/
         email: [email protected]

Sep. 12-
    14   SAN DIEGO - Association of Online Professionals Annual
         Conference; sysop trade association's yearly gathering to
         discuss issues of relevance to the industry
         URL: http://www.aop.org/confrnc.html

Sep. 25-
    27 + PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA - RUFIS'97: Role of Universities in the
         Future Information Society; Czech Technical University, Prague,
         Czechoslovakia; to obtain a registration form, please, send an
         empty e-mail message to:
         [email protected]
         Karel Kveton
         UNESCO International Centre for Scientific Computing
         Czech Technical University - Prague
         Computing Centre
         Zikova 4, 166 35 Prague 6
         Phone: + 42 2 2431 0369, fax: + 42 2 311 7529
         e-mail: [email protected]
         URL: http://www.cvut.cz/RUFIS97

Oct. 7-
    10 + BEIJING, CHINA - '97 China Database: Electronic Publications
         & Software Exhibition; Beijing International Convention Center
         Contact: Mr. Cheng Bin and Ms. Hu Yongning
         Beijing Evertrust Exposition Co. Ltd.
         15 Fuxing Road, Beijing, China
         Post code: 100038
         Tel: +86-10-68514007
         Fax: +86-10-68537092
         URL: http: // www.sti.ac. cn/Exhibition/ invi.htm
         E-mail: [email protected]

Oct. 28-
    31 - EDUCOM '97; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota.
         Contact: +1 202 872 4200 (voice)
         Email: [email protected]

Dec. 1  - Computer Security Day (started by Washington DC chapter of the
         Assoc. for Computing Machinery, to "draw attention to computer
         security during the holdiay season when it might otherwise become
         lax."

------------------------------


Subject: Quote of the Day
-------------------------

"Moderation in temper is always a virtue; moderation in principle is
always a vice."
 - Thomas Paine

Find yourself wondering if your privacy and freedom of speech are safe
when bills to censor the Internet are swimming about in a sea of of
surveillance legislation and anti-terrorism hysteria?  Worried that in
the rush to make us secure from ourselves that our government
representatives may deprive us of our essential civil liberties?
Concerned that legislative efforts nominally to "protect children" will
actually censor all communications down to only content suitable for
the playground?  Alarmed by commercial and religious organizations abusing
the judicial and legislative processes to stifle satire, dissent and
criticism?

Join EFF!
http://www.eff.org/join (or send any message to [email protected]).

Even if you don't live in the U.S., the anti-Internet hysteria will soon
be visiting a legislative body near you.  If it hasn't already.


------------------------------

Subject: What YOU Can Do
------------------------

* Keep and eye on your local legislature/parliament
All kinds of wacky censorious legislation is turning up at the US state
and non-US national levels.  Don't let it sneak by you - or by the
online activism community. Without locals on the look out, it's very
difficult for the Net civil liberties community to keep track of what's
happening locally as well as globally.


* Inform your corporate government affairs person or staff counsel
if you have one. Keep them up to speed on developments you learn of,
and let your company's management know if you spot an issue that warrants
your company's involvement.


* Find out who your congresspersons are

Writing letters to, faxing, and phoning your representatives in Congress
is one very important strategy of activism, and an essential way of
making sure YOUR voice is heard on vital issues.

If you are having difficulty determining who your US legislators are,
try contacting your local League of Women Voters, who maintain a great
deal of legislator information, or consult the free ZIPPER service
that matches Zip Codes to Congressional districts with about 85%
accuracy at:
http://www.stardot.com/~lukeseem/zip.html

Computer Currents Interactive has provided Congress contact info, sorted
by who voted for and against the Communications Decency Act:
http://www.currents.net/congress.html (NB: Some of these folks have,
fortunately, been voted out of office.)


* Join EFF!

You *know* privacy, freedom of speech and ability to make your voice heard
in government are important. You have probably participated in our online
campaigns and forums.  Have you become a member of EFF yet?  The best way to
protect your online rights is to be fully informed and to make your
opinions heard.  EFF members are informed and are making a difference.  Join
EFF today!

For EFF membership info, send queries to [email protected], or send any
message to [email protected] for basic EFF info, and a membership form.

------------------------------


Administrivia
=============

EFFector is published by:

The Electronic Frontier Foundation
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Editor: Stanton McCandlish, Program Director/Webmaster ([email protected])

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at EFFweb.

------------------------------





End of EFFector Online v10 #02 Digest
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