Publicpolicy November 2012

publicpolicy@lists.wikimedia.org

7 participants
9 discussions

[Advocacy Advisors] Advocacy Advisers feedback
by ENWP Pine 19 Nov '12

19 Nov '12

Hi Stephen, Can you clarify what kinds of questions or feedback you are seeking in regards to posts that you make to the Advocacy Advisers list? While I find the information useful and interesting, I'm not sure what discussion or feedback would be useful to WMF. Thanks, Pine

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[Advocacy Advisors] RSC policy brief on copyright law reform
by Stephen LaPorte 19 Nov '12

19 Nov '12

Hello all, On Friday, the Republican Study Committee released a policy brief on "Three Myths about Copyright Law and Where to Start to Fix it". The paper discusses four potential policy solutions: (1) reform statutory damages; (2) expand fair use; (3) punish false copyright claims; and, (4) limit copyright terms and have heavy disincentives for renewal. A copy of the report is attached, and "Infringement Nation" (Tehranian 2007) is available here: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1029151 On Saturday, the executive director of the RSC sent out a letter withdrawing the brief: From: Teller, Paul Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2012 04:11 PM Subject: RSC Copyright PB We at the RSC take pride in providing informative analysis of major policy issues and pending legislation that accounts for the range of perspectives held by RSC Members and within the conservative community. Yesterday you received a Policy Brief on copyright law that was published without adequate review within the RSC and failed to meet that standard. Copyright reform would have far-reaching impacts, so it is incredibly important that it be approached with all facts and viewpoints in hand. As the RSC’s Executive Director, I apologize and take full responsibility for this oversight. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and a meaningful Thanksgiving holiday.... Paul S. Teller Executive Director U.S. House Republican Study Committee Paul.Teller(a)mail.house.gov http://republicanstudycommittee.com More coverage: * http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/84018.html?hp=r5 * http://www.volokh.com/2012/11/16/republicans-repudiate-40-years-of-tougher-… * http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20121116/16481921080/house-republicans-cop… Best, Stephen -- *For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.*

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[Advocacy Advisors] Google announces that government requests are on the rise
by Stephen LaPorte 13 Nov '12

13 Nov '12

Google updated their transparency report, showing an increase in government requests in January-June 2012. They report 1,791 requests to remove content (from 1,048 in the last half of 2011) and 20,938 requests to disclose user data (from 18,257 in the last half of 2011). Announcement: http://googleblog.blogspot.ca/2012/11/transparency-report-government-reques… The full report: http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/ -- Stephen LaPorte Legal Counsel Wikimedia Foundation *For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.*

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[Advocacy Advisors] agreement and questions (was re: BBC - Russia internet blacklist law takes effect)
by James Salsman 13 Nov '12

13 Nov '12

Dear Stephen: Thank you for your requests and the information you have been sending. It is deeply appreciated. I agree with the Italian and Philippines' protest, and I wonder why the protest in Russia is not much stronger. What if someone asked Putin about specific instances of blacklist leakages and the scandals which resulted from those? In any case, I have several more questions: Does the Foundation intend to take a position on the Bradley Manning case? A plea of not guilty for lack of scienter is unavailable in military court. Does the Foundation support his attempt to enter that plea? Does the Foundation believe that Manning's likely conclusion given the evidence available to him was that he was upholding the spirit of the law while deliberately violating the letter? Does the Foundation support Manning's motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial? Will the Foundation please ask the Secretary of Defense to declare that patents which adversely affect national security including the security inherent in computer programming education as necessary to perform computer security audits must be available under reasonable and non-discriminatory license terms? Will the Foundation please support pro-education policies such as class size reduction, pay equality by increased pay for women, tuition subsidies for gross fixed capital formation, and evaluation of publication impact by readership as well as reputation? Will the Foundation please support general devolution of power to people equally? For example: http://j.mp/amendmentact Best regards, James Salsman On Fri, Nov 2, 2012 at 12:51 PM, Stephen LaPorte <slaporte(a)wikimedia.org> wrote: > The BBC has a story on the law that the Russian Wikipedia community > protested: > > If the websites themselves cannot be shut down, internet service providers > (ISPs) and web hosting companies can be forced to block access to the > offending material. > > The list of banned website will be managed by Roskomnadzor (Russia's Federal > Service for Supervision in Telecommunications, Information Technology and > Mass Communications). It is meant to be updated daily, but its contents are > not available to the general public. > > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20096274

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[Advocacy Advisors] Russian Internet encyclopedia blacklisted
by Andreas Kolbe 12 Nov '12

12 Nov '12

Worth noting: http://rapsinews.com/news/20121112/265322007.html ---o0o--- Lurkmore, a popular Russian online encyclopedia, was added to the register of websites containing banned information, after which its IP address was blocked, Lurkmore's Twitter account has announced. Lurkmore is a popular resource similar to Wikipedia, though, unlike the latter, it focuses on collecting information on various Internet memes, popular figures, Internet resources and subcultures. As with Wikipedia, users write and edit the articles themselves. [...] If a site contains child porn, suicide or drug making instructions, it can be shut down even before a trial. As regards other prohibited information, the decision on whether to close the website will be taken on the basis of the court ruling. ---o0o---

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[Advocacy Advisors] Tagalog Wikipedia considering protest against the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012
by Stephen LaPorte 09 Nov '12

09 Nov '12

Hello, The Tagalog Wikipedia community is considering a blackout in protest of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Here is an English translation of the notice: NOTE: Please encourage all the community to join Wikipediang Tagalog talk about the proposed pagsasansala (blackout) of Wikipediang Tagalog against Republic Act No. 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. Please participate in the ongoing conversation in the Cafe. Thank you. The notice: https://tl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MediaWiki:Sitenotice&oldid=11441… Discussion: https://tl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usapang_Wikipedia:Kapihan#Iminungkahing_pagsa… -- Stephen LaPorte Legal Counsel Wikimedia Foundation * * *For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.*

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[Advocacy Advisors] U.S. Copyright Office request for comment on orphan works
by Stephen LaPorte 09 Nov '12

09 Nov '12

The U.S. Copyright Office posted a general inquiry on mass digitization and orphan works: Please comment on potential orphan works solutions in the context of mass digitization. How should mass digitization be defined, what are the goals and what, therefore, is an appropriate legal framework that is fair to authors and copyright owners as well as good faith users? What other possible solutions for mass digitization projects should be considered? https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/10/22/2012-25932/orphan-works… Comments are due on February 4, 2013. -- Stephen LaPorte Legal Counsel Wikimedia Foundation *For legal reasons, I may only serve as an attorney for the Wikimedia Foundation. This means I may not give legal advice to or serve as a lawyer for community members, volunteers, or staff members in their personal capacity.*

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[Advocacy Advisors] Italian Wikipedia community discussing defamation bill
by Stephen LaPorte 03 Nov '12

03 Nov '12

Hello, The Italian Senate is debating the defamation bill that the Italian Wikipedia community previously protested. The community is discussing their response here: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Bar/Discussioni/Oggi_il_Senato_vota_… Here is a Google translation of some proposed banner text: Dear readers, once again the independence of Wikipedia is under threat. In these hours, the Italian Senate is debating a bill on defamation ( DDL n. 3491 ) which, if approved, would require each site (including Wikipedia) the correction or deletion of your content on simple request those who considered damaging to their image or their privacy, and provides for the criminal conviction and fines of up to € 100,000 in the case of failure to remove. Similar initiatives are not new , but this time their approval seems imminent. Wikipedia recognizes the right to the protection of the reputation of each and volunteers that contribute for free already strive daily to ensure it. The approval of this standard, however, be obliged to alter the content regardless of their veracity . Such a requirement would distort the fundamental principles of Wikipedia, would be an unacceptable restriction of its autonomy and a grave threat to the activity of its 15 million volunteers around the world, who would be inclined to stop dealing with specific topics or characters, even only "no problems." Wikipedia is the largest collective work in the history of the human race in 12 years has become part of the habits of millions of Internet users in search of a knowledge-neutral, free and above all free. The Italian edition has almost a million entries, receiving 16 million visits every day, but this rule may obscure them forever. The Encyclopedia is the heritage of all. We will not allow it disappears.

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[Advocacy Advisors] BBC - Russia internet blacklist law takes effect
by Stephen LaPorte 02 Nov '12

02 Nov '12

The BBC has a story on the law that the Russian Wikipedia community protested: If the websites themselves cannot be shut down, internet service providers (ISPs) and web hosting companies can be forced to block access to the offending material. The list of banned website will be managed by Roskomnadzor (Russia's Federal Service for Supervision in Telecommunications, Information Technology and Mass Communications). It is meant to be updated daily, but its contents are not available to the general public. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20096274

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Publicpolicy November 2012