Hello friends,
We are pleased to report that the Wikimedia Foundation has signed on
to a coalition
letter
<https://www.aclu.org/letter/coalition-letter-section-702-legislation> opposing
H.R. 4478, a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would
reauthorize and expand some of the U.S. government's illegal mass
surveillance activities.
As outlined in the letter, H.R. 4478 would reauthorize Section 702 of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act_of_1978…>,
the law that allegedly permits the government to engage in Upstream mass
surveillance <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upstream_collection>. While we
are currently challenging Upstream mass surveillance in court
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_v._NSA>, we have also
signed on to a number
<https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/2017-10-02_coalitio…>
of
<https://www.aclu.org/letter/coalition-letter-aclu-and-other-groups-wont-sup…>
letters supporting reform on the legislative side.
Unfortunately, H.R. 4478 is not a reform bill. By expanding the U.S.
government's ability to collect information about its targets (so-called
"about collection") and query government databases without a warrant, It
would likely worsen the threat that Upstream mass surveillance poses to the
privacy and free expression rights of internet users worldwide. As a
result, we decided to join with the American Civil Liberties Union
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union>, the Electronic
Frontier Foundation
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_Frontier_Foundation>, and a
number of other civil liberties advocates, educational organizations, and
civil society groups to oppose the bill.
A committee vote was scheduled today for 21:00 UTC, but has since been
postponed. We will continue watching the bill, and will keep you all
posted. For those of you currently celebrating, happy holidays!
Cheers,
Jim
--
James Buatti
Legal Counsel
Wikimedia Foundation
1 Montgomery Street, Suite 1600
San Francisco, CA 94104
NOTICE: This message might have confidential or legally privileged
information in it. If you have received this message by accident, please
delete it and let us know about the mistake. 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.
Hi all,
Here's a call for participation that might be interesting for some of you.
"The next re:publica in Berlin will take place from 2 to 4 May 2018.
re:publica is one of the largest and most exciting conferences about
digital culture in the world. Since its foundation in 2007, it has
grown from a cozy blogger meeting with 700 participants into a
wide-ranging “society conference”, with 9.000 visitors at the eleventh
edition of re:publica 2017 in Berlin. Representatives of digital
culture share their knowledge and decision-making tools, and discuss
the future of the information society. Here they can mingle with
activists, scientists, hackers, entrepreneurs, NGOs, journalists,
social media and marketing experts, and many others. This fosters
innovation and creates synergies between net politics, online
marketing, network technology, digital society, and (pop) culture. In
addition, around 46 percent of re:publica 2017's speakerswere female –
far more than at many other similar events."
Best,
Nicole
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Programme Team | re:publica <programme(a)re-publica.de>
Date: 4 December 2017 at 17:37
Subject: Call for Participation // re:publica 2018 (Berlin, 2-4 May)
Dear re:publica alumni,
in May 2018, re:publica will return with its 12th edition in Berlin (2
– 4 May)! Once again, we want to thank you for being part of this
journey, and invite you to take part in the Call for Participation for
#rp18.
Our Call for Participation will end early this season – so mark your
calendars for 7 January 2018.
Please submit until 7 January 2018 (11:59pm CET). We'd be very
grateful if you could send it to everybody you think should share
their knowledge with the re:publica community and help spread the word
about re:publica. More information here:
https://18.re-publica.com/en/page/everything-you-need-know-about-call-parti…
– Please feel free to mail us (programme(a)re-publica.de) your
suggestions for speakers or topics you'd like to see on our stages in
2018.
We also have some updates for you, too:
We have launched our brand new website! Have a look – it’s beautiful:
https://re-publica.com/en
We’ve also revised and expanded our FAQs. You’ll find detailed
information about the what, where and when of the event, as well as
the new “Session Guidelines” – a list of requirements that will help
us improve the selection process and increase the quality of the
submissions. To learn more about it, head over here:
https://18.re-publica.com/en/faq
Last but not least, here is our re:member video from #rp17:
https://youtu.be/xk5yMlj5WtY
and from our #rpEUROPE field trip to Dublin and Thessaloniki this September:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cqztws28zE
It would be great if you could be part of the show! We’re kicking off
with some celebrations on the 1st of May, before the festival takes
place from 2-4 May 2018 at the STATION-Berlin.
Looking forward to celebrating with you and hope you can join #rp18!
Best wishes,
Alexandra and the whole re:publica team
(You received this because you spoke at re:publica in the last years.
Please message me if you don't want to get 2-3 mails per year with
updates from re:publica.)
--
Alexandra Wolf | Programme Director
t: +49 30 92105 989 | e: programme(a)re-publica.de
re:publica – Europe's most inspiring conference on internet and society.
Web | Facebook | Twitter
See you in Berlin May 2nd-4th 2018!
republica GmbH | Schönhauser Allee 6-7 | 10119 Berlin
HRB 137440 B | AG Berlin-Charlottenburg
Geschäftsführer: Andreas Gebhard
--
Nicole Ebber // Reuterstraße 30 // 12047 Berlin
m. +49.178.7320334 // http://antischokke.de // jabber: antischokke(a)jabber.ccc.de
please consider software freedom before reading this e-mail on a
proprietary platform.
--
Nicole Ebber
Adviser International Relations
Movement Strategy Track Lead: Organized Groups
Wikimedia Deutschland - Gesellschaft zur Förderung Freien Wissens e.
V. Eingetragen im Vereinsregister des Amtsgerichts
Berlin-Charlottenburg unter der Nummer 23855 B. Als gemeinnützig
anerkannt durch das Finanzamt für Körperschaften I Berlin,
Steuernummer 27/029/42207.
Dear all
A few minutes ago, we published a blog post in support of the U.S. net
neutrality rules. We urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) not
to eliminate the current framework which protects the open internet.
The FCC's proposal would repeal the rules against blocking or throttling
lawful content and against paid prioritization of traffic as well as the
general conduct rule that seeks to prevent unfair practices by ISPs. We
support the rules because they protect access to knowledge. We believe that
everybody should have equal access to knowledge and that ISPs should not be
allowed to block lawful sources of information online. For people to
contribute to Wikipedia they have to be able to access sources of
information on the web to reference in articles they edit or for
verification. They have to be able to connect to Wikipedia freely in order
to edit articles collaboratively and in real time.
The FCC’s proposal to eliminate the net neutrality rules and deregulate
ISPs is a drastic step in the wrong direction and threatens access to
knowledge, freedom of expression, and collaboration on the web.
Without net neutrality, if ISPs are allowed to block, throttle, or
de-prioritize traffic unless users or website providers pay them for
preferential treatment or delivery of content, a diversity of information
and voices online is threatened. Yet, said diversity of voices online as
well as the ability to connect freely are essential to Wikimedia’s mission
empower people around the world to collect knowledge and share it globally.
You can read our blog post here
<https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/12/04/net-neutrality-access-to-knowledge/>.
Please help us spread the word on twitter
<https://twitter.com/wikimediapolicy/status/937730976855109632>.
Best,
Jan
==
Jan Gerlach
Public Policy Manager
Wikimedia Foundation
1 New Montgomery Street, Suite 1600
San Francisco, CA 94104
jgerlach(a)wikimedia.org
@pd_w <https://twitter.com/pd_w>
@wikimediapolicy <https://twitter.com/wikimediapolicy>
Dear list,
Thanks to the work of many people reading and writing here (Big up!) we now
have four single-issue brochures ready: Freedom of Panorama, Safeguarding
the Public Domain, Text & Data Mining and Intermediary Liability. [1]
They are created with policy makers and experts as a target audience in
mind, but of course can be distributed otherwise as well. The main argument
is that many groups, including businesses, benefit from copyright
exceptions and liability protections, not just Wikipedians. This is an
argument we see ourselves confronted with regularly.
We have all the source files for easy translation and a budget for printing
them in many languages. If you or your community is interested in doing so,
please get in touch.
Cheers,
Dimi
[1]https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EU_policy/AgitProp
I hope I will find some time to translate at least some of these to Czech. It might help.
Also, I can clearly see that you asked the GUE guys for suggestions for the URL :-D
Aktron/Jan
______________________________________________________________
> Od: Dimitar Parvanov Dimitrov <dimitar.parvanov.dimitrov(a)gmail.com>
> Komu: Publicpolicy Group for Wikimedia <publicpolicy(a)lists.wikimedia.org>
> Datum: 04.12.2017 13:35
> Předmět: [Publicpolicy] Brochures for pulibc policy work available for use/translation
>
Dear list, Thanks to the work of many people reading and writing here (Big up!) we now have four single-issue brochures ready: Freedom of Panorama, Safeguarding the Public Domain, Text & Data Mining and Intermediary Liability. [1]They are created with policy makers and experts as a target audience in mind, but of course can be distributed otherwise as well. The main argument is that many groups, including businesses, benefit from copyright exceptions and liability protections, not just Wikipedians. This is an argument we see ourselves confronted with regularly. We have all the source files for easy translation and a budget for printing them in many languages. If you or your community is interested in doing so, please get in touch. Cheers,Dimi[1]https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EU_policy/AgitProp <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EU_policy/AgitProp>
----------
_______________________________________________
Publicpolicy mailing list
Publicpolicy(a)lists.wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/publicpolicy <https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/publicpolicy>
Hi all,
As every month, if anyone has some local/regional/national news to share on
this month's European policy monitoring report, please let me know!
Cheers,
Dimi
tl;dr
It is the final weeks of a digital policy frenzy here in Brussels before
the institutions go into hibernation from 11 December. The Estonian
Presidency is doing all it can to get a Council negotiating position on
copyright by year’s end, but isn’t likely to make it. Meanwhile, the lead
committee of the European Parliament is struggling to find compromises and
is expected to postpone the vote.
This and past reports: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/EU_policy/Monitor
=========
European Council on Copyright Reform
---
Estonia really wants it: Estonia’s Presidency is about to end and the
country really wants to seal a Council deal on copyright. Apart from
really, really wanting to be the cool kids that wrapped it up, rumours have
it that they equally distrust the Bulgarian Presidency.
---
Strike Two: After heavy criticism of the October compromise proposal on
upload filters, [1] they tried to remedy some of the pain points by
floating an updated compromise proposal in November. [2] While the new text
tries to exclude non-for-profit platforms from the scope (“with the aim of
obtaining profit from their use”), it also completely messes up the
intermediary liability protection of the E-Commerce Directive in the
recitals and seems to re-define the “communication to the public” principle
on the fly. Both are fundamental to how the internet and the knowledge
environment currently operate and turning them upside down in recitals and
without public debate is probably not the most sensible thing to do.
---
Opposition United: At the same time a group of 80+ civil society and
cultural heritage organisations (including the FKAGEU and WMDE) have joined
a rare one-sentence open letter [3] in order to make themselves heard ahead
of the Competitiveness Council meeting scheduled to discuss copyright
today. [4] The letter basically lists the previous open letters and
evidence critical of the current approach.
=========
European Council on Copyright Reform
---
The Parliament takes its time: Unlike the Council, the Parliament doesn’t
seem to be in too much of a hurry. Well, they also don’t have the luxury to
do everything hidden from the public. (Sorry for the mini-rant.)
---
LIBE shows little love for filters: The last opinion giving committee
finally voted on its report this month. [5] The Civil Liberties committee
decided to copy the Internal Market committee’s compromise (which was
originally copied from LIBE, anyway, good thing copying is allowed… oh
wait...). Regardless, this is good news, as the IMCO/LIBE compromise is a
good one. It deletes the upload filters obligation and keeps the E-Commerce
Directive intact. This version of the article will serve as a basis for
deliberations in JURI.
---
JURI is insecure: The last rounds of shadow meetings in the lead Legal
Affairs committee didn’t produce a breakthrough. We are nowhere near
compromises on the more controversial articles 11 (ancillary copyright) and
13 (upload filters). The last round of talks didn’t even manage to produce
an agreement on article 4 (education). Seen that the Christmas break is
nearing and that most of the dossier is yet to be negotiated, voting on 25
January as planned seems unrealistic.
---
Juri is surprised by article 4 fight: We were supposed to quickly deal with
compromises on “uncontroversial” articles, including article 4 (education
exception). Instead it was a fight and we are happy about it! What had been
proposed as a compromise demonstrated how out of tune the publishers are
with developments in education. Thanks in part to Communia’s quick action
in mobilising their network of educational organisations, some MEPs
protested and the compromise has to be rewritten.
===
IPRED - No legislative change
---
The Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Directive (IPRED) deals with
injunctions against and seizures of content and goods that infringes
intellectual property. [6] As such it covers everything from counterfeit
Gucci pumps to torrents. The Commission’s communication on its revision was
first leaked [7] and then officially published [8]. The good news is that
they won’t re-open this piece of legislation, but instead opt for issuing
non-binding guidelines on its implementation. The issue is that it seems
like another tool to force upload filters upon information society service
provides: “(...) the draft aims to clarify how and whether an injunction
against an internet service provider could force them to use filtering
technologies to identify potential copyright infringements.”
===
Visiting Volunteer
Last week of November, under a reignited scheme of inviting people to work
with us on policy issues in Brussels, we have hosted Dr. Alexandra
Giannopoulos, a Greek lawyer and academic working in Paris. Alex has met a
number of MEPs, from GUE, S&D and EPP as well as the Greek Permanent
Representation. As a result we have new MEP contacts, including EPP leads
that could counterweight the group’s approach to content filtering. We
loved having her over and we hope the cooperation will continue! Soon we
will post a call for next year’s visiting volunteers programme - stay tuned!
===
[1]
https://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/EU/XXV/EU/16/00/EU_160054/imfname_10757971…
[2]
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GQf3qe5T3Qa4hisVGtZVkXVTvmnZOvE6/view?usp=…
[3]http://copybuzz.com/copyright/november-2017-open-letter-eu-reform/
[4]http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/compet/2017/11/30-01/
[5]
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-%2f%2fEP%2f%2fNONSGML…
[6]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enforcement_Directive
[7]
https://www.politico.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/IPRED-communication.pdf?…
[8]https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/26582