Free Speech Archives

Evaluating the Industry Canada CASL regulations: the B2B exception (Part I-SMEs)

In a previous post,Evaluating the Industry Canada CASL regulations: why they are needed, I suggested that close scrutiny needs to be given to Industry Canada’s new draft Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations. CASL’s “ban all” structure makes it imperative that generous regulations be adopted to ensure that the goal’s of Canada’s new anti-spam/anti-malware law (CASL) are met. In another post, Evaluating the Industry Canada CASL regulations: how to assess them, I proposed a framework for assessing the regulations.…

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Evaluating the Industry Canada CASL regulations: how to assess them

In a previous post,Evaluating the Industry Canada CASL regulations: why they are needed, I suggested thatclose scrutiny needs to be given toIndustry Canada’s new draft Electronic Commerce Protection Regulations. CASL’s “ban all” structure makes it imperative that regulations be adopted to ensure that the goal’s of Canada’s new anti-spam/anti-malware/spyware law (CASL) are met. Their adequacy and appropriateness should be measured against these and other generally recognized objectives. In this post I propose to lay out the framework for assessing the regulations.…

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No freedom to hack access into the Internet, says US judge

Information wants to be free. But, helping people to steal access to it is still a crime as an Oregon man just found out after being convicted of wire fraud for helping thousands steal internet service.

The defendant, Ryan Harris, ran a company called TCNISO. It distributed software and hardware tools that enabled customers to modify their cable modems to mask themselves as paying customers. In his defense Harris claimed assisting customers in their cable modem hacking activities was justified because it facilitated access to the internet.…

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Why is the EU asking the ECJ to review ACTA and does it matter?

Last week the European Commissioner for Trade, Karel De Gucht, released a statement announcing that the EU will refer the ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The ECJ will be asked to assess whether ACTA is incompatible – in any way – with the EU’s fundamental rights and freedoms, such as freedom of expression and information or data protection and the right to property in case of intellectual property.

What reason did the Commissioner give to explain the referral to the ECJ?…

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Will it be illegal to recommend a dentist under Canada’s new anti-spam law (CASL)?

Over the holidays I got an email from one of my relatives visiting Toronto. She asked me to recommend a dental surgeon for an unexpected tooth extraction. She also asked me to refer her to other dentists to get additional recommendations. I sent her an email with a recommendation to get treatment from a dental surgeon who I encouraged her to see and also provided the name of a family dentist who could make other recommendations. My email included a link to a website of the clinic operated by the dental surgeon.…

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UN report on internet disconnection flawed and contrary to jurisprudence

Recently, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression released a controversial report in which he stated he was

“alarmed by proposals to disconnect users from Internet access if they violate intellectual property rights. This also includes legislation based on the concept of “graduated response”, which imposes a series of penalties on copyright infringers that could lead to suspension of Internet service, such as the so-called “three strikes-law” in France and the Digital Economy Act 2010 of the United Kingdom.”

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Geist: tough IP laws suppress political dissent

In a blog post yesterday, How IP Enforcement Can Be Used To Suppress Dissent, Prof. Geist argues that “tougher enforcement measures” of IP laws are connected with civil rights abuses by governments to quell political dissent. He further claims that the USTR Special 301 report was connected to the recent Russian raids against advocacy groups and news organizations in Russia. He also postulates that enforcement of IP rights under ACTA would increase such abuses and accordingly would be “a dangerous and misguided approach that is apt to cause more problems than it solves”.…

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Clinton’s Remarks on Internet Freedom

Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, gave an important speech on the importance of freedom of speech on the Internet. Her speech touched upon the remarkable potential of the Internet as a communications medium as well as the difficult policy issues associated with protecting it.

A key message was the importance of keeping the internet open to permit a free exchange of ideas and knowledge:

“On their own, new technologies do not take sides in the struggle for freedom and progress, but the United States does.…

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