Wednesday, January 15, 2003

categories: Legal, Biz Supreme Court Endorses Copyright Theft Swipe a CD from a record store and you'll get arrested. But when Congress authorizes the entertainment industry to steal from you -- well, that's the American way. We learned as much on Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress can repeatedly extend copyright terms, as it did most recently in 1998 when it added 20 years to the terms for new and existing works. The law, a brazen heist, was called the Copyright Term Extension Act. It was better known as the Sonny Bono act, so named after its chief sponsor even though Disney and other giant media corporations were the money and muscle behind it. Who got robbed? You did. I did. Important! Read the full story... Dan Gillmor's eJournal   11:06:28 PM  Google It!  comment

categories: Legal, Politics Pentagon database plan hits snag on Hill A plan that would link credit card, health insurance and other databases--creating what critics have called a "domestic surveillance apparatus"--raises concern on Capitol Hill. CNET News.com   10:41:04 PM  Google It!  comment

categories: Legal, Politics ACLU Spooked by Domestic Spying A new report by the American Civil Liberties Union raises concerns about the growth of U.S. surveillance in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The group recommends legislation to protect Americans' privacy rights. By Julia Scheeres.   10:38:55 PM  Google It!  comment