For those of us who live in California, there is an important Assembly bill coming up regarding online privacy.
Right now it is legal, in California, for someone to subpoena your ISP to get your personal information, if you happen to write something online that they don't appreciate.
This bill, if passed, would require ISP's to notify you before turning your personal information over, thus giving you the chance to attempt to block the information being given over in the first place.
I won't go into a lenghty explanation about why this is important to people who frequent websites like this one and NDN.
At the bottom of the article posted below, there is a link you can click to contact the Representatives involved and urge them to support this bill.
I realize that this only pertains to California, but it is a good start:
EFF Backs California Senate Bill Protecting Anonymous Speech Online
San Francisco and Berkeley, CA - Your employer just laid off 300 of
your colleagues without notice and without severance pay. So you go
online and post an angry, anonymous comment about it on a Yahoo!
message board. Although you could lose your job if your boss
discovered what you've said, you feel safe because nobody who reads
the comment knows who you are. Plus, your right to engage in
anonymous free speech is protected under the First Amendment,
right? Wrong.
In California, it is currently legal for anyone to subpoena personal
information from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) without any
court oversight - and without notifying you. That means you have
no chance to protect your anonymity or secure legal representation
before the person requesting the subpoena figures out who you are
and takes action against you. Your boss could read that anonymous
comment, subpoena your ISP to get your name, and fire you the
next day.
Over the past few years, EFF and other organizations have defended
dozens of individuals whose identities have been sought after
they criticized corporations or other people online. Nearly all
of the cases are dropped once opposition begins, indicating
that the lawsuits are aimed at silencing criticism and identifying
critics, not addressing legitimate legal claims.
To remedy this problem, California Assembly Member Joe Simitian
(D-Palo Alto) is sponsoring Assembly Bill 1143, the Internet
Communications Protection Act (ICPA). The bill protects anonymous
speakers on the Internet by requiring service providers to notify
them before handing over personal information that's been
subpoenaed. This information could include addresses, phone
numbers, and any other private details a person provided to enable
him or her to get Internet connectivity. Once a user is notified
and given the basic information about the claims, he or she is
given a window of time to respond and thus gain the opportunity
to secure legal representation to contest the validity of the
subpoena and protect personal information.
"This act ensures that you have a reasonable opportunity to protect
your own privacy," said EFF Legal Director Cindy Cohn. "It levels
the playing field by giving you the time and information you need
to defend yourself if the claim against you is invalid, while
preserving the right of those who have legitimate claims to
find out who has harmed them."
"Internet users deserve to have their privacy and their anonymity
protected. And they deserve due process in defending themselves
against frivolous lawsuits," added Assemblyman Simitian.
AB 1433 is backed by EFF, which is represented by the Samuelson Law,
Technology and Public Policy Clinic at UC Berkeley's School of Law.
Thee bill also has the support of the ACLU, the California
Anti-SLAPP project, and the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
For the full press release:
<http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2004_06.php#001577>
Action alert for California residents:
<http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2914>
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