The Privacy Poll

This afternoon I took a Facebook poll on privacy.  I answered how satisfied I was with the privacy settings and if I felt they were easy to find.  Then there was a box for my comments so I commented.

"I enjoy FB.  However, privacy is an illusion.  I self-censor and I’m mindful of what I post, both status updates and with pictures.  FB is a free service but information is the new currency & knowledge is power.  That makes information priceless.  Right now FB is the 900 lbs. gorilla in Social Media and people, being people, like to share information about their favorite things; themselves.  I’m cautious as to what I share and to what extent I share it, I don’t think you can’t make a setting for that - yet.  I know this isn’t a space for questions but what is FB’s stance on CISPA?  - Thank you for your time."

And that was that. 

The price of admission these days is tied to data – your data.  I love Social Media; further, I am an apologist & proponent for it.  At this point in our history and, I hope, far into the future a user driven, free & open internet is in the world’s best interest.  That said, if you are going to participate in Social Media be it Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Pinerest, or even blogging you should be aware of the price.  For many, including me, it is still worth the price of admission but that cost may be increasing if members of Congress had their way; CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act) passed in the House but failed in the Senate.  It is only a matter of time before someone else who has no idea or concept of what they are talking about proposes legislation to take away your online freedoms & compromise your personal information.  I hope whatever may come next meets a similar fate as CISPA & SOPA before it. 

“You must pay for everything in this world one way and another. There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it.” ― Charles Portis, True Grit

Aaron Swartz

One of the brightest minds of his generation, Aaron Swartz died on January 11, 2013.  He was an internet activist, innovator, hacker, co-creator of the RSS Feed and co-owner of Reddit.  He fought for open & free access for educational journals and against SOPA/PIPA.  It is not an exaggeration to say that he had a hand in what we know the internet is and in what the internet will become.  He died by his own hand at the age of 26.     

“...Why?”

I cannot answer that for Mr. Swartz, whom I never met or communicated with, nor can I answer for friends who have made similar decisions.  I simply do not know.  I read about it on the morning of January 12^th, on Twitter.  It was harrowing to see people who knew and loved him discover the news.  I follow a lot of tech geeks and one after the other just kept rolling how shocked by the news they were.  My heartfelt thoughts and prayers for his family and friends left behind. 

Here is CNN’s article on Mr. Swartz: http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/12/us/new-york-reddit-founder-suicide/index.html.  Here is what Mr. Cory Doctorow wrote for Boing Boing: http://boingboing.net/2013/01/12/rip-aaron-swartz.html.  Here is what Wikipedia (Mr. Swartz was an editor here too) has to say: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz.  Here is what Chris Hayes from MSNBC had to say on his program, “UP w/ Chris Hayes’ (and I highly recommend viewing the segment concerning Mr. Swartz): http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/01/13/the-brilliant-mind-righteous-heart-of-aaron-swartz-will-be-missed/.  

Mr. Swartz was in trouble for downloading free educational journals from MIT.  Let me say that once more, he downloaded FREE educational journals.  Further, he never uploaded them anywhere.  Two days before he committed suicide he was told that he might be looking at 35 years behind bars.  To quote from Mr. Hayes’ brilliant summation, “…You should know his death is a good reason to revisit the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the law under which he was prosecuted, since it is far too broad, and to take a hard look at Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, whose office prosecuted Aaron with such recklessly disproportionate vigor, and who is reportedly considering a run for governor.

You should know that we’re going to miss you, Aaron. We’re going to miss your brilliant mind, your righteous heart and your sensitive soul.”

I have seen the face of depression but I do not suffer from it.  I have seen it twist people’s lives and minds.  I cannot pretend to understand what someone with severe depression is going through but I can encourage positive action.  I can say if you feel that the world would be better off without you, please think again.  Please find someone to talk to.  You are not alone – you don’t have to be.  Your local church is a good option but here is one place that is available at any time: http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.  From their site, “No matter what problems you are dealing with, we want to help you find a reason to keep living. By calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255) you’ll be connected to a skilled, trained counselor at a crisis center in your area, anytime 24/7.”  Please, find someone to talk to.  The fact of the matter is we need as many brilliant minds, righteous hearts, and sensitive souls as we can find these days.

If you happen to be an academic and have published research papers one of the ways that people are honoring Mr. Swartz’ memory is by uploading it to the net completely open & free and attaching the following hash tag: #pdftribute – go on, do a Twitter search and you’ll see what I mean.

 

CISPA, You Say?

Hey remember SOPA / PIPA?  Yeah?  Good times, good times.  Well it turns out that there is a new bill about to go before congress called CISPA or the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. 

“CISPA… What’s that?”

There is an excellent article by Mr. Trevor Timm from the Electronic Frontier Foundation that explains the situation much more eloquently than yours truly can.  “CISPA stands for The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, a cybersecurity bill written by Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) (H.R. 3523). The bill purports to allow companies and the federal government to share information to prevent or defend from cyberattacks. However, the bill expressly authorizes monitoring of our private communications, and is written so broadly that it allows companies to hand over large swaths of personal information to the government with no judicial oversight—effectively creating a “cybersecurity” loophole in all existing privacy laws.  Because the bill is so hotly debated now, unofficial proposed amendments are also being circulated and the actual bill language is in flux.”

So companies and the government can exploit loopholes in privacy laws to swap personal information and private communications?  Aren’t laws already on the books to prevent something like this?  What are our lawmakers doing?

Mr. Timm’s full article, Cybersecurity Bill FAQ: The Disturbing Privacy Dangers in CISPA and How To Stop It can be found here: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/04/cybersecurity-bill-faq-disturbing-privacy-dangers-cispa-and-how-you-stop-it#what-is-cispa.

Gentle Reader, I am the occasional slacktivist and now happens to be one of those times where I encourage such behavior in others.  Check it out for yourself and (No Pressure), if you feel so inclined, sign the petition to your representatives as I have.  Our privacy is worth it.

"I fight for the Users!" - TRON

Senator Wyden

Senator Wyden

I few minutes ago I saw this on Twitter: http://wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter-to-internet.pdf.  I had to post it here on the electronic pages of Chicken Scratch.

Thank you, Sir.  I sincerely hope that yours is the dominant opinion in this matter.  All the best. 

End Piracy - Not Liberty

Gentle Readers, both old and new.  Please consider the implications of an internet where SOPA & PIPA are law and sign the Google petition, which can be found right here: https://www.google.com/landing/takeaction/.  These bills must be stopped. 

End Piracy – Not Liberty.

STOP SOPA & PIPA

All morning I have been stewing.  I read a Tweet from Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame concerning stopping SOPA.  He included a link that sums up some of the most important points of the whole issue: http://www.craigslist.org/about/SOPA.  Much of this particular entry is derived from this Craigslist Online Community page.  This blog is a bit of a departure for me.  I do not get involved with politics knowing in my heart that, “life goes on no matter who is wrong or right.”

NUTS!  Did you see that?  I just quoted from a Billy Joel song; no, more than that, it was a quote from a copyrighted Billy Joel song.  That’s the type of thing that will shut Chicken Scratch down but more of that in my letter to Congressman LoBiondo.  Sorry.  I’ll try to do better.     

After doing some research, reading some articles, and after years of writing here on the electronic pages of my blog, I thought it important to say that I oppose H.R. 3621 "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) and S. 968 "Protect IP Act" (PIPA).  I like the concept of a free internet.  I like being able to say what I want without the fear of corporate or governmental censorship.  I know that ‘piracy is a problem’ but accepting these two bills and turning them into the law of the land in Cyber-America you change fundamental liberties on a molecular level.  It’s akin to being adrift and thirsty in the middle of the ocean – sure you can drink the saltwater to quench your thirst but that comes at a high price: your cells will implode and you will die.  That is what happens to civil liberties on the internet if this passes.

Techdirt has a wonderful article by, Mike Masnick entitled, “Definitive Post Why SOPA and Protect IP Are Bad, Bad, Ideas”.  Please give it a read and let it digest.  Mr. Masnick’s article explains what is at stake much more succinctly than the scope of this humble blogger (yours truly): http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111122/04254316872/definitive-post-why-sopa-protect-ip-are-bad-bad-ideas.shtml.

The quotes at the end of the article are priceless; frightening, but priceless…

 
"It's theft...Any time you skip a commercial or watch the button you're actually stealing the programming." Turner Broadcasting CEO Jaime Kellner in 2002

‘So take THAT you thieves (formally known as subscribers)!  How DARE you use that DVR!?  Philistines!  Heathens! PIRATES!’  Yep, these are the people that want to control you and dictate public policy that will usher in the future of a place that used to be deemed ‘free’.  “Welcome to the machine.” – Pink Floyd

GACK!  I just quoted a song that is copyrighted.  I’m really going to have to get the hang of this new world order thing.

Here is a great little tool: https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=8173.  I used it this morning to sign the petition.  Not for nuthin’ but I encourage you to do the same.

Here are some other concerned folks brought to you be the Center for Democracy & Technology: http://cdt.org/report/growing-chorus-opposition-stop-online-piracy-act.  

Here is a site to identify you congressman: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml.  I used it to send the following ‘letter’ to my Congressman, Frank LoBiondo from New Jersey… 

Congressman LoBiondo 

I am a blogger in the South Jersey area.  I write about distractions, humor, and trivial entertainments; simple stuff, in all actuality.  One of the things that I routinely write about is film and I am, therefore, deeply concerned about the scope and reach of SOPA & PIPA.  It is not hard to envision a time in the future where my blog is deemed and considered “Censured Material.”  Seriously.  What happens to my blog / me if I post something that that the corporations or government does not like?  SOPA & PIPA are steep, well lubricated slopes.  Once we as a county start sliding down it is our very liberty that will die in the sudden stop. 

Freedom of speech should not be dictated to the American people by corporate entities, lobbyists or PACs.  I do not know where you stand on H.R. 3621 "Stop Online Piracy Act" (SOPA) and S. 968 "Protect IP Act" (PIPA) but I hope you oppose them as much as I do.  If you support SOPA & PIPA I hope you reconsider and make a stand to not legislate the citizenry’s liberty away to corporations.

I thank you for your time, Sir.

So there you have it, Gentle Reader.  It’s funny how the simple stuff seems to reflect so much more of the heart of man.  Perhaps the simple is not really all that simple after all.  There may come a day when the simple act of surfing the net is a blocked & censored crime – an offence that the corporations or government can shut you down.  Not for knocking over a liquor store, cow tipping, or for plotting to become a James Bond villain bent on world domination but for writing about or posting about copyrighted material.

REALLY?! “James Bond” in a sentence!  I hope that MGM in the future can find it in their heart to forgive such a lowly blogger as I, your humble servant, Evil Chicken.

Only time will tell.

[NOTE: If you feel the call to action proofread you letter before you send it.  I just found a stupid, hack mistake that I changed for this blog and that I hope does not undermine the overall message.  What can I say, I’m a shmoe.  I do, however, believe the intent is intact.]