Interesting People mailing list archives
Re: EFF: National Coalition of Authors Urge Rejection of Google Book Search Deal
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 10:57:04 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: "Ken Kousky" <kkousky () ip3inc com> Date: September 8, 2009 10:20:24 AM EDT To: <dave () farber net>, "'ip'" <ip () v2 listbox com>Subject: RE: [IP] EFF: National Coalition of Authors Urge Rejection of Google Book Search Deal
The goal must be transparency in the surveillance and choice by the consumer. Technology will continually encroach on privacy but it's important torealize that by historical norms, much of today's anonymity results simply
from rapid urbanization and is not a historical or global norm. We can'tread books from the library without the librarian, and others, knowing our reading habits. Talk to your mailman someday and you'll learn how much he or she knows about you. It's hard to keep your reading habits truly private.
Today, we have an online generation that is willing to share vast amounts of
personal data in order to opt in for other services. Book reading is thesame way - the library knows but access is free. It's your CHOICE. That's
all that's really required in most cases. The difference that technology promises to provide is the CHOICE between privacy and disclosure. Disclosure can bring great benefits that might include free content for the right to be target marketed. As long as thesurveillance is clearly disclosed and one can choose, we're making progress.
KWK -----Original Message----- From: David Farber [mailto:dave () farber net] Sent: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 10:06 AM To: ipSubject: [IP] EFF: National Coalition of Authors Urge Rejection of Google
Book Search Deal Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release For Immediate Release: Tuesday, September 08, 2009 Contact: Rebecca Jeschke Media Relations Director Electronic Frontier Foundation press () eff org +1 415 436-9333 x125 Jason Schultz Director Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic jschultz () law berkeley edu +1 510 642-1957 Robyn Shepherd Media Relations American Civil Liberties Union media () aclu org +1 212 549-2666 National Coalition of Authors Urge Rejection of Google Book Search Deal Ability to Track Readers Puts Privacy at Risk New York - A coalition of authors and publishers -- including best-sellers Michael Chabon, Jonathan Lethem, and technical author Bruce Schneier -- is urging a federal judge to reject the proposed settlement in a lawsuit over Google Book Search, arguing that the sweeping agreement to digitize millions of books ignores critical privacy rights for readers and writers. The group of more than two dozen authors and publishers, represented by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (Samuelson clinic), filed an objection to the settlement today. The coalition is concerned that Google's collection of personal identifying information about users who browse, read, and make purchases online at Google Book Search will chill their readership. "Google Book Search and other digital book projects will redefine the way people read and research," said Lethem, winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award. "Now is the moment to make sure that Google Book Search is as private as the world of physical books. If future readers know that they are leaving a digital trail for others to follow, they may shy away from important intellectual journeys." The settlement, currently pending approval from a New York federal district court, would end the legal challenges brought by the Authors' Guild over the Google Book Search project. It would give Google the green light to scan and digitize millions of books and allow users to search for and read those books online. However, Google's system could monitor what books users search for, how much of the books they read, and how long they spend on various pages. Google could then combine information about readers' habits and interests with additional information it collects from other Google services, creating a massive "digital dossier" that would be vulnerable to fishing expeditions by law enforcement or civil litigants. "I believe that the fear of tracking will create a chilling effect on my readers and reduce my readership, and therefore my revenue, from these books," said Schneier, a computer security expert. "Moreover, I write these books in order to participate in the public debate on security issues. Reduced readership negatively impacts my expressive interests as an author." In the objection filed today, the coalition asks the court to require Google to create a robust privacy policy that gives readers as much privacy in online books as they have in a library or a bookstore and to ensure that the policy is enforceable and overseen by the court on an ongoing basis. The authors and publishers present a list of privacy protections that would improve the settlement, including limiting tracking of users by requiring a court order or judge-approved warrant before disclosure of the information collected, ensuring user control of personal information stored by Google, and making the system transparent to readers. After much pressure from EFF, ACLU, the Samuelson clinic, and others, Google finally issued a privacy policy for Google Books on September 3, 2009. However, that policy doesn't guarantee that Google will require court approval before disclosing reader information, and it doesn't sufficiently limit Google's retention of that information. It is also changeable by Google at any time. A hearing on the fairness of the proposed Google Book Search settlement is set for October 7, 2009, in New York. For today's filing: http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/authorsguild_v_google/File%20Stamped%20Brf .pdf For more on this case: http://www.eff.org/cases/authors-guild-v-google For this release: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/09/08 About EFF The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/ -end- _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe or manage your email options: https://mail1.eff.org/mailman/listinfo/presslist ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com __________ NOD32 4405 (20090908) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com ------------------------------------------- Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
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- EFF: National Coalition of Authors Urge Rejection of Google Book Search Deal David Farber (Sep 08)
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