[governance] USPTO blocks web access to "Political/Activist Groups" including KEI, ACLU, EFF, Public Citizen, Redstate, DailyKos

Thu Sep 20 15:23:54 EDT 2012

On Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 7:22 AM, Jamie Love <james.love at keionline.org>wrote:

> I was not paying that much attention to this issue, and I was surprised to
> learn how ubiquitous at the enterprise/government/school level these
> technologies have become, often directed at blocking malware, pornography,
> hate speech, or even sports or shopping, and apparently
> political activism too.  (Here are some of the categories
> http://goo.gl/UY4fz).

Thank you Jamie for an excellent blog. I love how you wrote about the
matter. :):)

>
> As others have mentioned, the Blue Coat filters (and probably their
> competitors products) are used in several countries as inexpensive ways to
> control access to some types of content.  When used to block access to
> information, it's just another thing to worry about or route around.
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 1:17 PM, James S. Tyre <jstyre at jstyre.com> wrote:
>
>> No, I don’t think you’ll see pics of me picketing at PTO.  Jamie is based
>> in DC, he can just walk over.  But using a point of reference that you’ll
>> appreciate, I’m about 7 minutes away from ICANN’s old MdR office (and about
>> the same from the new one, though I’ve not been to it).  I’m not nearly so
>> lathered up about this that I’m planning on flying cross-country to
>> picket.  ‘-)****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> More seriously, I don’t see this as a global issue.  But I didn’t start
>> this thread, I’m pretty new to this list, and I’m not sure I have a good
>> understanding of what IGC considers to be local v. global.****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> -Jim****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> --****
>>
>> James S. Tyre****
>>
>> Law Offices of James S. Tyre****
>>
>> 10736 Jefferson Blvd., #512****
>>
>> Culver City, CA 90230-4969****
>>
>> 310-839-4114/310-839-4602(fax)****
>>
>> jstyre at jstyre.com****
>>
>> Policy Fellow, Electronic Frontier Foundation****
>>
>> https://www.eff.org****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> *From:* Dr. Alejandro Pisanty Baruch [mailto:apisan at unam.mx]
>> *Sent:* Thursday, September 20, 2012 10:00 AM
>> *To:* James S. Tyre; governance at lists.igcaucus.org; 'Salanieta T.
>> Tamanikaiwaimaro'; 'Riaz K Tayob'
>>
>> *Subject:* RE: [governance] USPTO blocks web access to
>> "Political/Activist Groups" including KEI, ACLU, EFF, Public Citizen,
>> Redstate, DailyKos****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Jim, ****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> thanks - I still see IT SOP gone wild but am in no position to test or
>> contest. ****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Guess I'll see pics of you and Jamie picketing (this IS a local, not
>> global, issue, right?)****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Yours,****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>> Alejandro Pisanty****
>>
>> ** **
>>
>>    ****
>>
>> ! !! !!! !!!!****
>>
>> NEW PHONE NUMBER - NUEVO NÚMERO DE TELÉFONO****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> +52-1-5541444475 FROM ABROAD ****
>>
>> +525541444475 DESDE MÉXICO ****
>>
>> SMS +525541444475
>>      Dr. Alejandro Pisanty
>> UNAM, Av. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico DF Mexico
>>
>> Blog: http://pisanty.blogspot.com
>> LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pisanty
>> Unete al grupo UNAM en LinkedIn,
>> http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/22285/4A106C0C8614
>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/apisanty
>> ---->> Unete a ISOC Mexico, http://www.isoc.org
>> .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . ****
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> *Desde:* James S. Tyre [jstyre at jstyre.com]
>> *Enviado el:* jueves, 20 de septiembre de 2012 11:34
>> *Hasta:* governance at lists.igcaucus.org; Dr. Alejandro Pisanty Baruch;
>> 'Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro'; 'Riaz K Tayob'
>> *Asunto:* RE: [governance] USPTO blocks web access to
>> "Political/Activist Groups" including KEI, ACLU, EFF, Public Citizen,
>> Redstate, DailyKos****
>>
>> Alejandro,****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> It isn’t really that simple at all.  Before I begin, however, let me
>> state two things.  First, I do not question that PTO turned the thing off
>> shortly after becoming aware of it.  Second, I assume that you’re not aware
>> of some of the relevant facts and law, rather than that you’re ignoring
>> them.****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> PTO is a US government agency.  A government agency as employer is not
>> held to the same First Amendment restrictions as a government agency as
>> government, but, unlike private sector employers, the government as
>> employer is subject to some First Amendment restrictions.****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> This particular filter was not in any way supposed to be similar to what
>> is seen in corporate IT.  It’s specific purpose, it’s only purpose,  was to
>> block access to terrorist sites and similar.  (Some of that is required by
>> US law, whether that’s a good or bad law is not something I plan on
>> discussing here.)  How any of the blacklisted sites could be found to be
>> terrorist sites is incomprehensible.  This was never supposed to be a
>> pretty standard filter.****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> Incidentally, the filter is the handiwork of Blue Coat, which did such a
>> marvelous job of promoting free expression on the Internet in Syria, among
>> other places, see, e.g.,
>> https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/10/blue-coat-acknowledges-syrian-government-use-its-products
>> ****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> --****
>>
>> James S. Tyre****
>>
>> Law Offices of James S. Tyre****
>>
>> 10736 Jefferson Blvd., #512****
>>
>> Culver City, CA 90230-4969****
>>
>> 310-839-4114/310-839-4602(fax)****
>>
>> jstyre at jstyre.com****
>>
>> Policy Fellow, Electronic Frontier Foundation****
>>
>> https://www.eff.org****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> *From:* governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org
>> [mailto:governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org] *On Behalf Of *Dr.
>> Alejandro Pisanty Baruch
>> *Sent:* Thursday, September 20, 2012 7:09 AM
>> *To:* governance at lists.igcaucus.org; Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro; Riaz
>> K Tayob
>> *Subject:* RE: [governance] USPTO blocks web access to
>> "Political/Activist Groups" including KEI, ACLU, EFF, Public Citizen,
>> Redstate, DailyKos****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> Sala, ****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> any knowledge of corporate IT will tell you that this is a pretty
>> standard filter used in private as well as public offices. Usually
>> installed by third parties who set up the networks or even run them, or
>> accessed by IT at third-party sites. As Jamie Love writes as well, the
>> filter was removed upon request. It is the same type of filter that would
>> have caused some hotel reservation sites to be blocked "for sexual content."
>> ****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> Clues... they used to be more widely available.****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> Alejandro Pisanty****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>>    ****
>>
>> ! !! !!! !!!!****
>>
>> NEW PHONE NUMBER - NUEVO NÚMERO DE TELÉFONO****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> +52-1-5541444475 FROM ABROAD ****
>>
>> +525541444475 DESDE MÉXICO ****
>>
>> SMS +525541444475
>>      Dr. Alejandro Pisanty
>> UNAM, Av. Universidad 3000, 04510 Mexico DF Mexico
>>
>> Blog: http://pisanty.blogspot.com
>> LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pisanty
>> Unete al grupo UNAM en LinkedIn,
>> http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/22285/4A106C0C8614
>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/apisanty
>> ---->> Unete a ISOC Mexico, http://www.isoc.org
>> .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . ****
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> *Desde:* governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org [
>> governance-request at lists.igcaucus.org] en nombre de Salanieta T.
>> Tamanikaiwaimaro [salanieta.tamanikaiwaimaro at gmail.com]
>> *Enviado el:* jueves, 20 de septiembre de 2012 05:02
>> *Hasta:* governance at lists.igcaucus.org; Riaz K Tayob
>> *Asunto:* Re: [governance] USPTO blocks web access to
>> "Political/Activist Groups" including KEI, ACLU, EFF, Public Citizen,
>> Redstate, DailyKos****
>>
>> If what is reported is legitimate, we are in for some troubling times
>> ahead of us. :( :(:( ****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> Sala****
>>
>> On Thu, Sep 20, 2012 at 8:21 PM, Riaz K Tayob <riaz.tayob at gmail.com>
>> wrote:****
>> *USPTO blocks web access to "Political/Activist Groups" including KEI,
>> ACLU, EFF, Public Citizen, Redstate, DailyKos<http://keionline.org/node/1548>
>> *
>>
>>    - View <http://keionline.org/node/1548> ****
>>    - What links here <http://keionline.org/node/1548/backlinks> ****
>>
>> Submitted by James Love on 18. September 2012 - 12:32 ****
>>
>> *Update:* At 5 pm the USPTO called and said that the public access wifi
>> network was using a filter, provided by a contractor, to block "political
>> activist" sites. This filter was not used by the network providing Internet
>> access for the USPTO staff. After our meeting, the USPTO reviewed its
>> policies, and has removed the filter. USPTO says the filter was implemented
>> by a contractor, and no one we talked to at USPTO was aware of who was
>> being blocked. In any event, the filter has been removed. ****
>>
>> Today I was visiting the USPTO, for a high level meeting on global
>> negotiations on intellectual property and access to medicine. The meeting
>> was held in the Stockholm Room, on the 2nd floor of the USPTO library, at
>> the main USPTO building at 600 Dulany Street, Alexandria, VA. The USPTO
>> also uses these meeting rooms for its Global Intellectual Property Academy
>> (GIPA). The USPTO offers free Wifi for the visitors. But when I tried to
>> login to http://keionline.org, I received this message:****
>>
>> Access Denied (content_filter_denied) ****
>>
>> Your request was denied because this URL contains content that is
>> categorized as: "Political/Activist Groups" which is blocked by USPTO
>> policy. If you believe the categorization is inaccurate, please contact the
>> USPTO Service Desk and request a manual review of the URL.****
>>
>> For assistance, contact USPTO OCIO IT Service Desk. (io-proxy4)****
>>
>> We checked and found that the USPTO blocks access to a number of groups
>> that have followed SOPA and the TPP intellectual property negotiations,
>> particularly those critical of the USPTO positions on intellectual property
>> issues. Among the NGOs that were blocked were aclu.org, cdt.org,
>> citizen.org, eff.org, healthgap.org, keionline.org and
>> publicknowledge.org. Among the sites NOT BLOCKED were the industry lobby
>> groups BSA, MPPA, RIIA, and PhRMA. ****
>>
>> The USPTO also selectively blocks certain blogs and new sites, including,
>> for example, dailykos.coms, firedoglake.com, redstate.org,
>> rushlimbaugh.com and talkingpointsmemo.com., ****
>>
>> Here are examples of what the USPTO blocks, and does not block. ****
>>
>> *Blocked NGOs*****
>>
>> aclu.org
>> cdt.org
>> citizen.org
>> eff.org
>> healthgap.org
>> keionline.org
>> publicknowledge.org ****
>>
>> *NGOs that are NOT blocked*****
>>
>> bsa.org
>> creativecommons.org
>> iipa.com
>> iipi.org
>> ipi.org
>> mpaa.org
>> PhRMA.org
>> pubpat.org
>> RIIA.Org
>> stockholm-network.org ****
>>
>> *Blocked Blogs and news outlets*****
>>
>> dailykos.coms
>> firedoglake.com
>> redstate.org
>> rushlimbaugh.com
>> talkingpointsmemo.com ****
>>
>> *Blogs and new outlets that are NOT blocked *****
>>
>> 71patent.blogspot.com
>> aljazeera.com
>> boingboing.net
>> dailycaller.com
>> democracynow.org
>> drudgereport.com
>> groklaw.net
>> huffingtonpost.com
>> ip-watch.org
>> itcblog.com
>> lessig.org
>> michaelgeist.ca
>> nationalreview.com
>> spicyipindia.blogspot.com
>> techdirt.com
>> washingtonmonthly.com ****
>>
>>    - James Love's blog <http://keionline.org/blog/jamie> ****
>>    - Add new comment<http://keionline.org/comment/reply/1548#comment-form>
>>    ****
>>    - Printer-friendly version <http://keionline.org/print/1548> ****
>>    - Send by email <http://keionline.org/printmail/1548> ****
>>
>> *Cause of foul up <http://keionline.org/node/1548#comment-7970>*
>>
>> Submitted by Anonymous dude or dudess on 19. September 2012 - 12:02. ****
>>
>> 'Ex-Patent Examiner here. If this was anything other than a contractor
>> foul-up, I'll eat my hat. There were a dozen instances where I'd need to
>> call the help desk to access a website that would enable me to do my job.'
>> If true, this means no one at USPTO tried to access those sites and asked
>> for the filter to be removed since it was implemented.****
>>
>>    - reply <http://keionline.org/comment/reply/1548/7970> ****
>>
>>
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>> ****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> -- ****
>>
>> Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala****
>>
>> P.O. Box 17862****
>>
>> Suva****
>>
>> Fiji****
>>
>>  ****
>>
>> Twitter: @SalanietaT****
>>
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>>
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>>
>>  ****
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________
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>
>
> --
> James Love.  Knowledge Ecology International
> http://www.keionline.org, +1.202.332.2670, US Mobile: +1.202.361.3040,
> Geneva Mobile: +41.76.413.6584, efax: +1.888.245.3140.
> twitter.com/jamie_love
>

-- 
Salanieta Tamanikaiwaimaro aka Sala
P.O. Box 17862
Suva
Fiji

Twitter: @SalanietaT
Skype:Salanieta.Tamanikaiwaimaro
Fiji Cell: +679 998 2851
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