[governance] USPTO blocks web access to "Political/Activist Groups" including KEI, ACLU, EFF, Public Citizen, Redstate, DailyKos
Salanieta T. Tamanikaiwaimaro
salanieta.tamanikaiwaimaro at gmail.com
Thu Sep 20 15:37:04 EDT 2012
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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).
>
> I just saw the categories. It worries me :( particularly more so when we
think of what was reported in the media, in Iran and Syria who had created
an elite army to hunt down dissidents. The potential for abuse is of
concern :(
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****
>>
>> Skype:Salanieta.Tamanikaiwaimaro****
>>
>> Fiji Cell: +679 998 2851****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
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>> To be removed from the list, visit:
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>>
>> For all other list information and functions, see:
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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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