Gandi Bar - Tag - take action

Gandi Supports CFAA Reform – the right way

Thomas — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:24:00 -0700

Some of you are aware that Gandi supports many non-profit organizations and philanthropic associations with free or discounted hosting and/or domains. Often we choose who to support based on the mission of the organization, and whether that mission aligns with the needs and interests of our community: the community of Internet innovators, of which we are proud to be members. Every so often the interests of our community need more than just support. They need to be defended from attack by narrower interests, and so today Gandi is participating in a campaign with the EFF, CDT and others to help create a meaningful improvement in a dangerously broad law in the USA: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

Some of you are aware that Gandi supports many non-profit organizations and philanthropic associations with free or discounted hosting and/or domains. Often we choose who to support based on the mission of the organization, and whether that mission aligns with the needs and interests of our community: the community of Internet innovators, of which we are proud to be members.

Every so often the interests of our community need more than just support. They need to be defended from attack by narrower interests. Just as we did when we opposed SOPA, today Gandi is taking part in a campaign with the EFF, CDT and others to help create a meaningful improvement in a dangerously broad law in the USA: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

You may be familiar with the tragic case of Aaron Swartz, who took his own life on January 11, after being threatened with outrageous penalties under the CFAA for his alleged actions in downloading academic articles. Aaron Swartz’s suicide raises serious questions about the way the law was applied, and the way it is written, which severely criminalizes common actions and blunders many of us make online, often unintentionally.

Interpretations of the current law by prosecutors must be reined in, and the law has to be targeted to stopping those who harm the interests of law-abiding public citizens. It should not be a tool for law enforcement to retaliate against activists who (whether you agree with what they do or not) act in good faith for the common good. We know there are plenty of real criminals out there, so lets help Congress make a law that works for everyone.

So far, the proposed changes are taking us in the wrong direction, and making the law broader and the penalties even more draconian.

Gandi, and the Internet Infrastructure Coalition that Gandi helped to found, have already signed a letter to congress in support of CFAA reform, and made it part of our lobbying efforts. The EFF, who Gandi supports, has put up an action campaign. Aaron Swartz’s advocacy organization, Demand Progress, has called for a week of action starting April 8, to lobby for positive changes to CFAA. The Center for Democracy and Technology has sent another letter to Congress calling for this reform, and has the support of many advocacy groups. Representative Zoe Loftgren has proposed a bill known as Aaron’s law, that would take a step in the right direction.

If you agree that we need to reform CFAA the right way, join us in supporting this reform. Contact your congressional representative, and do your part to keep the Internet safe, free, and open. That’s the only way it will continue to enable innovation such as that our community creates.

Gandi Stands in Opposition to CISPA

Thomas — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:45:00 -0700

Some of you may have heard about the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. Gandi took a position against this legislation for good reasons. The US Congress is once again considering acts that abrogate existing privacy law on the Internet, this time in the name of stopping cyber attacks. One particularly heinous act is called CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act.

The problem is, CISPA is worse than SOPA. Here is a breakdown of some of what CISPA would do:

Extend the National Security Act to cover "cybersecurity" threats, loosely defined.
Allow US intelligence services and private companies to monitor and collect information we users place on the Internet, including emails, text messages, VOIP calls, web sites we visit, etc.
Allow US intelligence services to legally share the data gathered with private companies, and allow private companies to share data they collect with US intelligence services.
Allow private companies and/or US intelligence services to block or even modify data sent over the Internet.

Given these powers, the US government would have unprecedented power to snoop on data from any site they do not like, in the name of “cybersecurity”. Oversight is minimal; in fact, even with recent amendments, the bill explicitly limits public oversight of enforcement of its provisions. The data they snoop can then be used in the prosecution of "cybercrime", presumably in an effort to shut down such sites. They just need a "significant" purpose. Sound vague to you? It is.

Originally CISPA included “theft of intellectual property” in its definition of cybersecurity threats. That made it an effective tool for the US government to go after file-sharing sites and copyright violators. That language was removed under pressure from advocacy groups, but the remaining language is so vague that it leaves open the possibility of defining at least some violations of IP law as "cybersecurity related".

It is interesting to consider that a site such as Wikileaks might fall under the definition of a cybersecurity threat in CISPA. One wonders if that is what the US government really wants to shut down: the exposure of embarrassing truths on the Internet?

We at Gandi are a multi-cultural, multi-opinionated team of Internet experts. Unlike the bill's sponsors (which include AT&T, Facebook, and Google) we do not think that CISPA is the right approach to stopping cyber attacks on government agencies and private companies. We get our fair share of attacks, and trust us, we don’t like it, but what is the real price of fighting these bad actors with laws? We feel the comprehensive nature of the CISPA legislation offers a bazooka-to-swat-a-horsefly approach, and bazookas always cause collateral damage. We know what that phrase means from the Bush era: innocent people getting hurt. That price is too high. Try again, US lawmakers. You can do better (See Cybersecurity's 7-Step Plan for Internet Freedom, from the Center for Democracy and Technology, for example).

Read the bill! Form your own opinion and share it! Do you agree with us? Take action with the EFF, or Avaaz.

UPDATE: 5/17/2012: CISPA Passes the House of Representatives, heads to an uncertain future in the senate, and a veto threat from Obama. See this link.

UPDATE: 8/9/2012: CISPA has been rejected by the Senate 52-49, on August second. We expect it will return, possibly with another name, in the next session, so our work in opposing legislation that restricts our rights to free speech is far from over.

We want to hear your thoughts. Do you care what your registrar and web host has to say about these repeated legislative assaults on internet users? How important are these issues to you? Let us know in the comments.

A Nobel prize for a Banker...

Ryan — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 18:11:00 +0200

...and this is good. Muhammad Yunus, creator of Microcredit, is finally in the spotlight! and rightfully so - to be awarded the most prestigious of awards: the Nobel Peace Prize.

I feel it is important to highlight this event, which proves that one can do some good with the most "capitalistic" of tools. And yes, they are only tools, one tends to overlook that fact.

His idea?

Loan, without any guarantee, small amounts of money (130 dollars on average), to anyone that is not normally allowed in the banks (this is not an image, this is a reality).

In exchange, the controls are very strict: high interest rates (this helps motivate people to repay the loan quickly), and the bank encourages borrowers to be collectively responsible.

In his country, Bangladesh, this has gone on for over 30 years now, and this success is one of the bases of the renaissance of this state, which was once absolutely synonymous with poverty.

I feel that there is an important detail in this: 97% of the borrowers are women. They are decidedly more intelligent then us of the opposite sex...even if this is not always an accepted idea.

And there it is! Sometimes it feels good to speak of other things than just domain names, and our actions are actions are definitely going in the right direction.