Daily Archives: February 5, 2014

Poll: Free Speech-Virginia orders Yelp to ID anonymous users

By: Politic News

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Poll: Free Speech-Virginia orders Yelp to ID anonymous users - Video

A US federal judge in Missouri agreed that flashing headlights to warn other drivers of a speed trap was protected free speech. Will this ruling set a broader precedent?

A federal judge on Monday issued a preliminary injunction prohibiting the St. Louis County town of Ellisville from arresting and prosecuting drivers who flash headlights to warn other drivers of nearby police and speedtraps.

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The order by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey in St. Louis stems from a lawsuit filed by Ellisville resident Michael Elli. On Nov. 17, 2012, Elli flashed his headlights to warn oncoming vehicles of a radar set up by Ellisville police. A flash of headlights is a common way motorists communicate to oncoming drivers of either a dangerous situation or the presence of police in essence, a warning to slow down.

An officer saw the flash and pulled over Elli, who could have faced a fine of up to $1,000 if convicted. The charge was later dismissed.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued on Elli's behalf, claiming the arrest violated his First Amendment right to free speech.

ACLU Legal Director Tony Rothert told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that it was the first federal court ruling on the issue anywhere in the country. It is legal in Missouri to communicate in this manner, he said, and detaining, ticketing or arresting someone for the content of their speech is illegal.

Rothert says other cities and towns in Missouri and Illinois have arrested drivers for flashing their headlights. Last month, in Frisco, Texas, a man was arrested and cited for allegedly violating a city ordinance for holding a homemade sign warning drivers about speed traps. He's challenging the arrest in court.

Ellisville City Attorney George Restovich said the city changed the policy after the case went to court and no longer pulls over people for flashing headlights.

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OK to flash headlights to warn drivers of police speed trap, judge rules

Some say it infringed on the free speech of those who weren't charged with any crimes

Hacktivist group Anonymous was the target of a cyberattack launched by British spies, according to more document leaks by former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden.

According to NBC News, the British version of the U.S.' NSA -- calledthe Government Communications Headquarters Communications (GCHQ) -- launched a cyberattack against the hacktivist group using itsJoint Threat Research Intelligence Group (JTRIG) division.

The documents detailing the attack were pulled from a 2012 NSA conference called SIGDEV via PowerPoint presentation.

In an operation called "Rolling Thunder," JTRIGlaunched a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack against the internet relay chat (IRC) rooms, which are used by members of Anonymous.

JTRIG agents also posed as Anonymous members to infiltrate IRC rooms and locate those responsible for attacking government websites and stealing personal data back in 2011.

In 2011, Anonymous attacked PayPal, some major credit card companies and government websites such as those for the FBI, CIA and GCHQ. This was called "Operation Payback" for the prosecution of Chelsea Manning.

It seemed to have worked, as the documents show that 80 percent of those in the IRC rooms vanished within a month after receiving the warnings.

JTRIG was also able to locate those responsible for the 2011 attacks and even convicted a hacker who stole 8 million records on PayPal.

While the operation proved successful, many say JTRIG went too far with Rolling Thunder becausemany of the Anonymous members involved were teenagers, and JTRIG's focus and attack on communications among hacktivists means the agency infringed the free speech of people who were not charged with any crimes.

See more here:
Hacktivist Group Anonymous Targeted by British Gov. Cyberattack

Are you one of those selfish pricks who knows there's a speed trap up ahead, but doesn't flash your lights to warn fellow motorists? Well, now you don't have to be. A court ruled that flashing your headlights, even to warn of stealthily hidden law enforcement, is protected speech.

So, get out there and help a brother out...

Ellisville, MO, was trying to prosecute drivers who warned others of impending speed traps by flashing their headlights. Apparently, the "show me" state doesn't mean "show me where the po-po are at." But a federal judge issued an injunction against the town, stopping the prosecution of lookout drivers who help everybody drive as fast as possible without detection.

U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey ruled that using your headlights to communicate is protected speech, even if you are using that speech to point out speed traps.

This makes sense. Think about it, you can say "5-0, 5-0," to warn drug-using friends of an approaching beat cop. This really isn't any different. You can even flip people the bird from your car. It's on the cops to catch people doing illegal activity; citizens are allowed to report what they know. In the Missouri case, the town was prosecuting people who were not speeding just because they were warning others about upcoming speed traps.

The ACLU sued on behalf of ticketed drivers. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

ACLU Legal Director Tony Rothert said Monday that it was the first federal court ruling on the issue anywhere in the country. "It is legal in Missouri to communicate in this manner," he said, "and detaining, ticketing or arresting someone for the content of their speech is illegal."...

The ACLU sued on behalf of [drivers] last year, saying that drivers using their headlights to communicate about a speed trap or another reason to proceed with caution are protected by the First Amendment.

The ACLU hopes that this is a warning to other towns who might think of stopping motorists for their headlight communication.

Read the original here:
Flashing Headlights Is Free Speech -- And Also Neighborly