Daily Archives: April 5, 2017

In New York, Big Brother Is Watching Your Free Speech – National Review

Posted: April 5, 2017 at 4:28 pm

When free speech threatens government power, government has a tendency to get curious about the identity and funding of dissenting speakers. This was true in the civil-rights era, when the state of Alabama tried to force the NAACP to divulge its membership lists. It was true during the Obama administration, when the IRS targeted the Tea Party for illegal scrutiny not merely by asking in some cases for donor lists but also by inquiring about the political activities of family members of tea-party leaders and the login information of tea-party websites. And it was certainly true in the state of Wisconsin, when law enforcement used terrifying dawn and pre-dawn raids to gather information about First Amendmentprotected issue advocacy about labor-union reform.

But why threaten to batter down a door when you can just pass a law that batters away at the Constitution?

Thats the state of New Yorks approach, and its now facing one of the more important First Amendment challenges that youve likely never heard of. The case is called Citizens Union of the City of New York v. The Governor of the State of New York, and the law its challenging is a sprawling, complex monstrosity that imposes extraordinary regulations on speech about political issues, not just in support of political candidates. In other words, if nonprofits want to speak about life, gun rights, tax reform, or any number of issues that profoundly affect American lives, they will now find state bureaucrats watching and examining their activities closely.

Like many campaign-finance or so-called transparency regulations, devilish government intervention is hidden within a labyrinth of details that even lawyers struggle to decipher, but the bottom line is that the law guts donor confidentiality when a 501(c)(4) the kind of nonprofit at issue in the Tea Partytargeting scandal actively tries to influence public policy. In other words, if it tries to reach 500 or more people in the general public and refers to and advocates for or against a clearly identified elected official or the position of any elected official or administrative or legislative body relating to the outcome of any vote or substance of any legislation, potential legislation, pending legislation, rule, regulation, hearing, or decision by any legislative, executive or administrative body, then the law triggers extraordinary disclosure obligations.

Notice the incredible breadth of the law. If a nonprofit wants to advocate against even the position of an elected official (not even against their election or reelection), theyre going to be forced to disclose the identities of every management official in the nonprofit, describe the communications covered by the law, detail the key financial arrangements that facilitated their communications, and then disclose all of the organizations significant donors (those who gave $1,000 or more). The law even extends similar disclosure requirements to 501(c)(3) organizations when they make even minimal financial or in-kind donations (such as office space or office supplies) to covered 501(c)(4) organizations.

The end result is a law that gives government and hostile members of the public a splendid way to monitor private citizens who engage in speech on matters of public concern. This gets transparency and accountability exactly backwards, and it degrades the sanctity of anonymous speech, a right that was critical to the founding of our constitutional republic and has proven critical to public reforms ever since. Transparency is a government obligation. Anonymity is a First Amendmentprotected individual right.

While private citizens in the U.S. as a general matter dont face the same risks that members of the NAACP faced in Alabama in the 1950s, free speech still carries with it substantial and increasing perils. You name the hot-button political issue, and you can find people whove suffered from boycotts, job loss, harassment, and even physical threats (on both sides of the political aisle). Weve already stripped anonymity from direct donors to political campaigns, but if the new message to our nation and culture is you have free speech to address issues only if youre strong enough to deal with the consequences, then public discourse will tend to narrow into the lowest common denominator of inoffensive, irrelevant speech or remain the exclusive province of those few people willing to endure unacceptable risks.

Simply put, a robust First Amendment requires substantial protection for anonymous speech especially speech about political issues. Indeed, the First Amendment was fashioned to assure unfettered interchange of ideas for the bringing about of political and social changes desired by the people.

Supporters of the law will claim that theyre protecting individual rights through provisions that give the states attorney general discretion to restrict public disclosures when those disclosures may cause harm, threats, harassment, or reprisals, but this does nothing to preserve anonymity from the government, nor does it protect a right of anonymity from the public. Your right is now a privilege, granted to you by the very officials whose positions you may be attacking and whose priorities you may be frustrating.

If I want to give money to support the cause of life, thats not the governments business. If I want to give money to support gun rights, thats not the governments business. Indeed, its not anyones business. In the name of transparency, New York empowers Big Brother. It also empowers hostile mobs. The government isnt protecting citizens from corruption. Its corrupting the First Amendment to protect itself.

David French is a staff writer for National Review, a senior fellow at the National Review Institute, and an attorney.

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ACLU takes over Times Square with multilingual campaign defending the First Amendment – The Drum

Posted: at 4:28 pm

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has launched a multilingual campaign in New York to reassure immigrants that they are protected by the Constitution and remind the general public of their rights under the First Amendment.

"This campaign is intended to remind people that the Constitution is for all of us. It doesnt matter who you are or what language you speak. 'We the People' means everyone," said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the organization.

The creative comprises a series of electronic billboards in Arabic, English and Spanish in New York's Times Square and around bus stops in Washington DC.

The First Amendment in all three languages will also be displayed on a fence in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, as well as on a wall in the arts district of downtown Los Angeles.

Additional 'We the People' ads may appear in other cities and in other languages in the coming days and weeks.

The ACLU alleges that several vendors refused to run the billboards, including representatives selling space on some transit authorities which said they did not accept issue oriented advertising".

ACLU has been particularly outspoken about President Donald Trump's immigration policies, with Romero saying: "From his attempted Muslim ban to his calls for media suppression to his remarks endorsing the use of violence against those who protest against him, President Trump has shown disdain for the rights and freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment, so we thought it was a good time to remind people of these rights."

The group recently enlisted comedians like Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey to help it raise funds via a Stand For Rights event streamed via Facebook Live.

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Here’s How to Protect Your Privacy From Your Internet Service Provider – EFF

Posted: at 4:27 pm

We pay our monthly Internet bill to be able to access the Internet. We dont pay it to give our Internet service provider (ISP) a chance to collect and sell our private data to make more money. This was apparently lost on congressional Republicans as they voted to strip their constituents of their privacy. Even though our elected representatives have failed us, there are technical measures we can take to protect our privacy from ISPs.

Bear in mind that these measures arent a replacement for the privacy rules that were repealed or would protect our privacy completely, but they will certainly help.

It goes without saying: if privacy is a concern of yours, vote with your wallet and pick an ISP that respects your privacy. Here is a list of them.

Given the dismal state of ISP competition in the US, you may not have this luxury, so read on for other steps you can take.

In 2014, Verizon was caught injecting cookie-like trackers into their users traffic, allowing websites and third-party ad networks to build profiles without users consent. Following criticism from US senators and FCC action, Verizon stopped auto-enrolling users and instead made it opt-in. Users now have a choice of whether to participate in this privacy-intrusive service.

You should check your account settings to see if your ISP allows you to opt-out of any tracking. It is generally found under the privacy, marketing, or ads settings. Your ISP doesnt have to provide this opt-out, especially in light of the repeals of the privacy rules, but it can never hurt to check.

EFF makes this browser extension so that users connect to a service securely using encryption. If a website or service offers a secure connection, then the ISP is generally not able to see what exactly youre doing on the service. However, the ISP is still able to see that youre connecting to a certain website. For example, if you were to visit https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere, your ISP wouldnt be able to tell that youre on the HTTPS Everywhere page, but would still be able to see that youre connecting to EFFs website at https://www.eff.org

While there are limitations of HTTPS Everywhere when it comes to your privacy, with the ISP being able to see what youre connecting to, its still a valuable tool.

If you use a site that doesn't have HTTPS by default, email them and ask them to join the movement to encrypt the web.

In the wake of the privacy rules repeal, the advice to use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to protect your privacy has dominated the conversation. However, while VPNs can be useful, they carry their own unique privacy risk. When using a VPN, youre making your Internet traffic pass through the VPN providers servers before reaching your destination on the Internet. Your ISP will see that youre connecting to a VPN provider, but wont be able to see what youre ultimately connecting to. This is important to understand because youre exposing your entire Internet activity to the VPN provider and shifting your trust from the ISP to the VPN.

In other words, you should be damn sure you trust your VPN provider to not do the shady things that you dont want your ISP to do.

VPNs can see, modify, and log your Internet traffic. Many VPN providers make promises to not log your traffic and to take other privacy protective measures, but it can be hard to verify this independently since these services are built on closed platforms. For example, a recent study found that up to 38% of VPN apps available for Android contained some form of malware or spyware.

Below, we detail some factors that should be considered when selecting a VPN provider. Keep in mind that these are considerations for someone who is interested in preventing their ISP from snooping on their Internet traffic, and not meant for someone who is interested in protecting their information from the governmenta whistleblower, for instance. As with all things security and privacy-related, its important to consider your threat model.

Does the VPN provider log your traffic? If yes, what kind of information is logged? You should look for one that explicitly promises to not log your Internet traffic and how active the VPN provider is in advocating for user privacy.

Does the VPN provider use encryption in providing the service? Its generally recommended to use services that support a well-vetted open source protocol like OpenVPN or IPSec. Utilizing these protocols ensures best security available.

If your VPN provider uses encryption, but has a single shared password for all of the users, its not sufficient encryption.

Would using the VPN service still leak your DNS queries to your ISP?

Does the VPN support IPv6? As the Internet transitions from IPv4 to the IPv6 protocol, some VPN providers may not support it. Consequently, if your digital device is trying to reach a destination that has an IPv6 address using a VPN connection that only supports IPv4, the old protocol, it may attempt to do so outside of the VPN connection. This can enable the ISP to see what youre connecting to since the traffic would be outside of the encrypted VPN traffic.

Now that you know what to look for in a VPN provider, you can use these two guides as your starting point for research. Though keep in mind that a lot of the information in the guides is derived from or given by the provider, so again, it requires us to trust their assertions.

If you are trying to protect your privacy from your Internet company, Tor Browser perhaps offers the most robust protection. Your ISP will only see that you are connecting to the Tor network, and not your ultimate destination, similar to VPNs.

Keep in mind that with Tor, exit node operators can spy on your ultimate destination in the same way a VPN can, but Tor does attempt to hide your real IP address, which can improve anonymity relative to a VPN.

Users should be aware that some websites may not work in the Tor browser because of the protections built in. Additionally, maintaining privacy on Tor does require users to alter their browsing habits a little. See this for more information.

Its a shame that our elected representatives decided to prioritize corporate interests over our privacy rights. We shouldnt have to take extraordinary steps to limit how our personal information can be used, but that is clearly something that we are all forced to do now. EFF will continue to advocate for Internet users privacy and will work to fix this in the future.

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Bitcoin Is Mired In A Civil War. Can This Proposal Save It? – Forbes – Forbes

Posted: at 4:26 pm


Forbes
Bitcoin Is Mired In A Civil War. Can This Proposal Save It? - Forbes
Forbes
Bitcoin was supposed to replace trust in institutions with trust in software. But mistrust among humans threatens to doom it.
Bitcoin's Broken Record: Why the Scaling Debate Isn't Going AwayCoinDesk
F2Pool Tests SegWit on Litecoin, May Support It on Bitcoin After TestingCoinTelegraph
Op-ed: A New Bitcoin Blocksize Proposal Goes NowhereCryptoCoinsNews
Nasdaq -The Merkle -Live Bitcoin News -Litecoin Segregated Witness Adoption Tracker
all 22 news articles »

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Why Bitcoin May Split In Two And How To Prevent It – Forbes

Posted: at 4:26 pm


Forbes
Why Bitcoin May Split In Two And How To Prevent It
Forbes
These are the show notes for the Unchained podcast, sponsored by OnRamp. Listen to my whole interview with Jeff and Charlie on Google Play, iTunes, Stitcher or TuneIn Radio. While bitcoin's death has been pronounced many times, the threat to the ...

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Bitcoin Innovates – NewsBTC – newsBTC

Posted: at 4:26 pm

Have you ever looked at a startup and realized that the people who invested in the beginning, made the most money? The same is true for Bitcoin Casinos. Learn why the wise are betting on Bitcoin Casinos to give them nice, ripe profits.

In 2008, enterprising individuals realized that the World Wide Web required its own digital currency: Bitcoin. Digital transactions should use digital currencies, it only makes sense. It is like a fisherman needing a boat.

Now, Bitcoin Casinos are popping up all over the place. These allow you to enjoy yourself, using one of the hottest currencies on Planet Earth. See, Bitcoin has no language, culture or national origin, it is a true global currency.

If you are wondering what you can do on Bitcoin Casinos, here is your answer. You can play any of the most popular casino games, like Blackjack, Dice, Roulette and Poker. Here are the advantages, which Bitcoin Casinos enjoy:

You want to make money at the casino. You want to have fun at the casino. You can do all this and more at Bitcoin Casinos. This is what you should know.

Have you ever filled out a loan application? Doesnt it feel like they want to learn your life history? That is not necessary at Bitcoin Casinos.

Just deposit your Bitcoins and play. You can be anonymous. Of course, many gamblers like this anonymity.

What Goes On at Bitcoin Casinos, Stays on Bitcoin Casinos

Are Bitcoin Casinos regulated? Generally, they may or may not be regulated by the country in which they are located. Each case is different.

There is no credit check with Bitcoin Casinos. Remember when cash was used and financial transactions were fast? Bitcoin Casinos are similar. You can gamble with good or bad credit.

You can start gambling quickly on Bitcoin Casinos. Some will not require you to download any software, you can simply play on their website. Other Bitcoin Casinos will require you to download software to play. Choose which option is best for you.

Do you want the Bitcoin wallet on your hard drive? If you do, then downloading Bitcoin software is recommended. This allows you to manage your money, more easily.

You dont need a car with Bitcoin Casinos. You dont need a credit card with Bitcoin Casinos. You have the freedom to gamble anytime you want 24/7/365.

Can I Play Via Smart Phone?

Yes, you can download apps from Google Play or the Apple Store. Have fun on your break time, with some Bitcoin gambling.

Bitcoin continues to rise. You can pay for an airline trip with Bitcoin. You can buy a car with Bitcoin. You can buy a suit with Bitcoin. You can gamble with Bitcoin.

As Bitcoin becomes more popular, Bitcoin money will become more valuable. The nice thing about Bitcoin is that it is an investment. While offline currencies lose their value, online currencies, like Bitcoin, are gaining value.

Also, you might be able to earn a Deposit Bonus when you first sign up at Bitcoin Casinos. Thus, you can already increase your money. If you win, you make more money. If Bitcoins price goes up, you earn even more money.

Bitcoin Casinos are great money-making vehicles. Climb aboard the Bitcoin Casinos train, before it leaves the station! Climb Aboard!

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‘Bitcoin Should be Declared Illegal’ Demands Indian Politician – CryptoCoinsNews

Posted: at 4:26 pm

An Indian politician who has previously raised his concerns on the growth of bitcoin in the country has, once again, urged the Indian government to weigh in on the cryptocurrencys legality. More pointedly, the bitcoin critic is urging the Indian government to deem the cryptocurrency illegal.

Kirit Somaiya, a member of the Indian Parliament who belongs to the BJP, Indias conservative ruling party at the center, questioned if bitcoin is a pyramid ponzi scheme during a session of the Indian parliament on March 24. At the time, the politician cited unnamed experts to base his concerns of the worlds largest cryptocurrency now a legal method of payment in Japan being a pyramid scheme and called for Indian financial authorities to regulate bitcoin.

In response, the Union Minister of State if Finance revealed a written reply to Somaiya, one that triggered much of the Indian media to falsely report that bitcoin was deemed illegal by the government.

A local report has since surfaced pointing to the formation of an inter-ministerial committee installed by the Indian Parliament to study the legality of the popular cryptocurrency. It is speculated that the committee is tasked to give an initial announcement about its findings on April 20.

However, not content with these developments, Somaiya has once again raised his issue with bitcoin in India in the parliament on Wednesday afternoon. The bitcoin critic spoke during the zero hour, a session that starts at 12 noon wherein members of parliament are allowed to raise important subjects in the house.

In the Lok Sabha (the Lower house of the Indian parliament) session today, Somaiya opined that bitcoin was growing without any restrictions in the name of blockchain technology. Unlike earlier, however, the politician has matter-of-factly stated that bitcoin is illegal as a parallel currency. He then urged the government to ban bitcoin immediately, before drafting regulations for the industry.

Somaiyas translated statements read:

Bitcoin trading worth 2000 crores (approx. $300 million, a day) has been initiated. This can also be used in underworld trading. Last week some students were caught dealing with drugs and LSD. In the name of block chain and crypto currency these kind of schemes are growing without any restrictions. The government has made a committee to address this. I urge them to declare this parallel currency illegal, and make rules and regulation to deal with it as soon as possible.

As it stands, the bitcoin industry remains unregulated in India with the Indian central bank issuing a public notice stating bitcoin companies in India were not recognized or approved by the authority. The notice, a rehash from December 2013, has spurred the Indian bitcoin industry to establish its own self-regulatory body and watchdog in February, one that approached Indian authorities but has yet to receive a response.

The Indian bitcoin industry has also launched a petition urging Indian lawmakers to declare the legality of bitcoin. Launched last week, the petition now sees over 10,000 signatures.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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What Will It Take For A Bitcoin ETF To Get Approved? – Forbes – Forbes

Posted: at 4:26 pm


Forbes
What Will It Take For A Bitcoin ETF To Get Approved? - Forbes
Forbes
The Bitcoin ETF proposal was probably doomed from the start. Here's one fintech executive's take on why -- and what must happen next.
USA, Reed Smith, SEC rejects second Bitcoin ETF due to lack of ...Law.com (subscription)

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Bitcoin Investments in The Ukraine Quintuple Throughout 2016 – newsBTC

Posted: at 4:26 pm

Ukraine is the first country to launch sanctioned bitcoin futures trading on a national exchange.

Every part of the world can benefit greatly from bitcoin and blockchain technology. Ukraine seems to be warming up to both concepts as of late. In fact, the region has seen significant bitcoin investment increases. That is quite a significant development and a positive sign of what the future may hold. An intriguing development to keep an eye on, that much is certain.

It is quite interestingto see bitcoin investments in the Ukraine going up. It is important to note these figures are still relatively small, though. The year 2016 saw an average investment volume of US$92,000 per week, which is quite nice. Especially when comparing it to the previous all-time high of US$18,400. That said, the bigger question is why there is a growing interest in bitcoin all of a sudden.

According to Bitcoin Ukraine founder Andrey Dubetskiy, it is only normal to see this growth right now. The national economy is not doing all that great. Additionally, there is the shadow economy to take into account. Plus, Ukraine is one of the few regions in Europe where demand for digital payment solutions is growing.

It is also worth noting Ukraine has been a hotbed for blockchain development as of late. In fact, it is expected municipal governments will explore this technology for voting purposes moving forward. There is no regulation in place to hinder growth of bitcoin and blockchain, which helps matters as well. Bitcoin is becoming more popular on a global scale, and Ukraine does not want to be left behind.

One of the biggest contributing factors to bitcoins success is often overlooked, though. Ukraine is the first country to launch sanctioned bitcoin futures trading on a national exchange. It is unclear whether or not other countries will follow their example, though. Giving bitcoin a mainstream investor spotlight can only result in a positive growth moving forward. It is an interesting country to keep an eye on, that much is certain.

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Bitcoin Price Watch; The Importance Of 1100 and 1200 – newsBTC

Posted: at 4:26 pm

Here's a look at what we are focusing on in the bitcoin price this morning.

The regular readers out there will be aware that for the last few days, weve been looking at the 1100 and the 1200 levels as key forward looking levels. What we mean by this is that the way the bitcoin price responds to the reaching of these levels will give us some degree of insight into what we can expect near to medium term going forward. For example, if we see a break of the 1200 level, we expect price will run up to in and around the 1250 mark relatively quickly. Not right away, but it will get there. Conversely, if we see a correction form that level post-hit, price will probably run down to the 1150 region before it breaks again.

The same is true at the 1100 level, and the latter is pertinent right now, as were trading in and around said level at present.

Were hoping the bitcoin price can hold above 1100, as it will also indicate some degree of longer term support in this region.

Whatever happens, well be ready for it.

So, as we move into the European session today, heres a look at what we are going for, and where we are looking to get in and out of the markets according to the rules of our intraday strategy today.

As ever, take a quick look at the chart below to get an idea of whats on before we get moving. Its a five-minute candlestick chart, and its got our key range overlaid in green.

As the chart shows, the range weve got in place today is defined by support to the downside at 1110 and resistance to the upside at 1127. A close above resistance will put us in long towards 1140. Conversely, a close below support will signal short towards 1100 flat. Stops just the other side of the entries define risk on both positions.

Charts courtesy of SimpleFX

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