Mozilla Takes on DHS

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   http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/05/firefox-add-on-redirect/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20wired27b%20%28Blog%20-%2027B%20Stroke%206%20%28Threat%20Level%29%29

The Department of Homeland Security has requested that Mozilla, the 
maker of the Firefox browser, remove an add-on that allows web surfers 
to access websites whose domain names were seized by the government for 
copyright infringement, Mozilla’s lawyer said Thursday.
But Mozilla did not remove the MafiaaFire add-on, and instead has demanded the government explain why it should. Two weeks have passed, and the government has not responded to Mozilla’s questions,
 including whether the government considers the add-on unlawful and 
whether Mozilla is “legally obligated” to remove it. The DHS has also 
not provided the organization with a court order requiring its removal, 
the lawyer said.
“One of the fundamental issues here is under what conditions do 
intermediaries accede to government requests that have a censorship 
effect and which may threaten the open internet,” Harvey Anderson, Mozilla’s lawyer, wrote Thursday on his blog.
Neither Homeland Security nor Anderson immediately responded for comment.
The add-on in question redirects traffic from seized domains to other
 domains outside the United States’ reach. Since last year, the U.S. 
government has seized at least 120 domains in an antipiracy assault 
known as “Operation in Our Sites.” The domains are taken under the same federal statute used to seize drug houses.
Many of the seized sites have been redirected by their owners to 
domains being hosted where the United States cannot legally touch them 
The United States controls so-called top-level domains like .com, .net 
and .org.

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impulse418 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group off the hook four days early <3 <3 <3 Joined: 25 November 2010 Location: Phx, AZ Status: Offline Points: 3366	Post Options Post Reply Quote impulse418 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Mozilla Takes on DHS Posted: 06 May 2011 at 2:46pm
	http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/05/firefox-add-on-redirect/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%20wired27b%20%28Blog%20-%2027B%20Stroke%206%20%28Threat%20Level%29%29 The Department of Homeland Security has requested that Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser, remove an add-on that allows web surfers to access websites whose domain names were seized by the government for copyright infringement, Mozilla’s lawyer said Thursday. But Mozilla did not remove the MafiaaFire add-on, and instead has demanded the government explain why it should. Two weeks have passed, and the government has not responded to Mozilla’s questions, including whether the government considers the add-on unlawful and whether Mozilla is “legally obligated” to remove it. The DHS has also not provided the organization with a court order requiring its removal, the lawyer said. “One of the fundamental issues here is under what conditions do intermediaries accede to government requests that have a censorship effect and which may threaten the open internet,” Harvey Anderson, Mozilla’s lawyer, wrote Thursday on his blog. Neither Homeland Security nor Anderson immediately responded for comment. The add-on in question redirects traffic from seized domains to other domains outside the United States’ reach. Since last year, the U.S. government has seized at least 120 domains in an antipiracy assault known as “Operation in Our Sites.” The domains are taken under the same federal statute used to seize drug houses. Many of the seized sites have been redirected by their owners to domains being hosted where the United States cannot legally touch them The United States controls so-called top-level domains like .com, .net and .org.