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 Electronic voting - and its problems - have been all over the news in recent months, and politicians are starting to listen. Three states have announced paper trail requirements for e-voting machines. The Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act (H.R.2239) now has 94 cosponsors - largely thanks to the tens of thousands of letters that people like you have sent to your representatives. And now we have an opportunity to make the same impact in the Senate. Senator Bob Graham has introduced a companion to H.R.2239, and it needs your support. Tell your Senators that you want e-voting machines to be open and accountable!
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 The 2004 presidential election might not be flawed like the last one; it might be worse. Communities across America are purchasing electronic voting (e-voting) machines, but the technology has serious security problems that need to be addressed. Most of the machines use "black box" software that hasn't been publicly reviewed for security. Almost none of the machines provide voter-verifiable paper ballots to detect fraud. And despite the efforts of one voting technology company to stifle its critics, the public has become increasingly aware of the problems in e-voting. Send your representative a letter supporting the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2003 (HR 2239) to require openly reviewed software and voter-verifiable paper audit trails for all new e-voting machines.
Note: If your representative has already pledged his/her support for this bill, you will get a message explaining that you may not take action. Please click on the "Learn More About This Issue" button to see if your rep has already done the right thing.
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 The SCO Group, Inc. recently announced that it plans to sue individual Linux users if they refuse to pay the company a $700 licensing fee, which it threatens to double in the fall. This is an effort designed by SCO to bolster its licensing claims against IBM and Red Hat by beating up on people who can't afford a multimillion-dollar defense. SCO hasn't proven that it has a right to collect this money at all, so its attempt to hold end-users liable is a terrible misuse of the legal system. Tell Congress that SCO's tactics are unacceptable!
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 Satellite TV giant DirecTV has sent ominous letters to an estimated 100,000 individuals, accusing them of purchasing "pirate access devices" and threatening to haul them into court for stealing television channels. The letters tell the unlucky recipients that the prospect of an expensive legal battle will go away if they pay up, usually to the tune of $3,500. Yet, in too many cases, the targets of the letters never intercepted DTV’s signal; they're only guilty of owning smart card technology. This dragnet is catching innocent security professionals, hobbyists, and entrepreneurs. Without proof of a violation of law, DTV’s unsubstantiated threats to sue are an abuse of the legal system.
As if that's not bad enough, DirecTV has filed over 9,000 lawsuits against purchasers of smartcard technology, employing an army of lawyers to squeeze even more costly settlements out of individuals nationwide. Ask your Members of Congress to initiate an investigation into DirecTV's misuse of the law and blatant disregard for the public's right to use technology.
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 Senator Ron Wyden recently introduced the Digital Consumer Right-to-Know Act (DCRKA), a bill that would require entertainment companies to label products with copy-protections that limit consumer use. Support the DCRKA if you think the content industry should be ordered to clearly label media that restricts your rights!
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 You could spend up to five years in prison, pay a $250,000 fine and lose your right to vote for trading a *single* copyrighted song if the Author, Consumer and Computer Owner Protection and Security Act (ACCOPS, HR 2752) is passed by Congress. This is a profoundly wrong-headed approach to file-sharing and it's up to you to stop it. Write your Congressperson today and urge them to stop this unbelievable attack on the American public.
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 Representatives Rick Boucher and John Doolittle recently re-introduced the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA, H.R. 107), which would enact labelling requirements for usage-impaired "copy-protected" compact discs, as well as several amendments to 1998's infamous Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
Use your voice to protect your digital fair use rights! After several years on legislative defense, this is your opportunity to let Congress know that we want positive changes to the DMCA. Tell your friends, tell your family, but first TELL CONGRESS!
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