Phil Agre on Tue, 30 Mar 1999 01:12:08 +0200 (CEST)


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<nettime> [RRE] Kosovo Privacy Project


     [orig to "Red Rock Eater News Service" <[email protected]>]

[To anonymously surf the Kosovo-related Web sites listed below, you
need to first go to the Anonymizer site and then click on the links.
I have taken the liberty of reformatting these messages.]

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Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 11:13:08 -0800
From: Alex Fowler <[email protected]>
Subject: Kosovo Privacy Project

[...]

See http://www.anonymizer.com/kosovo

Mar 26, 1999

Kosovo Privacy Project

In response to requests from the human rights community, Anonymizer
has set up two special services to handle the needs of Kosovars,
Serbs, and others reporting on the current situation in Kosovo.

Any Internet posting carries with it grave privacy concerns.  In
this case, a breach of privacy could be life threatening.  We see
two immediate needs.

     1. Anonymous email
     2. Anonymous access to information and discussions

We already offer free anonymous email through our Mixmaster Web
Interface, but the delay of up to two days may be too long in a crisis
like this.  To address this we have created a secure anonymous email
interface with no delay.  Our Kosovo-Email system is available HERE.

Anyone in the world can already use our free Anonymizer Surfing.
We have now removed the delay on the following Kosovo related web
sites and news sources to make access easier for those who need this
service.

     http://www.egroups.com/list/kosovo-reports
     http://community.cnn.com/cgi-bin/WebX?14@@.ee721ec
     http://www.kosovo.com

--

FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE
DATE:  March 26, 1999
Contact:  Michael Lamb
(619) 220-8277
[email protected]

Anonymizer.com launches Kosovo Privacy Project to Protect Online
Communication in Yugoslavia and Kosovo.

March 26, 1999- Anonymizer, the leading and trusted provider of online
privacy services, today announced the launch of the Kosovo Privacy
Project.  While the Internet provides a means of bypassing attempts
of censorship by Serbian authorities, it does put those at risk inside
the region reporting such information.  Anonymizer has deployed its
anonymous and secure email and Web surfing services to ensure the
protection of these informants from reprisal from Serbian officials
through the Kosovo Privacy Project.

"If someone is being monitored, the authorities will be able to tell
they are connected to the Anonymizer server, but will not be able
to determine what they are communicating or to whom," said Lance
Cottrell, CEO of Anonymizer and an expert in the field of online
security and encryption.

Alex Fowler, the public affairs director for the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, conceived the project.

"I am seeing messages being posted on Web pages that are just as
easy for me to read as they would be for Milosevic and his government
agents," said Fowler.

"Encrypted and anonymous communication is very important for human
rights activists, and for anyone who needs to denounce violations
of human rights committed by repressive regimes," said Patrick
Ball, Deputy Director of the AAAS Science and Human Rights program.
"The actions taken today by the Yugoslav government and Serbian
paramilitary units show why people who are reporting human rights
violations need to be protected from exposure: if they aren't
protected by these technologies, they will be killed".

The anonymous email and Web surfing services are entirely Web-based
and require no software downloads, specific operating systems, or
versions.  Anyone with access to an Internet connection and browser
can immediately and securely use the Anonymizer services.

Visit the Kosovo Privacy Project site here:

http://www.anonymizer.com/kosovo

About Anonymizer
Anonymizer.com is a pioneer in Internet privacy technologies, and the
most popular and trusted name in delivering online privacy services.
Anonymizer.com, today, has many thousand subscribers to its paid
services and makes anonymous over 9 million Web pages a month.

Anonymizer originally launched in 1996 to provide comprehensive
online services for protection of identity on the Internet.  Available
services include Anonymizer Surfing; Anonymizer Email; Anonymizer
Dialup; and Anonymizer Publishing.  Anonymizer Surfing effectively
works as a middleman between web surfers and web hosts.  In addition,
Anonymizer Surfing prevents "cookies" from being placed on users' hard
drives, java and javascript.  Thus, blocking all personal information
from the websites users visit.

Lance Cottrell, founder and CEO of Anonymizer.com, authored the
world's most secure anonymous remailer, Mixmaster and has been active
for many years in promoting free speech.

Lance Cottrell is available for interviews regarding this timely
topic.  Interested media should contact Michael Lamb at (619)
220-8277.

About the Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is one of the leading civil
liberties organizations devoted to ensuring that the Internet remains
the world's first truly global vehicle for free speech, and that
the privacy and security of all on-line communication is preserved.
Founded in 1990 as a nonprofit, public interest organization, EFF
is based in San Francisco, California.  EFF maintains an extensive
archive of information on encryption policy, privacy, and free speech
at http://www.eff.org.

===-------------------------------------------===
  Alexander Fowler
  Director of Public Affairs
  Electronic Frontier Foundation

  E-mail: [email protected]
  Tel: 415 436 9333; Fax 415 436 9993

  You can find EFF on the Web at <http://www.eff.org>

  EFF supports the Global Internet Liberty Campaign
  <http://www.gilc.org>

===-------------------------------------------===


Date: Sun, 28 Mar 1999 14:23:25 +0200 (MET DST)
From: Alex Fowler <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [online-e] Direct Reports from Kosovo/Serbia/Yugoslavia

Dear Steven Clift,

While I applaud your use of Web to provide a forum for people to share
information about what's happening in Yugoslavia and Kosovo, I am
quite worried for the safety of those who are posting messages in the
clear without taking precautions to protect their identities.

Your site has quickly received significant press attention in the
last two days (I've seen it referenced in Wired News and it will
be featured in a CNN segment for which I was just interviewed).  We
know that President Milosevic and the Serbian government are aware of
groups using the Internet to continue to disseminate information about
what's going on inside the region.  The government's early attempt
to shut down B92 and the temporary detainment of its editor-in-chief,
not to mention yesterday's expulsion of foreign reporters, should
give us clear warnings to the severity of the situation.  In addition,
the failure to stop B92 from broadcasting news through sites in other
countries is only going to draw more attention to the individuals who
are actively using the Internet to route around Serbian attempts to
censor outgoing information.

I urge you to caution people using your forum to take steps to protect
their identities.  I just spoke with the folks at
http://www.anonymizer.com about setting up a secure anonymous e-mail
remailer that you can use for this group.  The company's CEO will be
contacting you directly about how to do this, but I will forward his
instructions to this group as soon as I have them.

As my colleague in the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, Patrick
Ball, has said on many occasions, "The criticism of tyranny is
the most profound form of democratic speech.  It is also the most
dangerous."  Let's make sure our zeal to use the Internet during this
crisis does not put people in harms way, especially when the tools
are readily at hand to protect their identities and keep the lines of
communication open.

Sincerely,
Alex Fowler

===-------------------------------------------===
  Alexander Fowler
  Director of Public Affairs
  Electronic Frontier Foundation

  E-mail: [email protected]
  Tel: 415 436 9333; Fax 415 436 9993

  You can find EFF on the Web at <http://www.eff.org>

  EFF supports the Global Internet Liberty Campaign
  <http://www.gilc.org>

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