The Chicago Free Sklyarov Protest: Pre-Protest Packet by Nate Riffe and Peter Peterson Contents: Background Information Demonstration What you can do as a demonstrator Cancellation Contact BACKGROUND ---------- Dmitry Sklyarov was scheduled to present a paper and the 9th annual DefCon conference in Las Vegas on Monday, July 16. His paper and his presentation contained detailed explanations of flaws the encryption used by Adobe's eBook electronic book format. The day after his presentation, FBI agents arrested Sklyarov for violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. This law makes the manufacture, distribution, and trafficking of an access control circumvention device for copyrighted works illegal. Sklyarov wrote a program in Russia for the company he works for, ElcomSoft, which circumvents this protection for the "fair-use" benefit of home users. There have been prior instances of DMCA violations. Sklyarov's is unique in two ways. 1) This is the first arrest under the DMCA, which recently became a criminal law. Previous violations were handled as civil suits, whereas Sklyarov is charged with a felony. 2) Sklyarov is a foreign national (he is Russian), and the act he committed is not illegal in Russia. His arrest under this law has become an international incident, with stories reported in worldwide news outlets such as the BBC. Our complaints about the DMCA are two-fold. First of all, it is a glaring breach of our first amendment rights. Sklyarov, and a previous violator, Dr. Edward Felten of Princeton University, have respectively been arrested for and barred from presenting academic results at research conferences. Monied interests in various industries have taken these actions in fearful self-defense, to the detriment of science and technology. Secondly, the DMCA is materially harmful to society. Under the DMCA it is criminal to discover and openly discuss a flaw in a security system which is designed to control access to information. The net effect of this provision is that flaws in such systems are 'protected' from ever being fixed. The result is an accumulation of security systems which don't secure anything, due to their flaws, placing people at risk of such treacherous acts as identity theft and fraud. Our belief is that the proper way to handle a flaw in a security system is not to punish the discoverer, but to publicly announce the flaw, so that it is fixed as soon as possible. This opposing policy is often refered to as 'full disclosure'. Our priorities are as follows: 1) Free Dmitry Sklyarov (even if this requires a presidential pardon) 2) Repeal the DMCA (it is harmful to science and society) INFORMATION ----------- When: Monday, August 13th Where: Tentatively, at the public plaza across from the federal building downtown. The address is: Everett McKinley Dirksen Federal Building 219 South Dearborn Street Suite 905 Chicago, IL 60604 We will gather near the big orange Calder statue. This is what the statue looks like: http://www.a1focus.com/arch/calder.htm From there we'll move to a higher-profile location in the plaza for our demonstration. If you come late, just look for the people with the signs. DEMONSTRATION ------------- These are the issues and the ONLY issues we will be raising: 1) Free Dmitry Sklyarov 2) Repeal the DMCA (details below). IMPORTANT NOTE: *** We must avoid raising anti-Adobe issues *** The EFF met with Adobe, and as a result of this meeting Adobe and the EFF issued a joint press release calling for the immediate release of Dmitry Sklyarov. In the release, Adobe stated that "the prosecution of this individual in this particular case is not conducive to the best interests of any of the parties involved or the industry." Please note that at this point the case is now in the hands of the United States Department of Justice, the Attorney General John Ashcroft, and the FBI. The EFF met with representatives of the U.S. Attorney's office on Friday July, 27. Despite their having a "productive dialog", the U.S. Attorney's office has not backed down from prosecuting Dmitry. ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: *** We are *NOT* protesting the FBI or the FBI's action in this case. They are "doing their jobs" by following the DMCA which *is* in effect. Protesters are specifically requested NOT to bring anti-FBI signs or shirts to the protest. We currently don't have any enemies other than the DMCA and we like to keep it that way. With the current climate around the country regarding demonstrations we are not willing to jeopardize the freedom and lives of our fellow protesters or Dmitry himself via our own or another person's actions. People unwilling to abide by these rules and goals should *NOT* come to this protest. Finally, we will abide by ANY REQUEST the Chicago Police Department makes of us, including moving our location, not handing out leaflets, etc. We are not here to cause unrest -- we're here to disseminate information regarding Dmitry and the DMCA *only*. Again, if you can't abide by that, please don't jeopardize the dignity of this group. WHAT YOU CAN DO AS A DEMONSTRATOR --------------------------------- FIRST of all, if you intend to join us for the Chicago protests, subscribe to the sklyarov-chicago mailing list here: http://ufo.chicago.il.us/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sklyarov-chicago/ This is where we will be discussing our plans and strategies. PLEASE CONFIRM WITH US if you expect to be there so that we have a general idea how many list subscribers will show up downtown. SECONDLY, PLEASE MAKE A SIGN FOR THE PROTEST. Make it big and as sturdy as possible, with big lettering and a short slogan (4 words or less) like, "FREE DMITRY" or "REPEAL THE DMCA" or "CONSUMERS HAVE NO RIGHTS". If you can, make two or three. I recommend heavy tagboard and a wooden handle. Even cardboard would make a sturdier back -- but make sure you put white paper on it first for MAXIMUM VISIBILITY. No anti Adobe, FBI, or other law-enforcement slogans, please. THIRDLY: Do you have legal access to a printer or a copier? We have handout posters and information available here: http://two-bit.northpark.edu/free-sklyarov/ Pictures of Dmitry and his family are available here: http://www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/US_v_Sklyarov/Graphics/ If you make a poster, save it in a .jpg format and email it to pedro@tastytronic.net so that others may use them. Pedro will be printing some 8 1/2 by 11 handouts with the poster on one side and DMCA information like the Reuter's feed or our own press release on the other side. Hand people the flyers with the poster side up -- when they turn it over, they'll see the article. The Reuter's article will be in the same directory as the poster .jpgs. Use bright neon paper for handouts if you can. If you can print some posters or signs, please do so and let the sklyarov-chicago list know so that we can coordinate our efforts! FOURTHLY, Please dress appropriately for a public demonstartion. No obscenities or "innapropriate dress". T-shirts and shorts are fine -- casual clothing is better. As sad as it is, our appearance WILL have an effect on our audience. We want them to hear about this injustice -- today is not the day to be shocking or make a fashion statement. SIXTH, If you have personal contacts in any of the news media around town, contact them and send them the Reuter's feed, our poster, this message, or direct them to http://www.freesklyarov.org/ -- we want media coverage of our demonstration. It's GOOD but NOT GOOD ENOUGH just to hand out 500 leaflets. The TV or radio or newspaper interviewing demonstrators will reach many more people than our small group can. All this information will be at: http://two-bit.northpark.edu/free-sklyarov/ FINALLY, be on time, and be ready to be courteous but intensely committed to disseminating this information to the American Public. Do you even KNOW any non-computer users who have even HEARD of the DMCA? We must maket his a national issue -- the DMCA strips the rights of the American Citizen. It's already stripped the rights of a Russian. Questions and comments can be directed to inkblot@geocities.com or pedro@tastytronic.net CANCELLATION ------------ If at any time during the protest, it appears that our goals will be compromised by violence, immaturity, or sabotage, the coordinators of the event will not hesitate to call off the event and send everyone home. There are important issues at stake, most importantly the release of Dmitry Sklyarov. It is in our best intrest to present ourselves in a civil, orderly manner. CONTACT ------- If you have any questions or comments, please contact Nate Riffe or Peter Peterson .