ReHacked #170: Internet Archive is facing a Big 4 Publishers lawsuit, Forests Now Cover 2% of Iceland, Abortion access across the rich world and more
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Tell HN: Internet Archive is facing a Big 4 Publishers lawsuit | Hacker News #internet #copyrights
Some people here say they like the Internet Archive, and resent copyright maximalism, but wish IA would be more legally conservative around copyright law: "follow the law!" "ask permission!" "work through other libraries!"
They may not understand that none of what they like about the Internet Archive would've been possible without a bold willingness to probe the boundaries of copyright law.
If you'd asked any mainstream copyright law authority in the 1990s, they'd have likely said the entire Wayback Machine was illegal under the letter-of-the-law, and advised against even trying it. "Reckless!"
Only by IA actually doing it – & demonstrating the indispensibility of such a historical record to academics, policymakers, culture, & the courts – were people's mental models gradually upgraded. Now, even with little change to statutory law, most see that the best interpretation of the various traditional categories, exceptions, & affordances of copyright law is the one that finds legal space for a Wayback Machine.
The Internet Archive has asked a federal judge to rule in our favor and end a radical lawsuit, filed by four major publishing companies, that aims to criminalize library lending.
The motion for summary judgment, filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Durie Tangri LLP, explains that our Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) program is a lawful fair use that preserves traditional library lending in the digital world.
Forests Now Cover 2% of Iceland #nature
Forests and bushes now cover over 2% of Iceland, Vísir reports. That number may not seem like much, but since 1990, the surface area covered by forest or shrubs in Iceland has increased more than six times over – from 7,000 hectares to 45,000. In 20 years, the number is expected to be 2.6%.
mpv.io #software
A free, open source, and cross-platform media player
What I learned trying to classify abortion access across the rich world #society #world #abortion #rights #longread
Technically, abortion is never available on-demand in Great Britain. (Northern Ireland is a bit different from England/Scotland/Wales.) However, the law allows abortions up to 24 weeks if there is a “grave risk to the mental health” of the woman and nowadays abortion providers—who make the determination—almost always view the fact that a woman wants an abortion as proof that such a risk exists. Thus, abortion is de-facto available on demand for 24 weeks.
So, while the legal right to abortion seems stronger in Canada than in Britain, the actual level of access is often higher in Britain.
Germany is another example. The law states that abortion is always illegal (sort of), but that the conditions for punishment (imprisonment of both the doctor and the woman) “are not deemed fulfilled” if (a) it’s during the first 12 weeks, (b) the woman has obtained counseling, and (c) there’s been a three-day waiting period. (There are also exceptions for rape and the woman’s mental or physical health.) Until 2019 it was illegal for doctors to advertise that they performed abortions. The effect seems to be that abortion is available on-demand during the first 12 weeks, but can be tricky to access.
The Balkan Turtle Race – A warning for Ukraine | ESI #politics #world #longread
It is dangerous how the current EU accession process works
Zeno, an Athenian philosopher, once imagined a race between Achilles and a slow-moving turtle. The turtle was given a head start, which decided the race. However slowly the turtle moved, Zeno argued, Achilles would never be able to catch up. This is how the current EU accession process for the Western Balkans works. This is dangerous. It is also easy to remedy, if there is the will.
TikTok is "unacceptable security risk" and should be removed from app stores, says FCC | Malwarebytes Labs #software #security
But it is also clear that TikTok’s pattern of conduct and misrepresentations regarding the unfettered access that persons in Beijing have sensitive US user data … puts it out of compliance with the policies that both of your companies require every app to adhere to as a condition of remaining available on your app stores.
Therefore, I am requesting that you apply the plain text of your app store policies to TikTok and remove it from your app stores for failure to abide by those terms.
Germany To Rethink Nuclear Shutdown As Energy Crisis Deepens - Climate Change Dispatch #energy
“In a crisis, you have to decide appropriate to the situation and based on clear facts,” ministry spokeswoman Beate Baron told reporters regarding the lifetime debate over the three reactors – Isar 2 (1.4 GW), Emsland (1.4 GW), and Neckarwestheim 2 (1.3 GW).
In its assessment, the German government will focus on southern parts of the country, especially in Bavaria where there are very few coal-fired units to replace gas ones and where the state’s government has hindered wind power expansion over the past years, according to the ministry.
Does Bionic Reading actually work? We timed over 2,000 readers and the results might surprise you #productivity
tl;dr. Actually no, the results will probably not surprise you. After analyzing data from 2,074 testers, we found no evidence that Bionic Reading has any positive effect on reading speed. In fact, participants read 2.6 words per minute slower on average with Bionic Reading than without. That said, the difference here is so small (less than 1%), that the real takeaway is Bionic Reading has no impact on reading speed.
How to take things less personally | Psyche Guides #psychology #health #longread
Always blaming yourself or assuming others think ill of you? A CBT therapist shares ways to break these self-critical habits
DMA: Council gives final approval to new rules for fair competition online - Consilium #copyrights
With the final adoption of the Digital Markets Act, we will finally make large online platforms responsible for their actions. Hereby, the EU will change the online space worldwide. The gatekeepers that the DMA addresses are omnipresent – we all use their services on a daily basis. However, their power is growing to an extent that negatively affects competition. Thanks to the DMA, we will ensure fair competition online, more convenience for consumers and new opportunities for small businesses.
TeamViewer installs suspicious font only useful for web fingerprinting | Ctrl blog #software #privacy
Update (2022-07-20): A reader identified and documented a usecase for the font on the TeamViewer website in a comment on Hacker News. The website checks for the presence of font (and thereby whether you’ve got the software installed) when you follow a special screen-sharing session invitation link. The links are used to invite others to connect to your computer.
Thousands of classic Polish films, etc. made available for free online #culture #art #link
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