A leaked file revealing Yahoo's spy policies is a topic in a tug-of-war battle.
Wired reports that a 17-page guide revealing Yahoo's "spying services" has leaked onto the Internet, and that the company is now issuing takedown notices to websites hosting the file. The sensitive document appeared immediately after Yahoo had blocked the Freedom of Information Act release of its law enforcement and intelligence price list last week.
Whistleblower website Cryptome was the first to receive the document, who also published "lawful data-interception" guides for other companies including Nextel, Cingular, Cox Communications, and more. The site reports that the document not only provides information on Yahoo's surveillance capabilities, but also its data retention policies.
Yahoo's lawyers issued a DMCA takedown notice to Cryptome, claiming that the publication of the document is a copyright violation. John Young, owner and operator of Cryptome, was ordered to remove the document from his website by Thursday. Currently the sensitive document still remains on the website.
The transaction between Yahoo and Young can be seen here, with the latest installment provided by Yahoo hounds barking that Young's delay in removing the file is not warranted. Young claims that the Yahoo document is not copyrighted material, and will not remove the document because "it provides information that is in the public interest about Yahoo's contradictory privacy policy and should remain a topic of public debate on ISP unacknowledged spying complicity with officials for lucrative fees."
The file in question is in PDF format, and can be downloaded here.
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/sarcasm
So if your ISP is Verizon, then you are also under Yahoo. (Bleah)
Too true, we need to "fight the good fight" and "finish the fight"
The fuss is - or should be - about our civil liberties being chewed on by this or that corporation/agency while people are shrugging their shoulders. Only a decade ago we had a lot more than we do right now. The founding fathers must be rolling in their graves faster than a power-drill...
But, to be in consensus, whateva!(sic)
read this of the document:
* Archives of Web Messenger communications may be stored on Yahoo! servers if at least one party to the communication chose to archive communications.
* Any email available in the user’s mail account, including IP address of computer used to
send email.
Yahoo! is not able to search for or produce deleted emails.
I will never, NEVER EVER come close a Yahoo site again!
If you look, many other companies (ATT, Verizon, Sprint, Cricket, Nextel, etc... list goes on and on) all have similar policies.
You are both absolutely right, I was being sarcastic in my previous post...
This is indeed wrong, but unfortunately I don't think we have the power to change that, and I am %100 convinced EVERYONE else is doing it, not just Yahoo. This is not to say that makes it right, it just goes to show how little power we consumers have over the authorities and gigantic enterprises. We no longer live in a world of “the customer is always right”. It's now “Buy the shit I'm selling which I've decided is right for you, or fuck off. Next!”.
If you want more control over your privacy, set up you own cloud based service. You can do it for free too:
-Get an old PC (OK that part isn't free...)
-Get a static IP from you ISP / Setup dynamic DNS
-Install Linux and install Zimbra Open Source edition.
This will get you email, briefcase and IM for free and you get to safeguard your privacy.