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Handbook Edition

Evidence over assertion. Knowledge over opinion.

Release
0.1.0 (Unreleased)
Generated
2026-06-26
Knowledge records
39
Sources referenced
61
Document type
Generated handbook prototype
Publisher
Open Internet Reference

This edition is generated automatically from repository metadata. Formal public releases will be tagged in version control and recorded in CHANGELOG.md.

About Open Internet Reference

Open Internet Reference (OIR) is an evidence-based knowledge base documenting the legal, constitutional, historical, technical, and public policy landscape surrounding the open internet.

Motto: Evidence over assertion. Knowledge over opinion.

OIR covers internet architecture, distributed systems, peer-to-peer networking, cryptography, open source software, privacy, constitutional law, internet governance, and digital rights. It is intended for technologists, researchers, attorneys, policymakers, journalists, and civil society organizations.

OIR follows strict research standards: significant claims should be independently verifiable, primary sources are preferred, and review statuses such as draft and verified indicate editorial progress.

How to Read This Handbook

This document is a linear reading view generated automatically from OIR knowledge metadata. It is a prototype handbook, not yet a polished narrative edition.

  • Index — every knowledge record in this edition, grouped by type, with links to each entry.
  • Glossary — quick-reference definitions for each record.
  • Knowledge Records — the main handbook content.
  • Sources Referenced — primary sources cited by the records above.

Bibliography note: Each knowledge record lists its own sources. This handbook includes a compact Sources Referenced appendix rather than the full OIR bibliography, because the full catalog contains many source records not cited here and would largely repeat information already shown per entry.

Readers with web access can consult the complete OIR bibliography, relationship graph, timeline, and review-status indexes for broader repository navigation.

Index

Knowledge records included in this handbook, grouped by type.

Attorney

Case

Organization

Person

Protocol

Statute

Topic

Glossary

Quick reference for knowledge records included in this handbook.

17 U.S.C. § 512

  • Record ID: STAT-DMCA-512
  • Type: statute
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: copyright, safe-harbor, intermediary-liability

17 U.S.C. § 512 is a United States copyright statute commonly associated with online service provider safe harbor provisions.

18 U.S.C. § 1030

  • Record ID: STAT-CFAA-1030
  • Type: statute
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: computer-crime, technology-law

18 U.S.C. § 1030 is a United States criminal statute concerning fraud and related activity in connection with computers.

American Civil Liberties Union

  • Record ID: ORG-ACLU
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, civil-liberties, digital-rights, outreach

American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. civil liberties organization documented in OIR from official ACLU pages.

Bernstein v. United States Department of Justice

  • Record ID: CASE-BERNSTEIN-V-DOJ
  • Type: case
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: first-amendment, cryptography, speech-and-code, export-control, digital-rights

Bernstein v. United States Department of Justice, 176 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 1999), held that software source code is protected speech under the First Amendment and that government regulations preventing its publication constituted an unconstitutional prior restraint.

Carpenter v. United States

  • Record ID: CASE-CARPENTER-V-US
  • Type: case
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: fourth-amendment, privacy, digital-rights, surveillance

Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018), held that the Government's acquisition of historical cell-site location records was a Fourth Amendment search requiring a warrant supported by probable cause in ordinary circumstances.

Center for Democracy and Technology

  • Record ID: ORG-CDT
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, digital-rights, privacy, internet-governance, civil-society, outreach

The Center for Democracy and Technology is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to promote democratic values by shaping technology policy and architecture, with a focus on the rights of the individual.

Cindy Cohn

  • Record ID: PERSON-CINDY-COHN
  • Type: attorney
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: attorney, digital-rights, first-amendment, cryptography, privacy

Cindy Cohn is an American civil liberties attorney specializing in internet law who served as executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation from 2015 to 2026 and was lead attorney in Bernstein v. DOJ, the landmark First Amendment challenge to cryptography export restrictions.

Code as Speech

  • Record ID: TOPIC-CODE-AS-SPEECH
  • Type: topic
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: first-amendment, speech-and-code, digital-rights, constitutional-law

The code-as-speech doctrine concerns whether software, encryption, or other expressive code receives First Amendment protection.

Computer Fraud and Abuse

  • Record ID: TOPIC-COMPUTER-FRAUD
  • Type: topic
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: computer-crime, technology-law, digital-rights

Computer fraud and abuse in U.S. federal law commonly refers to criminal prohibitions on unauthorized access and related computer activity under 18 U.S.C. § 1030.

Corynne McSherry

  • Record ID: PERSON-CORYNNE-MCSHERRY
  • Type: attorney
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: attorney, copyright, digital-rights, intermediary-liability, speech-and-code

Corynne McSherry is the Legal Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, specializing in intellectual property, copyright, intermediary liability, open access, and free speech issues.

Domain Name System

  • Record ID: PROTOCOL-DNS
  • Type: protocol
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: internet-architecture, network-protocols

Domain Name System (DNS) concepts and facilities are described in RFC 1034.

Eben Moglen

  • Record ID: PERSON-EBEN-MOGLEN
  • Type: attorney
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: attorney, open-source-software, digital-rights, cryptography

Eben Moglen is a professor of law at Columbia Law School and founding director of the Software Freedom Law Center, who served as general counsel to the Free Software Foundation and was heavily involved in drafting the GNU General Public License version 3.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

  • Record ID: ORG-EFF
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

Electronic Frontier Foundation is a U.S. nonprofit organization that, according to its official pages, defends civil liberties in the digital world.

First Amendment

  • Record ID: TOPIC-FIRST-AMENDMENT
  • Type: topic
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: constitutional-law, first-amendment, digital-rights, speech-and-code

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution addresses religion, expression, assembly, and petition rights.

Fourth Amendment

  • Record ID: TOPIC-FOURTH-AMENDMENT
  • Type: topic
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: constitutional-law, fourth-amendment, privacy, digital-rights, surveillance

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits unreasonable searches and seizures and is a foundational source for privacy and surveillance law.

Free Software Foundation

  • Record ID: ORG-FSF
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, open-source-software, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

The Free Software Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1985 with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom and defend the rights of all software users.

Institute for Justice

  • Record ID: ORG-INSTITUTE-FOR-JUSTICE
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, first-amendment, civil-society, outreach

The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit public interest law firm whose mission is to end widespread abuses of government power and secure constitutional rights, with First Amendment free speech litigation as a central focus.

Intermediary Liability

  • Record ID: TOPIC-INTERMEDIARY-LIABILITY
  • Type: topic
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: intermediary-liability, copyright, digital-rights, safe-harbor

Intermediary liability concerns when online platforms, service providers, or other intermediaries may be held legally responsible for user or third-party content or conduct.

Jennifer Granick

  • Record ID: PERSON-JENNIFER-GRANICK
  • Type: attorney
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: attorney, privacy, surveillance, fourth-amendment, digital-rights

Jennifer Granick is the surveillance and cybersecurity counsel with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, who litigates, speaks, and writes about privacy, security, technology, and constitutional rights.

Junger v. Daley

  • Record ID: CASE-JUNGER-V-DALEY
  • Type: case
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: first-amendment, cryptography, speech-and-code, export-control, digital-rights

Junger v. Daley, 209 F.3d 481 (6th Cir. 2000), held that computer source code is protected by the First Amendment because of its expressiveness in conveying ideas, reversing the district court's contrary finding on encryption source code and export restrictions.

Kademlia

  • Record ID: TOPIC-KADEMLIA
  • Type: topic
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: peer-to-peer-networking, distributed-systems, distributed-hash-tables

Kademlia is a peer-to-peer distributed hash table described in a 2002 paper by Petar Maymounkov and David Mazières.

Kit Walsh

  • Record ID: PERSON-KIT-WALSH
  • Type: attorney
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: attorney, digital-rights, speech-and-code, copyright, first-amendment

Kit Walsh is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Director of Artificial Intelligence and Access to Knowledge Legal Projects, working on free speech, net neutrality, copyright, coders' rights, and freedom of expression.

Knight First Amendment Institute

  • Record ID: ORG-KNIGHT-FIRST-AMENDMENT
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, first-amendment, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University defends the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, and public education.

Lawrence Lessig

  • Record ID: PERSON-LAWRENCE-LESSIG
  • Type: person
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: person, internet-governance, open-source-software, digital-rights, copyright

Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, founder of Stanford's Center for Internet and Society, and author of foundational works on internet law and free culture including Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace and Free Culture.

Mitch Stoltz

  • Record ID: PERSON-MITCH-STOLTZ
  • Type: attorney
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: attorney, open-source-software, copyright, digital-rights, speech-and-code

Mitch Stoltz is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who focuses on copyright, trademark, antitrust, telecommunications, and free speech, with particular work fighting the use of copyright as a tool for censorship and keeping the internet open for creativity and innovation.

Onion Routing

  • Record ID: TOPIC-ONION-ROUTING
  • Type: topic
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: privacy, censorship-resistance, open-source-software, technical

Onion routing is a technique for anonymous communication over a network in which messages pass through multiple relays in layered encryption.

Online Service Provider Safe Harbor

  • Record ID: TOPIC-SAFE-HARBOR
  • Type: topic
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: copyright, safe-harbor, intermediary-liability, digital-rights

Safe harbor in U.S. copyright law commonly refers to limitations on intermediary liability for online service providers under 17 U.S.C. § 512.

Open Source Initiative

  • Record ID: ORG-OSI
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, open-source-software, civil-society, outreach

The Open Source Initiative is a non-profit corporation with global scope formed to educate about and advocate for the benefits of open source software.

Packingham v. North Carolina

  • Record ID: CASE-PACKINGHAM-V-NC
  • Type: case
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: first-amendment, internet-governance, digital-rights

Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (2017), held unanimously that a North Carolina law prohibiting registered sex offenders from accessing social media websites violated the First Amendment, establishing that the internet and social media are protected spaces for the exercise of free speech rights.

Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC

  • Record ID: CASE-PERFECT10-V-CCBILL
  • Type: case
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: copyright, safe-harbor, intermediary-liability, digital-rights

Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007), is an appellate decision addressing DMCA § 512 safe harbor requirements for online service providers.

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union

  • Record ID: CASE-RENO-V-ACLU
  • Type: case
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: first-amendment, internet-governance, digital-rights, speech-and-code

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997), held that certain Communications Decency Act provisions restricting indecent and patently offensive Internet speech violated the First Amendment.

Signal

  • Record ID: ORG-SIGNAL
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, privacy, secure-messaging

Signal is documented in OIR from its official website as a nonprofit-associated private messaging service.

Software Freedom Conservancy

  • Record ID: ORG-SOFTWARE-FREEDOM-CONSERVANCY
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, open-source-software, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

Software Freedom Conservancy is a U.S. nonprofit organization that provides infrastructure and legal support for free and open source software projects and promotes the right to repair, improve, and reinstall software.

Software Freedom Law Center

  • Record ID: ORG-SFLC
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, open-source-software, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

The Software Freedom Law Center provides pro bono legal representation and related services to not-for-profit developers of free and open source software.

Tor Project

  • Record ID: ORG-TOR-PROJECT
  • Type: organization
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: organization, privacy, open-source-software, outreach

Tor Project is a nonprofit organization documented in OIR from official Tor Project pages about privacy and onion routing technology.

Transmission Control Protocol

  • Record ID: PROTOCOL-TCP
  • Type: protocol
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: internet-architecture, network-protocols

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is an internet transport protocol specified by RFC 9293.

Transport Layer Security 1.3

  • Record ID: PROTOCOL-TLS-13
  • Type: protocol
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: cryptography, privacy, secure-messaging

Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3 is specified by RFC 8446.

Universal City Studios v. Corley

  • Record ID: CASE-UNIVERSAL-V-CORLEY
  • Type: case
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: first-amendment, copyright, speech-and-code, digital-rights

Universal City Studios v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001), upheld a DMCA anti-circumvention injunction against distribution of DeCSS code while acknowledging that computer code is speech entitled to First Amendment scrutiny, applying intermediate scrutiny to content-neutral regulation of code's functional aspects.

Van Buren v. United States

  • Record ID: CASE-VAN-BUREN-V-US
  • Type: case
  • Status: draft
  • Tags: computer-crime, technology-law, digital-rights

Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021), interpreted the CFAA phrase exceeds authorized access narrowly in a gates-up-or-down case about database access.

Knowledge Records

Attorney

Cindy Cohn

  • Record ID: PERSON-CINDY-COHN
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Cindy Cohn EFF Staff Biography (SRC-COHN-EFF-BIO), EFF Press Release - Cindy Cohn Stepping Down (SRC-COHN-EFF-DEPARTURE), FOSS Force - Cohn Returns to the Courtroom (SRC-COHN-FOSSFORCE), EFF Jewel v. NSA Case Page - Supreme Court Rejection (SRC-JEWEL-V-NSA-EFF), EFF at 25 - Remembering the Case that Established Code as Speech (SRC-BERNSTEIN-EFF-25)
  • Tags: attorney, digital-rights, first-amendment, cryptography, privacy

Cindy Cohn is an American civil liberties attorney specializing in internet law who served as executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation from 2015 to 2026 and was lead attorney in Bernstein v. DOJ, the landmark First Amendment challenge to cryptography export restrictions.

Corynne McSherry

  • Record ID: PERSON-CORYNNE-MCSHERRY
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Corynne McSherry EFF Staff Biography (SRC-MCSHERRY-EFF-BIO)
  • Tags: attorney, copyright, digital-rights, intermediary-liability, speech-and-code

Corynne McSherry is the Legal Director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, specializing in intellectual property, copyright, intermediary liability, open access, and free speech issues.

Eben Moglen

  • Record ID: PERSON-EBEN-MOGLEN
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Eben Moglen Columbia Law School Faculty Page (SRC-MOGLEN-COLUMBIA), Eben Moglen Columbia Data Science Institute Profile (SRC-MOGLEN-DSI)
  • Tags: attorney, open-source-software, digital-rights, cryptography

Eben Moglen is a professor of law at Columbia Law School and founding director of the Software Freedom Law Center, who served as general counsel to the Free Software Foundation and was heavily involved in drafting the GNU General Public License version 3.

Jennifer Granick

  • Record ID: PERSON-JENNIFER-GRANICK
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Jennifer Granick ACLU Staff Biography (SRC-GRANICK-ACLU-BIO)
  • Tags: attorney, privacy, surveillance, fourth-amendment, digital-rights

Jennifer Granick is the surveillance and cybersecurity counsel with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, who litigates, speaks, and writes about privacy, security, technology, and constitutional rights.

Kit Walsh

  • Record ID: PERSON-KIT-WALSH
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Kit Walsh EFF Staff Biography (SRC-WALSH-EFF-BIO)
  • Tags: attorney, digital-rights, speech-and-code, copyright, first-amendment

Kit Walsh is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Director of Artificial Intelligence and Access to Knowledge Legal Projects, working on free speech, net neutrality, copyright, coders' rights, and freedom of expression.

Mitch Stoltz

  • Record ID: PERSON-MITCH-STOLTZ
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Mitch Stoltz EFF Staff Biography (SRC-STOLTZ-EFF-BIO)
  • Tags: attorney, open-source-software, copyright, digital-rights, speech-and-code

Mitch Stoltz is a Senior Staff Attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who focuses on copyright, trademark, antitrust, telecommunications, and free speech, with particular work fighting the use of copyright as a tool for censorship and keeping the internet open for creativity and innovation.

Case

Bernstein v. United States Department of Justice

  • Record ID: CASE-BERNSTEIN-V-DOJ
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Bernstein v. United States Department of Justice, 176 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 1999) (Justia) (SRC-BERNSTEIN-JUSTIA), Bernstein v. US Dept. of Justice EFF Case Page (SRC-BERNSTEIN-EFF), EFF at 25 - Remembering the Case that Established Code as Speech (SRC-BERNSTEIN-EFF-25)
  • Tags: first-amendment, cryptography, speech-and-code, export-control, digital-rights

Bernstein v. United States Department of Justice, 176 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 1999), held that software source code is protected speech under the First Amendment and that government regulations preventing its publication constituted an unconstitutional prior restraint.

Carpenter v. United States

  • Record ID: CASE-CARPENTER-V-US
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018) (Cornell LII) (SRC-CARPENTER-LII), Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018) (GovInfo) (SRC-CARPENTER-GOVINFO)
  • Tags: fourth-amendment, privacy, digital-rights, surveillance

Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018), held that the Government's acquisition of historical cell-site location records was a Fourth Amendment search requiring a warrant supported by probable cause in ordinary circumstances.

Junger v. Daley

  • Record ID: CASE-JUNGER-V-DALEY
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Junger v. Daley Opinion Text (CMU) (SRC-JUNGER-CMU), Junger v. Daley ACLU Ohio Case Page (SRC-JUNGER-ACLU-OHIO)
  • Tags: first-amendment, cryptography, speech-and-code, export-control, digital-rights

Junger v. Daley, 209 F.3d 481 (6th Cir. 2000), held that computer source code is protected by the First Amendment because of its expressiveness in conveying ideas, reversing the district court's contrary finding on encryption source code and export restrictions.

Packingham v. North Carolina

  • Record ID: CASE-PACKINGHAM-V-NC
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (2017) (Cornell LII) (SRC-PACKINGHAM-LII), Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (2017) (Justia) (SRC-PACKINGHAM-JUSTIA)
  • Tags: first-amendment, internet-governance, digital-rights

Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (2017), held unanimously that a North Carolina law prohibiting registered sex offenders from accessing social media websites violated the First Amendment, establishing that the internet and social media are protected spaces for the exercise of free speech rights.

Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC

  • Record ID: CASE-PERFECT10-V-CCBILL
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007) (SRC-PERFECT10-V-CCBILL-JUSTIA), 17 U.S.C. § 512 (GovInfo) (SRC-USC-17-512-GOVINFO)
  • Tags: copyright, safe-harbor, intermediary-liability, digital-rights

Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007), is an appellate decision addressing DMCA § 512 safe harbor requirements for online service providers.

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union

  • Record ID: CASE-RENO-V-ACLU
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) (GovInfo) (SRC-RENO-V-ACLU-GOVINFO), Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) (U.S. Reports PDF) (SRC-RENO-V-ACLU-LOC), Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) (SRC-RENO-V-ACLU-JUSTIA)
  • Tags: first-amendment, internet-governance, digital-rights, speech-and-code

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997), held that certain Communications Decency Act provisions restricting indecent and patently offensive Internet speech violated the First Amendment.

Universal City Studios v. Corley

  • Record ID: CASE-UNIVERSAL-V-CORLEY
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Universal City Studios v. Corley Opinion Text (Open Casebook) (SRC-CORLEY-LII)
  • Tags: first-amendment, copyright, speech-and-code, digital-rights

Universal City Studios v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001), upheld a DMCA anti-circumvention injunction against distribution of DeCSS code while acknowledging that computer code is speech entitled to First Amendment scrutiny, applying intermediate scrutiny to content-neutral regulation of code's functional aspects.

Van Buren v. United States

  • Record ID: CASE-VAN-BUREN-V-US
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021) (Cornell LII) (SRC-VAN-BUREN-LII), Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021) (GovInfo) (SRC-VAN-BUREN-GOVINFO), 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (GovInfo) (SRC-USC-18-1030-GOVINFO)
  • Tags: computer-crime, technology-law, digital-rights

Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021), interpreted the CFAA phrase exceeds authorized access narrowly in a gates-up-or-down case about database access.

Organization

American Civil Liberties Union

  • Record ID: ORG-ACLU
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: American Civil Liberties Union Contact Page (SRC-ACLU-CONTACT), American Civil Liberties Union History Page (SRC-ACLU-HISTORY)
  • Tags: organization, civil-liberties, digital-rights, outreach

American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. civil liberties organization documented in OIR from official ACLU pages.

Center for Democracy and Technology

  • Record ID: ORG-CDT
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Center for Democracy and Technology About Page (SRC-CDT-ABOUT), Center for Democracy and Technology Who We Are Page (SRC-CDT-WHO)
  • Tags: organization, digital-rights, privacy, internet-governance, civil-society, outreach

The Center for Democracy and Technology is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works to promote democratic values by shaping technology policy and architecture, with a focus on the rights of the individual.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

  • Record ID: ORG-EFF
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Electronic Frontier Foundation Contact Page (SRC-EFF-CONTACT), Electronic Frontier Foundation About Page (SRC-EFF-ABOUT)
  • Tags: organization, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

Electronic Frontier Foundation is a U.S. nonprofit organization that, according to its official pages, defends civil liberties in the digital world.

Free Software Foundation

  • Record ID: ORG-FSF
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Free Software Foundation About Page (SRC-FSF-ABOUT), Free Software Foundation Press Information (SRC-FSF-PRESS)
  • Tags: organization, open-source-software, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

The Free Software Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1985 with a worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom and defend the rights of all software users.

Institute for Justice

  • Record ID: ORG-INSTITUTE-FOR-JUSTICE
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Institute for Justice About Us Page (SRC-IJ-ABOUT), Institute for Justice First Amendment Practice Area (SRC-IJ-FIRST-AMENDMENT)
  • Tags: organization, first-amendment, civil-society, outreach

The Institute for Justice is a nonprofit public interest law firm whose mission is to end widespread abuses of government power and secure constitutional rights, with First Amendment free speech litigation as a central focus.

Knight First Amendment Institute

  • Record ID: ORG-KNIGHT-FIRST-AMENDMENT
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Knight First Amendment Institute About Page (SRC-KNIGHT-ABOUT), Knight First Amendment Institute Contact and FAQ Page (SRC-KNIGHT-CONTACT)
  • Tags: organization, first-amendment, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University defends the freedoms of speech and the press in the digital age through strategic litigation, research, and public education.

Open Source Initiative

  • Record ID: ORG-OSI
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Open Source Initiative About Page (SRC-OSI-ABOUT), Open Source Initiative History Page (SRC-OSI-HISTORY)
  • Tags: organization, open-source-software, civil-society, outreach

The Open Source Initiative is a non-profit corporation with global scope formed to educate about and advocate for the benefits of open source software.

Software Freedom Law Center

  • Record ID: ORG-SFLC
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Software Freedom Law Center Team Page (SRC-SFLC-ABOUT)
  • Tags: organization, open-source-software, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

The Software Freedom Law Center provides pro bono legal representation and related services to not-for-profit developers of free and open source software.

Signal

  • Record ID: ORG-SIGNAL
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Signal Official Website (SRC-SIGNAL-HOME), Signal Protocol Documentation (SRC-SIGNAL-DOCS), The X3DH Key Agreement Protocol (SRC-SIGNAL-X3DH), The Double Ratchet Algorithm (SRC-SIGNAL-DOUBLE-RATCHET)
  • Tags: organization, privacy, secure-messaging

Signal is documented in OIR from its official website as a nonprofit-associated private messaging service.

Software Freedom Conservancy

  • Record ID: ORG-SOFTWARE-FREEDOM-CONSERVANCY
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Software Freedom Conservancy About Page (SRC-SFC-ABOUT), Software Freedom Conservancy Home Page (SRC-SFC-HOME)
  • Tags: organization, open-source-software, digital-rights, civil-society, outreach

Software Freedom Conservancy is a U.S. nonprofit organization that provides infrastructure and legal support for free and open source software projects and promotes the right to repair, improve, and reinstall software.

Tor Project

  • Record ID: ORG-TOR-PROJECT
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Tor Project Contact Page (SRC-TOR-PROJECT-CONTACT), Tor Project History Page (SRC-TOR-PROJECT-HISTORY)
  • Tags: organization, privacy, open-source-software, outreach

Tor Project is a nonprofit organization documented in OIR from official Tor Project pages about privacy and onion routing technology.

Person

Lawrence Lessig

  • Record ID: PERSON-LAWRENCE-LESSIG
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Lawrence Lessig Harvard Law School Faculty Page (SRC-LESSIG-HARVARD)
  • Tags: person, internet-governance, open-source-software, digital-rights, copyright

Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, founder of Stanford's Center for Internet and Society, and author of foundational works on internet law and free culture including Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace and Free Culture.

Protocol

Domain Name System

  • Record ID: PROTOCOL-DNS
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: RFC 1034: Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities (SRC-RFC-1034)
  • Tags: internet-architecture, network-protocols

Domain Name System (DNS) concepts and facilities are described in RFC 1034.

Transmission Control Protocol

  • Record ID: PROTOCOL-TCP
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: RFC 9293: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) (SRC-RFC-9293)
  • Tags: internet-architecture, network-protocols

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is an internet transport protocol specified by RFC 9293.

Transport Layer Security 1.3

  • Record ID: PROTOCOL-TLS-13
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: RFC 8446: The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol Version 1.3 (SRC-RFC-8446)
  • Tags: cryptography, privacy, secure-messaging

Transport Layer Security (TLS) 1.3 is specified by RFC 8446.

Statute

18 U.S.C. § 1030

  • Record ID: STAT-CFAA-1030
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (SRC-USC-18-1030-LII), 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (GovInfo) (SRC-USC-18-1030-GOVINFO), Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021) (Cornell LII) (SRC-VAN-BUREN-LII)
  • Tags: computer-crime, technology-law

18 U.S.C. § 1030 is a United States criminal statute concerning fraud and related activity in connection with computers.

17 U.S.C. § 512

  • Record ID: STAT-DMCA-512
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: 17 U.S.C. § 512 (SRC-USC-17-512-LII), 17 U.S.C. § 512 (GovInfo) (SRC-USC-17-512-GOVINFO), Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007) (SRC-PERFECT10-V-CCBILL-JUSTIA)
  • Tags: copyright, safe-harbor, intermediary-liability

17 U.S.C. § 512 is a United States copyright statute commonly associated with online service provider safe harbor provisions.

Topic

Code as Speech

  • Record ID: TOPIC-CODE-AS-SPEECH
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) (GovInfo) (SRC-RENO-V-ACLU-GOVINFO), Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) (U.S. Reports PDF) (SRC-RENO-V-ACLU-LOC), U.S. Constitution First Amendment (Cornell LII) (SRC-US-CONST-AMEND-I-LII)
  • Tags: first-amendment, speech-and-code, digital-rights, constitutional-law

The code-as-speech doctrine concerns whether software, encryption, or other expressive code receives First Amendment protection.

Computer Fraud and Abuse

  • Record ID: TOPIC-COMPUTER-FRAUD
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (SRC-USC-18-1030-LII), 18 U.S.C. § 1030 (GovInfo) (SRC-USC-18-1030-GOVINFO), Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021) (Cornell LII) (SRC-VAN-BUREN-LII)
  • Tags: computer-crime, technology-law, digital-rights

Computer fraud and abuse in U.S. federal law commonly refers to criminal prohibitions on unauthorized access and related computer activity under 18 U.S.C. § 1030.

First Amendment

  • Record ID: TOPIC-FIRST-AMENDMENT
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: U.S. Constitution First Amendment (Cornell LII) (SRC-US-CONST-AMEND-I-LII), Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) (SRC-RENO-V-ACLU-JUSTIA)
  • Tags: constitutional-law, first-amendment, digital-rights, speech-and-code

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution addresses religion, expression, assembly, and petition rights.

Fourth Amendment

  • Record ID: TOPIC-FOURTH-AMENDMENT
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: U.S. Constitution Fourth Amendment (Cornell LII) (SRC-US-CONST-AMEND-IV-LII), Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018) (Cornell LII) (SRC-CARPENTER-LII)
  • Tags: constitutional-law, fourth-amendment, privacy, digital-rights, surveillance

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits unreasonable searches and seizures and is a foundational source for privacy and surveillance law.

Intermediary Liability

  • Record ID: TOPIC-INTERMEDIARY-LIABILITY
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: 17 U.S.C. § 512 (GovInfo) (SRC-USC-17-512-GOVINFO), Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007) (SRC-PERFECT10-V-CCBILL-JUSTIA)
  • Tags: intermediary-liability, copyright, digital-rights, safe-harbor

Intermediary liability concerns when online platforms, service providers, or other intermediaries may be held legally responsible for user or third-party content or conduct.

Kademlia

  • Record ID: TOPIC-KADEMLIA
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Kademlia: A Peer-to-Peer Information System Based on the XOR Metric (SRC-KADEMLIA-PAPER)
  • Tags: peer-to-peer-networking, distributed-systems, distributed-hash-tables

Kademlia is a peer-to-peer distributed hash table described in a 2002 paper by Petar Maymounkov and David Mazières.

Onion Routing

  • Record ID: TOPIC-ONION-ROUTING
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: Tor Project History Page (SRC-TOR-PROJECT-HISTORY), Tor: The Second-Generation Onion Router (SRC-TOR-DESIGN-PAPER)
  • Tags: privacy, censorship-resistance, open-source-software, technical

Onion routing is a technique for anonymous communication over a network in which messages pass through multiple relays in layered encryption.

Online Service Provider Safe Harbor

  • Record ID: TOPIC-SAFE-HARBOR
  • Status: draft
  • Sources: 17 U.S.C. § 512 (SRC-USC-17-512-LII), 17 U.S.C. § 512 (GovInfo) (SRC-USC-17-512-GOVINFO), Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007) (SRC-PERFECT10-V-CCBILL-JUSTIA)
  • Tags: copyright, safe-harbor, intermediary-liability, digital-rights

Safe harbor in U.S. copyright law commonly refers to limitations on intermediary liability for online service providers under 17 U.S.C. § 512.

Sources Referenced in This Handbook

Primary sources cited by knowledge records in this edition. This appendix is not the full OIR bibliography.

American Civil Liberties Union Contact Page

  • Source ID: SRC-ACLU-CONTACT
  • Status: verified

Official ACLU contact page with public mailing address, phone numbers, affiliate guidance, and donor/member contact information.

American Civil Liberties Union History Page

  • Source ID: SRC-ACLU-HISTORY
  • Status: verified

Official ACLU history page describing the organization's founding context and civil liberties mission.

Bernstein v. US Dept. of Justice EFF Case Page

  • Source ID: SRC-BERNSTEIN-EFF
  • Status: verified

EFF case page documenting the history and significance of Bernstein v. DOJ.

EFF at 25 - Remembering the Case that Established Code as Speech

  • Source ID: SRC-BERNSTEIN-EFF-25
  • Status: verified

EFF retrospective article on the significance of Bernstein v. DOJ in establishing code as speech and changing encryption export regulations.

Bernstein v. United States Department of Justice, 176 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 1999) (Justia)

  • Source ID: SRC-BERNSTEIN-JUSTIA
  • Status: verified

Justia reproduction of the Ninth Circuit opinion in Bernstein v. DOJ.

Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018) (GovInfo)

  • Source ID: SRC-CARPENTER-GOVINFO
  • Status: verified

Official GovInfo United States Reports record for Carpenter v. United States.

Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018) (Cornell LII)

  • Source ID: SRC-CARPENTER-LII
  • Status: verified

Cornell Legal Information Institute page for the Supreme Court decision on Fourth Amendment protection for historical cell-site location records.

Center for Democracy and Technology About Page

  • Source ID: SRC-CDT-ABOUT
  • Status: verified

Official about page of the Center for Democracy and Technology describing its mission and nonprofit status.

Center for Democracy and Technology Who We Are Page

  • Source ID: SRC-CDT-WHO
  • Status: verified

Official who-we-are page of CDT describing organizational focus and values.

Cindy Cohn EFF Staff Biography

  • Source ID: SRC-COHN-EFF-BIO
  • Status: verified

Official EFF biography page for Cindy Cohn documenting her role and career history. Original URL now returns 403; archived copy available.

EFF Press Release - Cindy Cohn Stepping Down

  • Source ID: SRC-COHN-EFF-DEPARTURE
  • Status: verified

EFF press release announcing Cindy Cohn's departure as Executive Director after 25 years with the organization.

FOSS Force - Cohn Returns to the Courtroom

  • Source ID: SRC-COHN-FOSSFORCE
  • Status: verified

FOSS Force article reporting Cindy Cohn's plan to return to courtroom litigation after departing as EFF Executive Director.

Universal City Studios v. Corley Opinion Text (Open Casebook)

  • Source ID: SRC-CORLEY-LII
  • Status: verified

Text of the Second Circuit opinion in Universal City Studios v. Corley, 273 F.3d 429 (2d Cir. 2001).

Electronic Frontier Foundation About Page

  • Source ID: SRC-EFF-ABOUT
  • Status: verified

Official EFF about page describing the organization's mission, history, and nonprofit status.

Electronic Frontier Foundation Contact Page

  • Source ID: SRC-EFF-CONTACT
  • Status: verified

Official EFF contact page with public legal assistance, general information, press, membership, and headquarters contact paths.

Free Software Foundation About Page

  • Source ID: SRC-FSF-ABOUT
  • Status: verified

Official about page of the Free Software Foundation describing its worldwide mission.

Free Software Foundation Press Information

  • Source ID: SRC-FSF-PRESS
  • Status: verified

Official press page of the Free Software Foundation with founding date and mission summary.

Jennifer Granick ACLU Staff Biography

  • Source ID: SRC-GRANICK-ACLU-BIO
  • Status: verified

Official ACLU biography page for Jennifer Granick documenting her role as surveillance and cybersecurity counsel.

Institute for Justice About Us Page

  • Source ID: SRC-IJ-ABOUT
  • Status: verified

Official about page of the Institute for Justice describing its mission and practice areas.

Institute for Justice First Amendment Practice Area

  • Source ID: SRC-IJ-FIRST-AMENDMENT
  • Status: verified

Official First Amendment issues page of the Institute for Justice describing its free speech litigation.

EFF Jewel v. NSA Case Page - Supreme Court Rejection

  • Source ID: SRC-JEWEL-V-NSA-EFF
  • Status: verified

EFF case page documenting the Supreme Court's 2022 rejection of Jewel v. NSA, ending the flagship mass surveillance challenge without a ruling on the merits.

Junger v. Daley ACLU Ohio Case Page

  • Source ID: SRC-JUNGER-ACLU-OHIO
  • Status: verified

ACLU of Ohio case page documenting Junger v. Daley, 209 F.3d 481 (6th Cir. 2000).

Junger v. Daley Opinion Text (CMU)

  • Source ID: SRC-JUNGER-CMU
  • Status: verified

Full text of the Sixth Circuit opinion in Junger v. Daley hosted by Carnegie Mellon University.

Kademlia: A Peer-to-Peer Information System Based on the XOR Metric

  • Source ID: SRC-KADEMLIA-PAPER
  • Status: verified

Foundational 2002 conference paper by Petar Maymounkov and David Mazières describing the Kademlia distributed hash table.

Knight First Amendment Institute About Page

  • Source ID: SRC-KNIGHT-ABOUT
  • Status: verified

Official about page of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

Knight First Amendment Institute Contact and FAQ Page

  • Source ID: SRC-KNIGHT-CONTACT
  • Status: verified

Official FAQ and contact information for the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.

Lawrence Lessig Harvard Law School Faculty Page

  • Source ID: SRC-LESSIG-HARVARD
  • Status: verified

Official Harvard Law School faculty page for Lawrence Lessig.

Corynne McSherry EFF Staff Biography

  • Source ID: SRC-MCSHERRY-EFF-BIO
  • Status: verified

Official EFF biography page for Corynne McSherry documenting her role as Legal Director specializing in intellectual property and free speech.

Eben Moglen Columbia Law School Faculty Page

  • Source ID: SRC-MOGLEN-COLUMBIA
  • Status: verified

Official Columbia Law School faculty page for Eben Moglen.

Eben Moglen Columbia Data Science Institute Profile

  • Source ID: SRC-MOGLEN-DSI
  • Status: verified

Columbia Data Science Institute profile of Eben Moglen describing his work with FSF and SFLC.

Open Source Initiative About Page

  • Source ID: SRC-OSI-ABOUT
  • Status: verified

Official about page of the Open Source Initiative describing its mission and global scope.

Open Source Initiative History Page

  • Source ID: SRC-OSI-HISTORY
  • Status: verified

Official history page of the Open Source Initiative documenting its founding and development.

Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (2017) (Justia)

  • Source ID: SRC-PACKINGHAM-JUSTIA
  • Status: verified

Justia reproduction of the Supreme Court opinion in Packingham v. North Carolina.

Packingham v. North Carolina, 582 U.S. 98 (2017) (Cornell LII)

  • Source ID: SRC-PACKINGHAM-LII
  • Status: verified

Cornell Legal Information Institute full text of Packingham v. North Carolina.

Perfect 10, Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 488 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2007)

  • Source ID: SRC-PERFECT10-V-CCBILL-JUSTIA
  • Status: verified

Ninth Circuit decision addressing DMCA § 512 safe harbor eligibility and red flag knowledge for online service providers.

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) (GovInfo)

  • Source ID: SRC-RENO-V-ACLU-GOVINFO
  • Status: verified

Official GovInfo United States Reports record for Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union.

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997)

  • Source ID: SRC-RENO-V-ACLU-JUSTIA
  • Status: verified

High-confidence public case page for the Supreme Court decision in Reno v. ACLU.

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) (U.S. Reports PDF)

  • Source ID: SRC-RENO-V-ACLU-LOC
  • Status: verified

Library of Congress United States Reports PDF for Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, including the official syllabus.

RFC 1034: Domain Names - Concepts and Facilities

  • Source ID: SRC-RFC-1034
  • Status: verified

RFC Editor publication describing Domain Name System concepts and facilities.

RFC 8446: The Transport Layer Security (TLS) Protocol Version 1.3

  • Source ID: SRC-RFC-8446
  • Status: verified

RFC Editor publication specifying TLS 1.3.

RFC 9293: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

  • Source ID: SRC-RFC-9293
  • Status: verified

RFC Editor publication specifying the Transmission Control Protocol.

Software Freedom Conservancy About Page

  • Source ID: SRC-SFC-ABOUT
  • Status: verified

Official about page of Software Freedom Conservancy describing its mission and activities.

Software Freedom Conservancy Home Page

  • Source ID: SRC-SFC-HOME
  • Status: verified

Official home page of Software Freedom Conservancy with mission statement.

Software Freedom Law Center Team Page

  • Source ID: SRC-SFLC-ABOUT
  • Status: verified

Official team page of the Software Freedom Law Center describing its staff and mission.

Signal Protocol Documentation

  • Source ID: SRC-SIGNAL-DOCS
  • Status: verified

Official Signal documentation page listing Signal Protocol specifications including X3DH, Double Ratchet, and related cryptographic protocols.

The Double Ratchet Algorithm

  • Source ID: SRC-SIGNAL-DOUBLE-RATCHET
  • Status: verified

Official Signal specification for the Double Ratchet algorithm used to derive new message keys in secure messaging sessions.

Signal Official Website

  • Source ID: SRC-SIGNAL-HOME
  • Status: verified

Official Signal website describing Signal's private messaging service, encryption, nonprofit status, and privacy positioning.

The X3DH Key Agreement Protocol

  • Source ID: SRC-SIGNAL-X3DH
  • Status: verified

Official Signal specification for the Extended Triple Diffie-Hellman key agreement protocol used in secure messaging.

Mitch Stoltz EFF Staff Biography

  • Source ID: SRC-STOLTZ-EFF-BIO
  • Status: verified

Official EFF biography page for Mitch Stoltz documenting his role as Senior Staff Attorney focusing on intellectual property and open source.

Tor: The Second-Generation Onion Router

  • Source ID: SRC-TOR-DESIGN-PAPER
  • Status: verified

Canonical Tor design paper by Dingledine, Mathewson, and Syverson describing the second-generation onion routing network.

Tor Project Contact Page

  • Source ID: SRC-TOR-PROJECT-CONTACT
  • Status: verified

Official Tor Project contact page with support, community, security issue, organization, donor, and mailing contact paths.

Tor Project History Page

  • Source ID: SRC-TOR-PROJECT-HISTORY
  • Status: verified

Official Tor Project history page describing onion routing origins and the organization's nonprofit development.

U.S. Constitution First Amendment (Cornell LII)

  • Source ID: SRC-US-CONST-AMEND-I-LII
  • Status: verified

Cornell Legal Information Institute page for the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

U.S. Constitution Fourth Amendment (Cornell LII)

  • Source ID: SRC-US-CONST-AMEND-IV-LII
  • Status: verified

Cornell Legal Information Institute page for the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

17 U.S.C. § 512 (GovInfo)

  • Source ID: SRC-USC-17-512-GOVINFO
  • Status: verified

Official GovInfo U.S. Code page for 17 U.S.C. section 512, the DMCA online service provider safe harbor provision.

17 U.S.C. § 512

  • Source ID: SRC-USC-17-512-LII
  • Status: verified

Cornell Legal Information Institute page for 17 U.S.C. section 512, the copyright safe harbor statute.

18 U.S.C. § 1030 (GovInfo)

  • Source ID: SRC-USC-18-1030-GOVINFO
  • Status: verified

Official GovInfo U.S. Code page for 18 U.S.C. section 1030, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act provision.

18 U.S.C. § 1030

  • Source ID: SRC-USC-18-1030-LII
  • Status: verified

Cornell Legal Information Institute page for 18 U.S.C. section 1030, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act provision.

Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021) (GovInfo)

  • Source ID: SRC-VAN-BUREN-GOVINFO
  • Status: verified

Official GovInfo United States Reports record for Van Buren v. United States.

Van Buren v. United States, 593 U.S. 374 (2021) (Cornell LII)

  • Source ID: SRC-VAN-BUREN-LII
  • Status: verified

Cornell Legal Information Institute page for the Supreme Court decision interpreting the CFAA phrase exceeds authorized access.

Kit Walsh EFF Staff Biography

  • Source ID: SRC-WALSH-EFF-BIO
  • Status: verified

Official EFF biography page for Kit Walsh documenting her role as Senior Staff Attorney working on free speech and coders' rights.