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WikiLeaks Publishes "The Sony Archives"

posted by martyb on Friday April 17 2015, @03:22PM   Printer-friendly
from the SPE-should-copyright-it dept.

takyon writes:

WikiLeaks has published "The Sony Archives," a searchable database containing 30,287 documents and 173,132 emails leaked from Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). The WikiLeaks press release portrays the archive as newsworthy and in the public interest:

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange said: "This archive shows the inner workings of an influential multinational corporation. It is newsworthy and at the centre of a geo-political conflict. It belongs in the public domain. WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there."

Sony is a member of the MPAA and a strong lobbyist on issues around internet policy, piracy, trade agreements and copyright issues. The emails show the back and forth on lobbying and political efforts, not only with the MPAA but with politicians directly. In November 2013 WikiLeaks published a secret draft of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) IP Chapter. The Sony Archives show SPE's internal reactions, including discussing the impact with Michael Froman, the US Trade Representative. It also references the case against Megaupload and the extradition of its founder Kim DotCom from New Zealand as part of SPE's war on piracy.

The connections and alignments between Sony Pictures Entertainment and the US Democratic Party are detailed through the archives, including SPE's CEO Lynton attending dinner with President Obama at Martha's Vineyard and Sony employees being part of fundraising dinners for the Democratic Party. There are emails setting up a collective within the corporation to get around the 5,000 USD limit on corporate campaign donations to give 50,000 USD to get the Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo elected as "Thanks to Governor Cuomo, we have a great production incentive environment in NY and a strong piracy advocate that’s actually done more than talk about our problems."

Sony Pictures Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton is on the board of trustees of RAND Corporation, an organisation specialising in research and development for the United States military and intelligence sector. The Sony Archives show the flow of contacts and information between these two major US industries, whether it is RAND wanting to invite George Clooney and Kevin Spacey to events, or Lynton offering contact to Valerie Jarrett (a close advisor to Obama) or RAND desiring a partnership with IMAX for digital archiving. With this close tie to the military-industrial complex it is no surprise that Sony reached out to RAND for advice regarding its North Korea film The Interview. RAND provided an analyst specialised in North Korea and suggested Sony reach out to the State Department and the NSA regarding North Korea's complaints about the upcoming film. The Sony documents also show Sony being in possession of a brochure for an NSA-evaluated online cloud security set-up called INTEGRITY.

Additional coverage at BBC and LA Times. Sony has condemned the document dump:

"The attackers used the dissemination of stolen information to try to harm SPE and its employees, and now WikiLeaks regrettably is assisting them in that effort," said a Sony Pictures spokesperson in a statement. "We vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks' assertion that this material belongs in the public domain and will continue to fight for the safety, security, and privacy of our company and its more than 6,000 employees."

 
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Friday April 17 2015, @07:38PM

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Friday April 17 2015, @07:38PM (#172166) Journal

    https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/04/17/chris-dodd-former-dem-presidential-aspirant-advises-clients-give-gop-fundraising-impact/ [firstlook.org]

    Chris Dodd’s first career was as the liberal U.S. Senator from Connecticut, a self-professed champion for working families and a Democratic presidential contender in 2008. But hacked emails from Sony offer new insight into how he operates in his second career, as the head of the Motion Picture Association of America, a lobby group for the movie industry.

    On January 28, 2014, Dodd emailed executives from major motion picture studios to share two news articles. One revealed that Google had shifted its campaign donation strategy, giving more to Republican lawmakers, and another projected that the GOP would likely perform well in the midterm elections that year.

    The articles, Dodd wrote, “underscore the point I’ve been trying to make, which I’m sure you all understand – while loyalty to a person and/or party is admirable, we also need to be smarter about being supportive of those who are and will be in positions to make decisions that affect this industry.”

    Dodd in particular encouraged industry executives to donate to Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over intellectual property and copyright issues important to the movie industry. Dodd evidently had to overcome one hurdle, however: Squeamishness about giving money directly to the National Republican Congressional Campaign, whose goal was to increase the GOP House majority.

    In a November 7, 2013, email with “Call from Dodd regarding $$$ for Republicans” in the subject line, Keith Weaver, a senior government relations executive with Sony, wrote:

    Chairman Goodlatte has established a new fundraising committee that would allow contributions to his effort WITHOUT giving to the NRCC (all of the studios had the same sensitivity on this as we did). Dodd is likely to call you with this news, tell you that the studio should support with $40k each, and tell you about the tentative date/time for this fundraiser (likely a lunch on 11/22). Our PAC can give $15k, the rest would need to come from individual execs.

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 17 2015, @07:43PM

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Friday April 17 2015, @07:43PM (#172170) Journal

    Sony Emails Show Industry Execs Pushing for Trade Deal [firstlook.org]

    Broadcast media has not devoted much air time to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, an agreement that will greatly impact 40 percent of the global economy. But hacked emails from Sony reveal that media industry executives have been engaged in active discussions about the agreement behind closed doors.

    On April 17, 2014, Steven Fabrizio, the general counsel of the Motion Picture Association of America, sent out an update to industry executives — including Maren Christensen of NBC and Alan Braverman of Disney, the parent company of ABC News — detailing lobbying efforts by the MPAA. “Finally, in regard to trade,” Fabrizio wrote, “the MPAA/MPA with the strong support of your studios, continue to advocate to governments around the world about the pressing need for strong pro-IP trade policies such as TPP and the proposed EU/US trade agreement (TTIP).”

    In a Feburary 20, 2014, email MPAA president Chris Dodd shared a letter he wrote concerning the TPP deal with executives from NBC, Viacom, Disney and Time Warner, the parent company of CNN. The letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman decried the potential inclusion of “fair use” doctrine in the TPP, telling Froman that “the potential export of fair use via these agreements raises serious concerns within the community I represent.” Dodd also said he was worried about “indications from the US government that the ISP liability provisions in the TPP are going to be weakened.”

    On November 7, 2013, Keith Weaver, a senior executive for Sony’s government affairs department, wrote to Michael Lynton, the chief executive of Sony Pictures, to tell him about a meeting about the trade deal, following up on an earlier one at the White House:

    I understand you may be contacted by [Disney chief] Bob Iger or United States Trade Representative, Michael Froman to invite you (+ one) to a meeting at Disney next Friday (the 15th). While I’m not aware of the details of this meeting (time or agenda), my sense is that much of the discussion will center on the TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP (TPP, which is a pending multilateral trade agreement with 12 countries that boarder the Pacific Ocean) – you’ll recall this was one of the key topics of your meeting with Froman and your peers at the White House last year.

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 17 2015, @08:53PM

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Friday April 17 2015, @08:53PM (#172190) Journal

    MPAA Wants Private Theaters in U.S. Embassies to Lobby Officials [torrentfreak.com]

    Emails from the Sony hack reveal that the MPAA asked its member studios to pay $165,000 each to upgrade the screening rooms of several U.S. embassies. American ambassadors could then utilize these private theaters as indirect lobbying tools by showing off Hollywood content to high level officials.

    In an email from Sony Pictures Entertainment Head of Worldwide Government Affairs Keith Weaver to CEO Michael Lynton last March, Weaver explains that the studio had been asked for rather a sizable contribution.

    “I wanted to make you aware of a recent MPAA request, as Senator Dodd may contact you directly,” Weaver’s email begins.

    “Essentially, the request is for the member companies to consider upgrading screening rooms at U.S. Embassies in various countries (Germany, Spain, Italy, UK, and Japan)…”

    These rooms could then be used by the ambassadors to show off Hollywood content to invited high-level officials.

    “…the idea being that these upgraded screening rooms would allow American ambassadors to screen our movies to high level officials (and, thus, inculcate a stronger will to protect our interests through this quality exposure to our content),” Weaver adds.

    In other words, the MPAA wants to pay for an upgrade of the embassies’ private theaters, to indirectly protect the interests of U.S. movie studios abroad.

    It’s a rather interesting lobbying effort and one that doesn’t come cheap. The estimated cost for the project is $165,000 per studio, which means the total budget for the project is close to a million dollars.

    Unfortunately for the MPAA, Weaver suggested giving the project a miss and in a reply Lynton agreed.

    In an email a few months later the issue was addressed again with additional details.

    In this conversation Weaver notes that the request is “not unusual” and that the studio supported a similar request years ago. “Apparently, donations of this kind are permissible,” Weaver writes.

    Again, Lynton replied that he was not inclined to support the project. It’s unclear whether any of the other members chipped in, or if the plan has been canceled due to a lack of financial support.

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Friday April 17 2015, @11:07PM

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Friday April 17 2015, @11:07PM (#172221) Journal

    Harry Friedman Tried To Find Sponsor for Trebek's Mustache [buzzerblog.com]

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    • (Score: 2) by Balderdash on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:26PM

      by Balderdash (693) on Saturday April 18 2015, @01:26PM (#172392)

      The site said "please enable JavaScript to view this site".

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      I browse at -1. Free and open discourse requires consideration and review of all attempts at participation.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Saturday April 18 2015, @11:49AM

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Saturday April 18 2015, @11:49AM (#172363) Journal

    Who runs this world? Sony Pictures CEO jokes about getting UK culture minister fired [theregister.co.uk]

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday April 18 2015, @12:12PM

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Saturday April 18 2015, @12:12PM (#172370) Journal

    Doctor Who movie mooted in Sony leak [bbc.com]

    Also:

    George Clooney's email address
    Allegations of bullying by David O Russell
    Jennifer Lawrence needs a lot of private jets
    Oscar voters had concerns over 12 Years a Slave
    Rooney Mara wants a Dragon Tattoo sequel
    Daniel Craig lost $5m on product placement deal
    Scott Rudin's distaste for Angelina Jolie continues
    Jonah Hill is very safety conscious
    Ryan Gosling is a big fan of video games

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday April 19 2015, @02:54PM

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Sunday April 19 2015, @02:54PM (#172838) Journal

    Leaked: The MPAA's iPad Piracy Potential Analysis [torrentfreak.com]

    Titled “The iPad – From a Content Protection Perspective” the document lists the positive and potential negatives for the device.

    On the plus side the MPAA was predictably pleased with Apple’s ‘walled-garden’ approach to DRM-protected premium content supply.

    “Novice user will opt for ‘iTunes and App store’ type of use,” the document reads, noting that the iPad “allows for some technical protection measures as well as e-Commerce environments that allow for digital rights management.”

    The MPAA was also impressed with the educational potential of the iPad and App Store, noting that the pair together promote the notion that content needs to be paid for.

    “The iPad essentially acts as a digital wallet (a multifunctional credit card) so users will be much more aware that digital content can have a value,” the report notes.

    Of course, Apple’s notoriously tough security also achieved a tick in the plus column but not without a reminder that things can be undone by the determined hacker.

    “The iPad, like the iPhone may not be too appealing to the pirate type due to its closed (technological) environment. On the other hand, the iPhone has been ‘jailbroken’ and the iPad will share the same fate,” the report correctly predicts.

    Most of the negatives listed by the MPAA center around the conversion of media obtained in one format and then converted for use on the iPad. With relatively generous storage capacity by 2010 standards, that could amount to a few dozen pirate films on a device.

    “Converting existing movies (Pirated, Blu-ray or DVD) to the .m4v format suitable for the iPad will take about 1 hr per movie using application such as ‘Handbrake’,” the report reads.

    “The typical ripped Blu-ray file, made ready for the iPad, will take up 1.5 Gigabyte of disk space. On average a 64 GB iPad will be able to carry 40 high quality rips.”

    But the MPAA feared the risks wouldn’t end there. Once obtained on one device, pirate content could then spread to another.

    “Although the above steps may only be taken by those accustomed to pirating content, the nature of this platform will smoothen large-scale exchanges of clusters of movies (iPad to iPad),” the report reads.

    “Although most pirates will tend to go and download content illegally, to first put it on desktop computer and only then convert it to the iPad, it is not difficult to foresee a future wherein they may go and enable inter-iPad file sharing or file streaming.”

    In addition to concerns that iPad owners might start adding “PVR type” TV broadcasting recordings to their devices, the MPAA was also developing fears over the iPad’s ability to connect to large screen devices.

    “Although quite cumbersome (at least three different video adapters are
    available and each has different functionalities) it is possible to display content on external devices such as projectors and TVs. It is also possible to both display and stream content from a desktop computer to an iPad,” the report adds.

    And with Airplay video landing later in 2010, the MPAA correctly predicted it would take off.

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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday April 19 2015, @03:06PM

    by takyon (881) <{takyon} {at} {soylentnews.org}> on Sunday April 19 2015, @03:06PM (#172845) Journal

    Ben Affleck asked broadcaster to hide slave-owning ancestor [bbc.co.uk]

    Ben Affleck asked television producers not to reveal one of his ancestors was a slave-owner, leaked emails suggest.

    The actor was taking part in a US series called Finding Your Roots, where experts research a celebrity's family history, when the discovery was made.

    The broadcaster, PBS, says in a statement that they didn't censor the slave-owner details.

    It is "very common" to find slave-owning ancestors during research, the show's host says.

    "For any guest, we always find far more stories about ancestors on their family trees than we ever possibly could use," Prof Henry Louis Gates says in a statement sent to The Associated Press.

    He says both film director Ken Burns and journalist Anderson Cooper also found out while making the show that relatives of theirs had owned slaves.

    The details of Affleck's slave-owning family member were not included when his episode of Finding Your Roots was broadcast.

    "In the case of Mr Affleck - we focused on what we felt were the most interesting aspects of his ancestry - including a Revolutionary War ancestor, a third great-grandfather who was an occult enthusiast and his mother who marched for Civil Rights during the Freedom Summer of 1964," says Prof Gates in a statement on the PBS website.

    "Here's my dilemma: confidentially, for the first time, one of our guests has asked us to edit out something about one of his ancestors - the fact that he owned slaves," Prof Gates wrote on 22 July 2014.

    "Now, four or five of our guests this season descend from slave owners, including Ken Burns. We've never had anyone ever try to censor or edit what we found. He's a megastar. What do we do?"

    Lynton replies the same day, saying: "I would take it out if no one knows, but if it gets out that you are editing the material based on this kind of sensitivity then it gets tricky. Again, all things being equal I would definitely take it out."

    After further exchanges the pair seem to agree that censorship is a bad idea.

    "It would embarrass him and compromise our integrity. I think he is getting very bad advice." Prof Gates writes.

    "Once we open the door to censorship, we lose control of the brand."

    Affleck is never referred to by name in the emails - instead he is called "megastar" or "Batman". At the time of the exchange he was filming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

    A PBS spokeswoman says PBS did not know of the exchanges between Prof Gates, Sony and Affleck and wasn't part of editorial decisions made by the host and his producers.

    "It is clear from the exchange how seriously Professor Gates takes editorial integrity," PBS says in the statement on its website.

    "The range and depth of the stories on Finding Your Roots speak for themselves."

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