[Infowarrior] - It’s OK to parody the NSA

[Richard Forno]

It’s OK to parody the NSA

NSA backs down, admits man can use their seal for T-shirts and mugs on Zazzle.

by Joe Mullin - Feb 18 2014, 4:20pm EST

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/02/its-ok-to-parody-the-nsa/

Dan McCall has been making T-shirts and mugs that parody the National Security Agency as "the only part of government that actually listens" for over a decade. In 2011, he got a cease-and-desist letter from the NSA and from the Department of Homeland Security, insisting that his goods be removed from Zazzle.com.

McCall was forced to take his items off Zazzle, although he later re-opened his online shop at CafePress (selling his shirt as "Censored by the NSA!"). Last October—when NSA was already in the spotlight due to disclosures over widespread surveillance—McCall filed a lawsuit saying that his T-shirts and mugs, which were parodies of government agencies, were protected by the First Amendment. He argued that the agencies had no right to ask them to be removed.

"It’s bad enough that these agencies have us under constant surveillance; forbidding citizens from criticizing them is beyond the pale," said Public Citizen's Paul Levy, who filed the suit on McCall's behalf.

Now, NSA has admitted: McCall is right.

Levy said that protecting the right to sell parody merchandise using government seals defends an important principle.

"Citizens shouldn’t have to worry whether criticizing government agencies will get them in trouble or not," Levy said in a statement. "This settlement proves the First Amendment is there to protect citizens' rights to free speech.”

In the settlement, both the DHS and the NSA have agreed to send letters confirming that the parody merchandise does not violate any laws. The government will also pay McCall $500 to cover basic costs related to the filing of the lawsuit.

"NSA acknowledges that McCall's designs were intended as parody and should not have been viewed as conveying the impression that the designs were approved, endorsed, or authorized by NSA," reads the letter, which the NSA will send to Zazzle and which Public Citizen has published.

“I'm glad the case helped reaffirm the right to lampoon our government,” said McCall. “I always thought parody was a healthy tradition in American society. It's good to know that it's still legal.”


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