
The parody shirt the NSA doesn’t want you to wear  - denzil_correa
http://www.salon.com/2013/08/30/the_parody_shirt_the_nsa_doesnt_want_you_to_wear_partner/
======
Nate75Sanders
Hmm, it appears to me that the NSA misquoted the law in that article when they
sent a message to The Daily Dot.

From
[http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/nsaact1959.htm](http://www.intelligence.senate.gov/nsaact1959.htm)
:

Sec. 15. (a) No person may, except with the written permission of the Director
of the National Security Agency, knowingly use the words 'National Security
Agency', the initials 'NSA', the seal of the National Security Agency, or any
colorable imitation of such words, initials, or seal in connection with any
merchandise, impersonation, solicitation, or commercial activity _in a manner
reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such use is approved,
endorsed, or authorized by the National Security Agency._

(emphasis mine)

That changes things quite a bit. No reasonable person would believe the NSA
authorized this.

~~~
tobiasu
Zazzle fears the cost of going to court, even if it looks like a certain win.

That's a general problem with the US legal system, and would be worth
protesting about more than any NSA scandal combined.

Discrimination of the poor from access to justice.

~~~
loceng
This is the problem with crowdservices. Though it actually can be a strength
if they decide to fight these types of things.

------
smtddr
[http://www.cafepress.com/mf/78962042/the-
nsa_tshirt](http://www.cafepress.com/mf/78962042/the-nsa_tshirt)

I just ordered it. Done & Done.

Also, cafepress apparently doesn't make it clear until checkout but you can
order with your Amazon account so you don't have to make a new account on
cafepress. I don't like entering my CC info on a bunch of sites so I've been
avoiding Cafepress until this T-shirt just made me cave in. Now I find out
that I never needed to make a new account...

~~~
peterkelly
NSA asking for it to be taken off the site is probably the best thing that
could happen for publicity.

I really want to wear this shirt while going through airport security the next
time I visit the US :)

~~~
peterkelly
Actually, on second thought, I don't.

~~~
fnordfnordfnord
I used to wear a t-shirt with the TIA "Total Information Awareness" all-seeing
eye logo on the front, and the slogan "Be A Good American. Don't Ask
Questions." on the back, when I traveled. It was sometimes good for a few
laughs with foreign border agents; but on the US side, never even so much as a
smile. OTOH, I never got singled out for "extra screening" because of it (as
far as I can tell); but that seems to be more common these days.

TBH, if I thought such a weak form of protest would really draw a response
from TSA agents, I am pretty sure I would wear it. Maybe that's part of the
reason I avoid flying these days.

------
spodek
> " _... At any time that NSA is made aware that the NSA Seal is being used
> without our permission, we will take appropriate actions._ "

The NSA has no idea what "appropriate actions" means.

~~~
smacktoward
Of course they don't. That information is classified!

------
praptak
A non-story with a linkbait title.

Zazzle got scared of a design using the NSA logo. No proof whatsoever for NSA
having been involved in this.

~~~
einhverfr
Their statement seems to confirm it though.

~~~
praptak
Their statement is a generic "you can't use our logo because of this law"
(exactly what you'd expect from a government agency.) And their denied any
involvement in this particular case (ditto.)

~~~
mkenyon
It is not protected under that law. Satire is most certainly allowed (and not
just under First Amendment rights). The FBI tried to remove its seal from
Wikipedia[0] and similarly miscited the appropriate law.

Sec. 15. (a) No person may, except with the written permission of the Director
of the National Security Agency, knowingly use the words 'National Security
Agency', the initials 'NSA', the seal of the National Security Agency, or any
colorable imitation of such words, initials, or seal in connection with any
merchandise, impersonation, solicitation, or commercial activity in a manner
reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such use is approved,
endorsed, or authorized by the National Security Agency.

It is that last bit that matters here.

[0]
[http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20012575-93.html](http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-20012575-93.html)

~~~
diminoten
Sure, that's an arguable defense, but it's not like they're wrong in what they
said.

You have to go to court to say, "fair use!"

~~~
mkenyon
I want to point out that "fair use" or, even more generally, First Amendment
rights, are not involved here.

The statement that the NSA issued, that no one is allowed to use the Seal
without written consent, is strictly false.

Section 15.a states explicitly that you may not use the Seal "in a manner
reasonably calculated to convey the impression that such use is approved,
endorsed, or authorized by the National Security Agency."

This t-shirt does not give you the impression that such use is approved,
endorsed, or authorized by the National Security Agency. Fair use, parody,
satire, doesn't matter.

I linked the CNET article because the FBI did the same thing a few years back:

"While we appreciate your desire to revise the statute to reflect your
expansive vision of it, the fact is that we must work with the actual language
of the statute, not the aspirational version of Section 701 that you forwarded
to us," Mike Godwin, general counsel for Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit
company that runs Wikipedia, wrote the FBI in response.

------
waffle_ss
I had the same exact thing happen to me with Zazzle back in June when I
created two t-shirt designs using the EFF parody logo. I had a bit of back-
and-forth with the Zazzle reps who just kept sending me canned responses.

Luckily I was able to get the shirt shipped to me before they yanked it:
[http://imgur.com/a/OOvwY#0](http://imgur.com/a/OOvwY#0)

~~~
fnordfnordfnord
Is that logo screened on there crooked?

------
sampo
I like this parody logo more [http://images.intomobile.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/06/nsa-...](http://images.intomobile.com/wp-
content/uploads/2013/06/nsa-spy650.jpg)

------
einhverfr
The NSA's statement is really pretty chilling when you think about it. The
irony here is that "the government doesn't want you to wear this" is a great
advertising message and the NSA in their statement has helped that along a
great deal.

------
ck2
The NSA is more than happy at the thought of people giving up for a t-shirt
and becoming completely complacent with the idea of them listening and
watching everything you are doing.

If a t-shirt is your idea of protesting, well it's no wonder we have the TSA
and the NSA.

~~~
dhimes
The t-shirt is a conversation starter, not a protest. Furthermore, he's using
it to crowd-fund his defence. You can support it here:

[http://www.tfund.com/nsashirt](http://www.tfund.com/nsashirt)

------
forgotAgain
Given the current situation, how can this usage not be covered by free speech?

~~~
bediger4000
That's what I thought, too. Using "The NSA" in the way the shirt does is
making a political statement, which is protected by the USA's First Amendment.
It's one of the few rights that the USA Supreme Court has defended zealously.

Supposing that "The NSA" is some kind of "intellectual property", using the
phrase as that tee shirt does is almost certainly fair use. This is a lot less
certain, as you'd have to go to court, spend lots of money, and admit to
infringing to plead fair use, so it's probably not worth the effort.

~~~
super-serial
Zazzle took down almost every parody shirt I've ever made - even ones with
custom artwork.

For example I made a "Yo Bama Bama" shirt that had custom art of Obama wearing
a Yo Gabba Gabba hat with various phrases... that was taken down.

Custom artwork of video game characters saying stupid things... always taken
down. Anything that referenced some sci-fi movie or TV show was always taken
down. I'm surprised the NSA even had to complain. Zazzle preemptively stifles
free speech when it's obvious it's a parody before anyone complains. Zazzle is
so bad about this - I don't use them for anything anymore.

~~~
stephen_g
Well, technically you have no right to or expectation of free speech on
Zazzle. I'm sure it's in Zazzle's terms of service that they can reject any
product submitted to the site for any reason. I don't like, but it's their
site, they can do that if they want.

They're probably just being overly risk averse to try and avoid lawsuits.

------
chris_wot
What, you can't use the letters NSA? You must be joking.

~~~
cbg0
There's an ellipsis at the start of that, here's what the whole text looks
like:

> SEC. 15. ø50 U.S.C. 3613¿ (a) No person may, except with the written
> permission of the Director of the National Security Agency, knowingly use
> the words ‘‘National Security Agency’’, the initials ‘‘NSA’’, the seal of
> the National Security Agency, or any colorable imitation of such words,
> initials, or seal in connection with any merchandise, impersonation,
> solicitation, or commercial activity in a manner reasonably calculated to
> convey the impression that such use is approved, endorsed, or authorized by
> the National Security Agency

~~~
chris_wot
Then it doesn't relate to this product then. In no way would anyone
_reasonably_ think that such a parody is endorsed, approved or authorized by
the NSA.

~~~
devx
NSA is on a power trip. They've changed even the relevance of the word
"relevant", in their justification for spying on everyone. They'll be using
any justification to further their goals, no matter how crazy it sounds. They
only only a few will call their bluff, and are using it as scare tactic.

~~~
mhurron
Wrong part of the government out of control. As someone else pointed out,
Zazzle is most likely more scared of the lawsuit that may or may not come from
this.

If the NSA had an issue with it, CafePress wouldn't be selling the same shirt.

------
sramsay
The same is true of the Presidential Seal, under 18 USC 713 of the United
States Code.

The NSA might be a little too aggressive here (satire is protected speech
under the first amendment of the U.S. Constitution), but I can understand the
desire to prohibit use of U.S. agency seals to falsely represent the offices
to which they're attached. This is not the same as someone using the FedEx or
the Starbucks logo . . .

------
w4rh4wk5
i'm probably going to print this on a t-shirt anyway just for fun...

Wondering what will happen when trying to enter USA while wearing that shirt -
they will probably investigate my "resource processing system's output port"

------
asiekierka
Just call it the National S __tstorm Agency. Or something.

------
RexRollman
Love the design of that logo.

------
Qantourisc
Logo looks like a near-copy paste. Reprint with just the letters ?

~~~
fnordfnordfnord
"Peeping While You're Sleeping" ? The text puts it firmly in the realm of
parody.

------
monsterix
> Public Law 86-36, which states that it is not permitted for “…any person to
> use the initials ‘NSA,’ the words ‘National Security Agency’.

So does this mean using the acronym 'NSA' and the words ‘National Security
Agency’ on the web without their written consent counts as a _felony_ when
they pick you up? Will they apply additional 10 years to imprisonment
statement? Making room for the _scapegoat_?

