WELCOME to Connected Rights, your home on the range of digital rights news and analysis. APPLE HAS SCRUBBED DOZENS OF VPN APPS from its Chinese App Store. Virtual private networks (VPNs) allow people to re-reroute their online activities in a way that makes it hard to tell where they are, and to read things that are … Continue reading Bad Apple
EU Court kicks mass surveillance yet again
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your flash in the pan of digital rights news and analysis. RUSSIANS HAVE BEEN MARCHING against the country's ever-expanding censorship of the internet. On Sunday, around a thousand people protested prominent cases of people being prosecuted for their online writings and videos. The day before, the Russian parliament passed a law prohibiting the … Continue reading EU Court kicks mass surveillance yet again
The war on encryption gets very silly indeed
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your bop in the bop-shoo-bop-shoo-bop of digital rights news and analysis. THE WAR ON ENCRYPTION has galloped over the threshold of farce in Australia, where prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced a surprising downgrade for the jurisdiction of mathematics. Following the UK's lead, the Australian government has announced that it will try forcing online … Continue reading The war on encryption gets very silly indeed
When copyright reform gets really scary
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your bug in the light fitting of digital rights news and analysis. DANGER! THE EU'S UNDER-DEVELOPMENT COPYRIGHT REFORM may turn out very grim indeed. The European Parliament's industry and culture committees voted on Tuesday to make online platforms liable for the copyright violations of their users, and, in the case of the industry committee, … Continue reading When copyright reform gets really scary
So many ways to tackle Facebook over privacy
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your paddle up the creek of digital rights news and analysis. THE WORLD OF FACEBOOK AND PRIVACY provides rich pickings this week. First up, we have the German federal cartel office signalling that it thinks the company has been breaking antitrust law with its privacy practices. The authority's investigation is almost complete, and … Continue reading So many ways to tackle Facebook over privacy
Google’s mega-fine is good for you
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your swizzle stick in the cocktail of digital rights news and analysis. GOOGLE'S €2.42 BILLION ANTITRUST FINE is not great for the company, obviously. It's a sizeable chunk of cash, even if Google parent Alphabet made a profit of €17.14 billion last year. What's worse for Alphabet, the firm faces further fines of … Continue reading Google’s mega-fine is good for you
Here’s what the EU’s incoming digital chief thinks about digital rights
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your jiggle in the hips of digital rights news and analysis. MEET THE NEW (ALMOST) BOSS: The EU is about to get a new head of digital policy, as the old one, Germany's Günther Oettinger, has shuffled off to deal with the bloc's budget. The new "digital economy and society" commissioner-designate, a notably … Continue reading Here’s what the EU’s incoming digital chief thinks about digital rights
What are the ethics of having cameras for eyes?
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your twinkle in the eye of digital rights news and analysis. THE ISSUE OF VIDEO-CAMERA ETHICS has been on my mind over the last couple days, thanks to two separate stories. The first relates to the German hypermarket chain Real getting the go-ahead from the Bavarian privacy regulator for its use of facial … Continue reading What are the ethics of having cameras for eyes?
The battle for the future of the internet is on
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your weekly buzzer in the handshake of digital rights news and analysis. THE BATTLE'S ON for the future of the internet in the US. On July 12, tech firms (such as Amazon and Reddit) and activist groups (from Greenpeace to Access Now) will participate in an "internet-wide day of action to save net … Continue reading The battle for the future of the internet is on
Privacy vs the news
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your weekly stroll down the poorly-lit lanes of digital rights. THE MEDIA NEEDS TO TRACK YOU TO SURVIVE, according to an open letter sent to EU lawmakers by a host of news publishers, including Der Spiegel, Le Monde, the Financial Times and the Guardian: http://bit.ly/2qA3P0W. So what's all this about then? The issue here is the EU's new … Continue reading Privacy vs the news
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