WELCOME to Connected Rights, your jewel in the cuckoo's nest of digital rights news and analysis. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IS PREPARING TO ABANDON the whole self-regulatory thing around takedowns of terrorist content. Per security commissioner Julian King, there hasn't been "enough progress" from the platforms, and "we cannot afford to relax or become complacent in the … Continue reading Are online platforms tools or privatised law enforcement?
Time to take on a new anti-encryption law
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your bird on the wire of digital rights news and analysis. IT'S FINALLY BOILING OVER DOWN UNDER: the government of Malcolm "The Laws of Mathematics Are Very Commendable" Turnbull has unveiled its Assistance and Access Bill 2018, to combat the terrible threat posed by encrypted communications. The bill would allow new types … Continue reading Time to take on a new anti-encryption law
Google, China and InfoWars: Online censorship hits the headlines
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your hadron in the collider of digital rights news and analysis. GOOGLE PULLED OUT OF CHINA EIGHT YEARS AGO over the country's censorship requirements and state-sponsored hacking. But now, according to multiple reports, the company is planning a return, with censor-friendly search and news aggregation apps being developed under a project codenamed … Continue reading Google, China and InfoWars: Online censorship hits the headlines
“Democracy needs resistance” – the ePrivacy reform is in trouble
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your ham in the slow cooker of digital rights news and analysis. A NEW EU LAW COVERING THE PRIVACY OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS appears to have stalled in the legislative process. The Council of the EU, currently led by the Austrians under a rotating presidency, is supposed to figure out a common position … Continue reading “Democracy needs resistance” – the ePrivacy reform is in trouble
When spies get to decide surveillance is OK
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your bun in the oven of digital rights news and analysis. A DECADE'S WORTH OF BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARIES WRONGLY authorised the intelligence agencies to collect as much telecommunications as they liked, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has found after a lot of bugging (pardon the pun) by Privacy International. Essentially, the foreign secretaries … Continue reading When spies get to decide surveillance is OK
Even Big Tech is worried about facial recognition
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your slice in the toaster of digital rights news and analysis. MICROSOFT HAS DONE SOMETHING VERY UNUSUAL FOR a big tech firm. It has warned that a recent, popular technological development – facial recognition – is dangerous and needs regulating. In a blog post, Microsoft legal chief Brad Smith said facial recognition "can … Continue reading Even Big Tech is worried about facial recognition
Tech’s perversion of the democratic process
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your gambol through the wheat fields of digital rights news and analysis. FACEBOOK WILL INCUR THE MAXIMUM POSSIBLE FINE in the UK over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) announced today. That fine is only £500,000, because the incident happened in the pre-GDPR days, but it's still not a … Continue reading Tech’s perversion of the democratic process
Google and Facebook’s home state is the new privacy battleground
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your tip of the iceberg of digital rights news and analysis. CALIFORNIA HAS PASSED A LAW THAT CAN be best described as "GDPR-lite" – like the EU law, AB 375 forces companies to say what data they hold, why they hold it and where it goes, lets consumers object to their data … Continue reading Google and Facebook’s home state is the new privacy battleground
Dark patterns and the “meaning” of privacy
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your flick of the wrist of digital rights news and analysis. BIG TECH COMPANIES ARE MEETING TODAY TO DISCUSS PRIVACY in the wake of the GDPR and the Cambridge Analytica scandal, according to Axios. The publication quotes Dean Garfield, head of the Information Technology Industry Council, as saying "they've always viewed privacy … Continue reading Dark patterns and the “meaning” of privacy
Censorship disaster looms in Europe
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your licence to link to digital rights news and analysis. Sorry there was no Connected Rights last week – I've been taking a little time off. But important stuff is afoot! EUROPE IS A STEP CLOSER TO GETTING A DEEPLY DAMAGING new copyright law, after a vote this morning by the European Parliament's … Continue reading Censorship disaster looms in Europe
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