WELCOME to Connected Rights, your bump on the fist of digital rights news and analysis. THE NSA'S WARRANTLESS INTERNET SURVEILLANCE POWERS look set to continue with minimal changes, after privacy activists failed to derail a bill extending the program: http://reut.rs/2EMbmAz While the authorisation of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act – which allows US … Continue reading The US is dooming the future of the transatlantic data economy
Facebook’s response to ‘ripping apart society’ claims is less than convincing
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your tickle under the chin of digital rights news and analysis. SPECIAL NOTE: This will be the last Connected Rights newsletter this year, because I'm going on vacation. Normal service will resume on January 17th. In the meantime, why not buy my book, Control Shift? It's full of Christmas cheer (I'm lying). FACEBOOK'S … Continue reading Facebook’s response to ‘ripping apart society’ claims is less than convincing
How do you know if your rights are violated by mass surveillance?
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your wind in the sails of digital rights news and analysis. PRIVACY SHIELD IS NOT IN THE CLEAR YET. Europe's privacy regulators said on Tuesday that they want to see the US stick to the terms of the transatlantic data-transfer deal by 25 May next year, otherwise they will take the matter … Continue reading How do you know if your rights are violated by mass surveillance?
The hacking of net neutrality. Plus: My book, Control Shift, is finally on sale
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your ghost in the machine of digital rights news and analysis. First things first… I'VE WRITTEN A BOOK! It's called Control Shift: How Technology Affects Your and Your Rights, and you can buy it now on Amazon: http://amzn.to/2Adw7WF (That's the link to the US store – it's in the others too, in … Continue reading The hacking of net neutrality. Plus: My book, Control Shift, is finally on sale
An Uber-bad way to handle a data breach
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your twist in the tale of digital rights news and analysis. UBER HAS DEMONSTRATED PRECISELY WHAT NOT TO DO when a major data breach happens. Yesterday, the company confessed that around a year ago it paid off hackers who had stolen the personal information of 57 million Uber users and drivers around … Continue reading An Uber-bad way to handle a data breach
State hijacking of social media is getting worse
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your fist in the air of digital rights news and analysis. SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BEEN HIJACKED TO INFLUENCE elections in at least 18 countries over the past year, according to Freedom House's latest Freedom on the Net report: http://bit.ly/2yZcOku "The Chinese and Russian regimes pioneered the use of surreptitious methods to distort online … Continue reading State hijacking of social media is getting worse
Finally, a country’s citizens get to have their say on mass surveillance
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your shot in the dark of digital rights news and analysis. THE DUTCH PEOPLE ARE GOING TO GET A MASS SURVEILLANCE REFERENDUM, probably next March. The country has a law that says if people can gather 300,000 valid signatures calling for a poll on an issue, they get their referendum. And that's … Continue reading Finally, a country’s citizens get to have their say on mass surveillance
Europe’s new privacy law is moving forward and lobbyists aren’t happy
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your foot in the door of digital rights news and analysis. THE EU's ePRIVACY REGULATION HAS CLEARED A MAJOR HURDLE after the European Parliament green-lit the start of negotiations with the EU member states over its terms. In other words, the parliament is OK with the amendments that its civil liberties committee … Continue reading Europe’s new privacy law is moving forward and lobbyists aren’t happy
Microsoft just scored a privacy victory for its email users
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your fly in the ointment of digital rights news and analysis. MICROSOFT HAS BEEN FIGHTING THE US AUTHORITIES since last year over the issue of gag orders, and it seems to have won: http://for.tn/2yNjBwq The company was irked that the authorities routinely told it to keep its mouth shut when they wanted … Continue reading Microsoft just scored a privacy victory for its email users
Does the controversial Privacy Shield really “work well”?
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your finger on the pulse of digital rights news and analysis. PRIVACY SHIELD IS WORKING DESPITE SOME PROBLEMS, according to the European Commission. The executive issued its first annual report on the EU-US data-sharing deal on Wednesday, saying it ensures an "adequate level of protection" for Europeans whose personal data is being … Continue reading Does the controversial Privacy Shield really “work well”?