WELCOME to Connected Rights, your fire in the hold of digital rights news and analysis. RUSSIA IS PROVIDING A HORRIFYING/HILARIOUS CASE STUDY into the effects of trying to censor a popular service that doesn't want to be censored. After a court ordered the blocking of encrypted messaging app Telegram (for not being willing/able to share encryption … Continue reading Let’s talk about encryption. Again.
Microsoft’s big email privacy fight is over
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your twist in the sobriety of digital rights news and analysis. MICROSOFT AGREES WITH THE US JUSTICE DEPARTMENT that their epic battle over user privacy, as it relates to emails stored on overseas servers, should be scrapped. The argument is now moot, after president Trump signed a new law (supported by Microsoft) … Continue reading Microsoft’s big email privacy fight is over
Apple makes another worrying China decision
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your pinch on the cheek of digital rights news and analysis. APPLE HAS ALARMED PRIVACY ACTIVISTS by agreeing not only to store its Chinese customers' iCloud data on Chinese servers, but to store the encryption keys for that information in the country too: http://on.wsj.com/2ESetY6 The company claims that the keys will be … Continue reading Apple makes another worrying China decision
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
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”?
NSA surveillance threatens Facebook’s European operations yet again
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your cog in the wheel of digital rights news and analysis. THE EU'S HIGHEST COURT IS GOING TO HAVE TO DECIDE whether the legal mechanism used by Facebook (and others) to send personal data to the U.S. is kosher or not: http://for.tn/2g8d0T2 This is essentially the same case that brought down the … Continue reading NSA surveillance threatens Facebook’s European operations yet again
Welcome to your locked-down future
WELCOME to Connected Rights, your eye in the needle of digital rights news and analysis. THE WORLD'S BIGGEST DIGITAL RIGHTS GROUP, THE EFF, HAS RESIGNED from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) over its standardisation of a form of digital rights management (DRM) to control the playback of online video: http://bit.ly/2yl1k6S The key problem, according to … Continue reading Welcome to your locked-down future
Bad Apple
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
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