David Meyer

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”?

David Meyer

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

David Meyer

Not handing over your passwords is a terrorist offence, citizen

WELCOME to Connected Rights, your cat in the cradle of digital rights news and analysis. NOT HANDING OVER YOUR PASSWORDS IS A TERRORIST OFFENCE in the UK. I've briefly mentioned the case of Mohammad Rabbani before (http://bit.ly/2whZWQZ), but now he's been officially found guilty: http://bit.ly/2yEsztz Rabbani is the international director of human rights group Cage, an NGO that … Continue reading Not handing over your passwords is a terrorist offence, citizen

David Meyer

America is starting to get why data protection is so important

WELCOME to Connected Rights, your shot in the arm of digital rights news and analysis. A slightly longer newsletter than usual today, but there's a lot to discuss. Here goes… THE EQUIFAX DATA LEAK is what can mostly politely be termed as an omnishambles. Hackers made off with the personal information of 143 million Americans, and … Continue reading America is starting to get why data protection is so important

David Meyer

Online anonymity is under threat, and not just in China

WELCOME to Connected Rights, your toe on the tripwire of digital rights news and analysis. CHINA IS TRYING (AGAIN) TO MAKE ONLINE ANONYMITY a thing of the past. According to new rules from the country's "cyberspace administration", website operators have to ensure that anyone commenting on their site is using their real name – which they … Continue reading Online anonymity is under threat, and not just in China

David Meyer

Blocking the internet’s memory? A reason would be nice

WELCOME to Connected Rights, your hands in the air of digital rights news and analysis. THE INTERNET ARCHIVE is kind of the internet's memory – the repository where all the stuff that's been taken down or gone missing is replicated and searchable. Which makes it particularly worrying to see that the Indian government has apparently blocked it: http://bit.ly/2vLDkMn … Continue reading Blocking the internet’s memory? A reason would be nice

David Meyer

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

David Meyer

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