Open letter in the Daily Telegraph: Concerns with ‘information sharing’ provisions in the Digital Economy Bill

Open letter in the Daily Telegraph: Concerns with ‘information sharing’ provisions in the Digital Economy Bill | Information Law & Policy Centre: "The Bill puts government ministers in control of citizens’ personal data, a significant change in the relationship between citizen and state. It means that personal data provided to one part of government can be shared with other parts of government and private‑sector companies without citizens’ knowledge or consent.

 Government should be strengthening, not weakening, the protection of sensitive information, particularly given the almost daily reports of hacks and leaks of personal data. Legal and technical safeguards need to be embedded within the Bill to ensure citizens’ trust. There must be clear guidance for officials, and mechanisms by which they and the organisations with whom they share information can be held to account." 'via Blog this'

Has the internet become a failed state? John Naughton

Has the internet become a failed state? | Technology | The Guardian: "So we’re left with two real possibilities – some blend of Balkanisation and inter-state conflict, both extrapolations of trends that we can already observe.

 If this is indeed how things pan out, I know one scholar, a distinguished professor of international relations, who won’t be in the least surprised. Sixteen years ago, in a conversation about the internet, he asked me if I really believed that the internet represented a fundamental challenge to established power structures.

I replied vehemently in the affirmative – because, in my techno-utopian fervour, I did believe. He smiled but said nothing, and so eventually I asked him what he thought. “We’ll see, dear boy,” he replied. “We’ll see.”" 'via Blog this'

127 days in the job and preparing for GDPR: Information Commissioner

127 days in the job and preparing for GDPR | ICO: "GDPR brings a more 21st century approach – the right of consumers to data portability is new, as is mandatory data breach reporting, higher standards of consent, and significantly larger fines for when companies get things wrong.

 But the big change is about giving consumers control over their data. I believe this is a positive development. Consumers get that they sometimes have to share some of their personal data to get the best service from organisations, or where there are pressing public policy needs that must be met like fighting crime and protecting the vulnerable. But they’re right to expect that information be kept safe, be used transparently and for organisations to demonstrate their accountability for their compliance.

 We know now that the government has confirmed the UK will implement GDPR. And the ICO is committed to assisting businesses and public bodies to prepare to meet the requirements of the GDPR ahead of May 2018 and beyond." 'via Blog this'

Mark Zuckerberg Is in Denial - NYTimes

Mark Zuckerberg Is in Denial - The New York Times: "In Myanmar, for example, misinformation on Facebook has reportedly helped fuel ethnic cleansing, creating an enormous refugee crisis.

 Facebook may want to claim that it is remaining neutral, but that is a false and dangerous stance. The company’s business model, algorithms and policies entrench echo chambers and fuel the spread of misinformation.

Letting this stand is not neutrality; it amplifies the dangerous currents roiling the world.

When Facebook is discussed in tomorrow’s history books, it will probably not be about its quarterly earnings reports and stock options." 'via Blog this'

Information Commissioner updates on WhatsApp/Facebook investigation

Information Commissioner updates on WhatsApp / Facebook investigation | ICO Blog: "We have now asked Facebook and WhatsApp to sign an undertaking committing to better explaining to customers how their data will be used, and to giving users ongoing control over that information. We also want individuals to have the opportunity to be given an unambiguous choice before Facebook start using that information and to be given the opportunity to change that decision at any point in the future.

We think consumers deserve a greater level of information and protection, but so far Facebook and WhatsApp haven’t agreed. If Facebook starts using the data without valid consent, it may face enforcement action from my office.

 We’ll keep pushing on this, both from our office and alongside other data protection authorities across Europe, notably the Irish Data Protection Commissioner, where Facebook’s EU headquarters are based." 'via Blog this'

Lost in the splinternet | The Economist

Lost in the splinternet | The Economist: "The court will hear the case on December 2nd and may hand down a verdict by January.

The spread of the right to be forgotten is part of a wider trend towards the fragmentation of the internet. Courts and governments have embarked on what some call a “legal arms race” to impose a maze of national or regional rules, often conflicting, in the digital realm. Left unchecked, the trend towards a “splinternet” will cause economic damage, hamper digital innovation, restrict free speech—and, according to a recent report for the World Economic Forum, a conference organiser-cum-think-tank, ruin the “internet’s enormous capacity to facilitate human progress”.

The internet has always been something of a subversive undertaking. As a ubiquitous, cross-border commons, it often defies notions of state sovereignty. A country might decide to outlaw a certain kind of service—a porn site or digital currency, say—only to see it continue to operate from other, more tolerant jurisdictions." 'via Blog this'

Draper Lecture - The Rise of the Cyber Judge

Draper Lecture - The Rise of the Cyber Judge : News and events : School of Law, Politics and Sociology : Schools and services : University of Sussex: "We are delighted and honoured to have Lord Justice Fulford as our speaker for our 8th annual lecture on human rights.

The Rt Hon. Lord Justice Fulford is a Lord Justice of Appeal and as of 1 January 2016 is the Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales. Previously, he was a judge of the International Criminal Court in The Hague from 2003-12. Venue: The Law Society, 113 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1PL" 'via Blog this'

R (Miller) -V- Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

Courts and Tribunals Judiciary | R (Miller) -V- Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union: "Neutral Citation Number: [2016] EWHC 2768 (Admin)

Case No. CO/3809/2016 and CO/3281/2016

Date: 03/11/2016

In the High Court of Justice
Queen’s Bench Division
Divisional Court

Before:
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Master of the Rolls
Lord Justice Sales

Between:
The Queen on the application of (1) Gina Miller & (2) Deir Tozetti Dos Santos – Claimants

-and-

The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union – Defendant" 'via Blog this'

Big data rights: Let’s get together - European Data protection Supervisor

Big data rights: Let’s get together: "The EU has the expertise and resources to support the development of the next generation of services, to shape the so-called Fourth Industrial Revolution, in a sustainable way that respects and reinforces the values expressed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights and which are shared - though expressed differently - around the world.  It was pointed out that the pioneers of the internet never intended such a concentration of personal information in a few hands.

The take-it-or leave-it approach to online terms and conditions is well past its sell-by date. Privacy policies, unfortunately, serve the controllers' interests rather than the individuals.

It’s time to redress the unfairness the black box phenomenon where companies aiming to know everything possible about the consumer shielding its own internal processes and decision making.  

The sad truth remains that the market isn’t delivering the privacy enhancing services which people are entitled to choose." 'via Blog this'

Inside Google’s Internet Justice League and Its AI-Powered War on Trolls: WIRED

Inside Google’s Internet Justice League and Its AI-Powered War on Trolls | WIRED: "One of the moon-shot goals he’s set for Jigsaw is to end censorship within a decade, whether it comes in the form of politically motivated cyberattacks on opposition websites or government strangleholds on Internet service providers.

And if that task isn’t daunting enough, Jigsaw is about to unleash Conversation AI on the murky challenge of harassment, where the only way to protect some of the web’s most repressed voices may be to selectively shut up others.

If it can find a path through that free-speech paradox, Jigsaw will have pulled off an unlikely coup: applying artificial intelligence to solve the very human problem of making people be nicer on the Internet." 'via Blog this'

Belgium bans end-to-end encryption for VoIP · GitHub

Belgium bans end-to-end encryption for VoIP · GitHub: "Skype (a Microsoft subsidiary) has been fined 30.000 euro in Belgium, for not being able to provide information about conversations in a police investigation.

 Authorities demanded that Skype provide information about conversations between certain users, but the company said that this was a technical impossibility.

 Skype also felt that they were not bound by Belgian law, because their European headquarters are located in Luxembourg. The court disagreed, and De Standaard reports that they were fined 30.000 euro on Thursday.

The investigation took place in 2012. Skype was able to provide information about the users in question like e-mail addresses, history and IP addresses. However, they were unable to provide anything regarding the contents of conversations.

 According to the company, this was impossible because conversations are encrypted. Skype itself does not have access to their contents.

 According to the court, this is irrelevant. Because Skype is active on the Belgian market, it has to comply with local legislation that requires them to support wiretapping. "It was clear that there was no intention to cooperate with the investigation," writes the court in its verdict." 'via Blog this'

Proceedings served on State in Digital Rights challenge

Proceedings served on State in Digital Rights challenge: "DRI’s case is that Ireland has failed to properly implement EU data protection law, or to follow the requirements of the Charter of Fundamental Rights by failing to ensure the commissioner is genuinely independent from the Government.

The proceedings cite case law in a number of infringement proceedings taken by the European Commission against other countries for failure to fulfil an obligation under the EU treaties.

They include proceedings in the Commission v Hungary, Commission v Germany and Commission v Austria.
In those cases, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that data protection authorities must act impartially and must remain free from any external influence, including that of the state." 'via Blog this'