Why Tim Berners-Lee is no friend of Facebook: John Naughton, Guardian

Why Tim Berners-Lee is no friend of Facebook | John Naughton | Opinion | The Guardian: "The thing that makes the web distinctive is also what made the internet special, namely that it was designed as an open platform. It was designed to facilitate “permissionless innovation”. If you had a good idea that could be realised using data packets, and possessed the programming skills to write the necessary software, then the internet – and the web – would do it for you, no questions asked. And you didn’t need much in the way of financial resources – or to ask anyone for permission – in order to realise your dream.

 An open platform is one on which anyone can build whatever they like. It’s what enabled a young Harvard sophomore, name of Zuckerberg, to take an idea lifted from two nice-but-dim oarsmen, translate it into computer code and launch it on an unsuspecting world. And in the process create an empire of 1.7 billion subjects with apparently limitless revenues. That’s what permissionless innovation is like.

 The open web enabled Zuckerberg to do this. But – guess what? – the Facebook founder has no intention of allowing anyone to build anything on his platform that does not have his express approval. " 'via Blog this'

How panics about pictures of naked women shaped the Web as we know it - The Washington Post

How panics about pictures of naked women shaped the Web as we know it - The Washington Post: "All attempts at Internet regulation raise the same question: What is the ideal level of responsibility for the companies, platforms and websites that make up the Web? It’s not a coincidence that female nudity is so frequently the catalyst for these policy battles. Our convoluted, twisted and ever-evolving social attitudes about sexuality create a perfect flash point for issues of censorship and responsibility." 'via Blog this'

BBC will ‘retain your viewing history’ • The Register

BBC will ‘retain your viewing history’ • The Register: "A BBC Spokesperson told us:

“Users can provide personal information for some of our services to get a better, more personal experience. If a user deletes their account all personal data is deleted. It’s as though they never created one. The only data of any kind that we retain is the same basic and anonymous traffic data that we, or any other website, would receive when you visit it. This data is not linked to any individual and simply tells us that an article has been viewed or that a programme has been watched.”" 'via Blog this'

Stealing bitcoins with badges: How Silk Road’s dirty cops got caught | Ars Technica

Stealing bitcoins with badges: How Silk Road’s dirty cops got caught | Ars Technica: "Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Jared Der-Yeghiayan testified at trial that there was at least one other federal agent operating on the Silk Road, under the handle "Mr. Wonderful." Ulbricht’s own files show that another user named "alpacino," whom he believed to be from DEA, was leaking info to him. This could have been Force, or it might have been another agent.

George Frost, the Bitstamp lawyer who kicked off this whole saga, remains convinced there are more suspects at large.

"It looks like there are still people out there that are involved," he said." 'via Blog this'

Privacy: MI5 staff repeatedly overrode data surveillance rules

MI5 staff repeatedly overrode data surveillance rules: "Documents reveal that security service investigators requested and authorised access of its database of bulk communications data verbally rather than in writing, overriding the agency’s own code of practice.

 MI5 reported the failure to the interception of communications commissioner, Stanley Burnton, in May 2016. He subsequently revealed there had been 210 “clear contraventions of the handling arrangements and the security service’s internal policies”.

 According to evidence given by an anonymous deputy director of MI5, staff generally filled in a form later, but admitted: “In a very small number of cases there is no record of written authorisation.”

 The evidence was disclosed at Privacy International’s hearing against the security and intelligence agencies at the investigatory powers tribunal in July 2016." 'via Blog this'

US District Court Dismisses Olympian Katinka Hosszu Defamation Action

United States District Court Dismisses Katinka Hosszu Defamation Action: "Hours before Katinka Hosszu raced to a fourth medal, a silver in the 200m backstroke, for Hungary at the Rio Aquatics Centre yesterday, the United States District Court for the District of Arizona dismissed a defamation action filed by the swimmer against Swimming World’s parent company, Sports Publications Inc, and the writer Casey Barrett.

 In May last year, the niche website ran a story under the headline “Is It Fair To Suspect That Katinka Hosszu’s Performances Are Being Aided?” 

 The court’s judgement has been made public today.

Hosszu’s suit, filed in November 2015, alleged commentaries published by SPI and Barrett accused her of using performance enhancing drugs.

In its order, the court found that the May 2015 commentary that was the focus of her complaint was a non-actionable opinion protected by the First Amendment." 'via Blog this'

"Upgrading Justice" - SCL Annual Lecture 2016 6 October 2016, London

"Upgrading Justice" - SCL Annual Lecture 2016 to be given by Professor Richard Susskind OBE FRSE - Thursday 6 October 2016, London: ""Upgrading Justice" - SCL Annual Lecture 2016 to be given by Professor Richard Susskind OBE FRSE - Thursday 6 October 2016, London

Introduction:
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, The Right Honourable The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd

Speaker:
Professor Richard Susskind OBE FRSE, President, SCL

Vote of thanks:
Mark O'Conor, Partner, DLA Piper UK LLP, Chair, SCL

The lecture will be followed by a panel session and Q&A.

Venue: Royal College Of Surgeons, 35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PE.

Registration: 5.30 pm
Lecture: 6 - 7.30 pm
Drinks reception: from 7.30 pm" 'via Blog this'

Negative energy – 2040 information law blog

Negative energy – 2040 information law blog: "The ICO is too close to their stakeholders. I’ve written before about the uncritical, supportive relationship between ICO and NHS England / HSCIC over Care.data.  In the past few weeks, Ian Bourne, Group Manager in the ICO’s Policy Delivery team was bemoaning the future at a seminar organised by Privacy Laws and Business: “the ICO’s traditional ability to be flexible and business savvy will be under much more scrutiny from other DPAs“.

In other words, the GDPR’s consistency mechanism will stop the ICO telling organisations what they want to hear, and force them to take action on principles other than the Seventh." 'via Blog this'