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UK UPR rights review [UN HRC] - Via JURIST - Video Monitor:
Michael Willis, Minister of State of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, introduces its report, UN Human Rights Council First Universal Periodic Review, April 10, 2008. RealPlayer, 18 minutes. Watch recorded video. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.
No-go on GOFA - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
Today, CDT posted an updated memorandum on the most recent version of the Global Online Freedom Act (”GOFA”). GOFA was first introduced by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) several years ago in response to troubling reports of company complicity in Internet censorship and cooperation in prosecutions of dissidents who posted political material online. The late Rep. Tom P. Lantos, (D-Ca) took up the cause last year and the bill was reported out of the Committee on Foreign Affairs late last year. Industry opposition to the bill has been fierce and efforts to bring the bill to the floor on suspension have thus far been thwarted.
CDT strongly believes that technology companies doing business in countries that broadly surveil and censor the Internet must take serious steps to identify and minimize the human rights risks associated with providing services and technology solutions in those countries. For several years, we have been co-facilitating a multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at developing global principles to guide ICT companies facing free expression and privacy challenges. We remain hopefully that these principles will grow into a global industry standard that will give the industry a road map for collective action in this area.
We also believe that companies must not hide from these challenges. They should advocate for changes in public policy that protect the rights of their users, challenge laws where possible and collaborate with human rights groups and other stakeholders to build support for an open Internet that supports human rights. read more »
British Litterbugs Fork Over DNA - Via ACLU Blog - Privacy & Technology:
This morning, NPR covered the U.K.'s use of anti-terrorism surveillance tools to nab the perpetrators of petty crimes, like litterbugs and people who don't curb their dogs. In their profile, they described the case of two parents who were surveilled by the local town council to see if they were cheating on the residency requirements needed to gain admission to a local public school for their three-year-old.
NPR's Vicki Barker expanded on the subject of privacy rights by interviewing Simon Davies, head of ACLU partner Privacy International (PI), for the story. read more »
European Parliament to Sarkozy: No "Three Strikes" Here - Via EFF: Deep Links:
Despite last minute attempts by the French government to divide them, European<
MEPs today voted decisively against "three strikes", the IFPI-promoted plan to
create a class of digital outcasts, forbidden from accessing the Net if
repeatedly accused by music companies of downloading infringing content.
In a vote held today, hundreds of MEPs supported language
which declared termination of Internet access to be in conflict with "civil
liberties and human rights and with the principles of proportionality,
effectiveness and dissuasiveness", all core values of the European Union. read more »
Ex-pitchman's trial could set precedent - Via National Post (Canada):
The trial of a former television pitchman could be a precedent setting case in deciding the privacy rights of Internet subscribers who are the subject of a criminal investigation.
[...]
After discovering a specific Internet protocol address and learning it belonged to a Bell Canada customer, police executed a search warrant to obtain the subscriber information from the Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Mr. Smith is arguing there were not reasonable grounds for the first warrant to be issued or for a second one to be executed at his home. read more »
Having Your ID Stolen Leads to Job Loss, Prosecution - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:
ConfusedVorlon writes "The BBC reports on the sad case of Simon Bunce. Mr. Bunce had his identity stolen, and credit cards were made to capitalize on the theft. Some of those cards were used at sites offering child pornography, and as a result Mr. Bunce was swept up in Operation Ore. The poor man was prosecuted for his 'crime', and was eventually found innocent, but in the meantime he lost his job. It took him six months to find another at a quarter of the salary. read more »
Lawyer Banned for Threatening File-Sharers - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:
S. Hare brings us a report from TorrentFreak about a lawyer working for a Swiss anti-piracy group who was recently given a 6-month ban for her attempts to intimidate file-sharers though letters threatening fines and court fees. Elizabeth Martin demanded 400 Euros each from "hundreds of thousands of file-sharers," and suggested that they would have to face large settlements if they did not comply. The Paris Bar Council took exception to this and instituted the ban. Martin worked for Logistep, a company who has had trouble following laws in the past. read more »
Making Available != Distribution, Says Court in London-Sire v. Doe - Via EFF: Deep Links:
Same day, two federal courts, two different rulings on "making available."
As we mentioned yesterday, a New York court in Elektra v. Barker gave a boost to the recording industry by ruling that an offer to distribute a file on a P2P network can infringe the distribution right, even if no one ever actually downloaded it from you. Well, on the same day, a Massachusetts court in London-Sire v. Doe ruled just the opposite, holding that "merely exposing music files to the internet is not copyright infringement" (we just received the ruling today). read more »
Global minilinks for 2008-03-22 - Via EFF: Deep Links: read more »
- Antigua Says It Will Start Ignoring US CopyrightsWTO gave Antigua the right to ignore US IP rights as part of a judgement over online gambling bans. Now the small country is threatening to begin its data haven status, starting in April.
- France's Oliviennes Law in Final Negotiations (Google Translation)Sticking point among parties to the discussion is ISP filtering; outside, users are worried about government access to IP addresses and end-user liability for others using their network.
Sweden to Give Courts New Power to Hunt IP Infringers - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:
I Don't Believe in Imaginary Property writes "The Swedish Culture & Justice ministers are preparing to give new power to Swedish courts to let them force ISPs to give up subscriber IPs. The end goal is trying subscribers in court for copyright infringement. As the one-time home of the Pirate Bay, which is now internationally distributed, they face both US pressure and push-back at home. The Swedish arm of the Pirate Party is calling this move a 'sanctioned blackmailing operation', but hopefully the Swedish courts won't allow the IFPI to use as many tricks as the RIAA has in US courts."
Japan IDs All Its Citizens - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:
Edis Krad writes "While RealID in the US is a threat whose implementation is a ways in the future, the Japanese long ago implemented something similar; and there has been very little complaint raised about it. The Juki Net (Residents Registration Network — link in Japanese) has been silently developing since 1992. The system involves an 11-digit unique number to identify every citizen in Japan, and the data stored against that ID covers name, address, date of birth, and gender. Many Japanese citizens seem to be oblivious that such a government-run network exists. Juki Net had a spotlight shone on it recently because a number of citizens around the country sued against it, citing concerns of information misuse or leakage. read more »
Canadian Privacy Commissioner Orders Bar to Stop Scanning IDs - Via Threat Level:
It's taken two and a half years to get a ruling but the privacy commissioner in Alberta, Canada, has ordered a Calgary nightclub to stop scanning the driver's licenses of people who patronize the bar and to destroy all information that the club has collected on patrons through scanning.
In August 2005, a bar patron named Nyall Engfield filed a complaint with the privacy commissioner against the Tantra Nightclub in Calgary, after employees at the club scanned his ID. The club owners claimed that the scanning discouraged potential troublemakers from entering the bar or acting out once inside, since they knew they could be easily identified.
But Engfield objected to the bar collecting his personal information without his permission. read more »
German court limits cyber spying - Via BBC NEWS | Europe:
Germany's highest court has restricted the right of the security services to spy on the computers of suspected criminals and terrorists.
Under the technique, software sent in an email enables the authorities to spy on a suspect's computer hard drive.
The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe said cyber spying violated individuals' right to privacy and could be used only in exceptional cases.
Civil liberties activists have warned of an unacceptable invasion of privacy. read more »
German Court Abolishes German Snooping Law - Via Slashdot: Your Rights Online:
Robert writes to mention that Germany's highest court has imposed limitations on the amount of spying governmental bodies can do on a suspect's computer. The ruling comes in response to a state law on North Rhine Westphalia that had allowed secret services to peer into a citizen's computer. "Court President Hans-Juergen Papier said that using such software contravened rights enshrined in Germany's constitution, adding that the decision would serve as a precedent across the country. The ruling emphasized that cyber spying by the authorities would have to receive the permission of a judge. The German government has described cyber spying as a vital tool in fighting terrorism."
Judge on privacy: Computer code trumps the law - Via Privacy : Tech news from CNET :
Australian High Court Judge Justice Kirby says computer code is more potent than the law--and that legislators are powerless to do anything about it.
Technology has outpaced the legal system's ability to regulate its use in matters of privacy and fair use rights, said Kirby, speaking Thursday night at an Internet Industry Association (IIA) event.
Kirby said the judicial system has faced difficulties in coping with changes the Internet and computing have brought. read more »
Pirate Bay Says It Can't Be Sunk, Servers Scattered Worldwide - Via Threat Level:
The world's most notorious BitTorrent tracking site, The Pirate Bay, won't be going to Davy Jones' Locker, even if its four operators are convicted of facilitating copyright infringement, one of the defendants said in an interview Friday with THREAT LEVEL.
Peter Sunde Kolmisoppi, one of the four Swedes charged in Sweden on Thursday, said in a telephone interview that the site has set up a clandestine, double-blind operation with its servers spread throughout the world -- and out of reach of the Swedish authorities. read more »
Anti piracy group 'breaks law' to track file sharers - Computerworld UK - The Voice of IT Management - Via Computerworld UK - The Voice of IT Management:
The Swiss authorities have warned a company that tracks file sharers for copyright violations that its tactics violate the country's telecommunication law.
Logistep, which supplies information on suspected file sharers to law firms around the world for use in copyright violation cases, has until 9 February to respond to the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner (FDPIC), said Marc Schaefer, the agency's legal advisor.
Under Swiss law, the identity of a subscriber to an ISP (Internet service provider) can only be revealed during the course of a criminal case, not a civil one, Schaefer said. The IP (Internet Protocol) address of a computer controlled by the subscriber is considered "personal" information. read more »
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