Paul Hardwick: Europe

Administrivia: Possible unscheduled upgrade of Privacy Digest

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 01:39:04 GMT

Administrivia: Possible unscheduled upgrade of Privacy Digest.

I might be implementing an unscheduled upgrade of the site due to some problems with the software I am currently using to run the site. I had been working on upgrading the software to implement some new features but may have to implement sooner than originally planned. If you would like to take a peek at the planned software take a visit to http://www.PrivacyDigest.com/index.php Yes the full URL will have to be entered until I have completed the switch over.

There may be some hiccups during the process as the XML/RSS location will change along with access to the sub-topics. I plan to create mod-rewrite rules to take of this but they may not all be ready on day one.

Please let me know what you think.

Beeb shuts down Jam education website.

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 18:40:35 GMT

Beeb shuts down Jam education website.

Internet no place for free stuff, says EC

The BBC has suspended its free online education website after complaints from commercial providers.

[The Register - Music and Media]

European Policy Strategy Proposed for RFID.

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 19:14:57 GMT

European Policy Strategy Proposed for RFID. "The Commission's Europe-wide public consultation in 2006 identified a strong lack of awareness and considerable concern among citizens." [GT: Security and Privacy]

EU Working Towards RFID Standards.

Thu, 15 Mar 2007 17:57:25 GMT

EU Working Towards RFID Standards. European Commission has formed a RFID stakeholder group, says industry must pay attention to security and privacy issues. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

EFF: Paper: Who Controls Your Television?

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 20:46:30 GMT

Today, consumers can digitally record their favorite television shows, move recordings to portable video players, excerpt a small clip to include in a home video, and much more. The digital television transition promises innovation and competition in even more great gadgets that will give consumers unparalleled control over their media.

But an inter-industry organization that creates television and video specifications used in Europe, Australia, and much of Africa and Asia is laying the foundation for a far different future -- one in which major content providers get a veto over innovation and consumers face draconian digital rights management (DRM) restrictions on the use of TV content. At the behest of American movie and television studios, the Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB) is devising standards to ensure that digital television devices obey content providers' commands rather than consumers' desires. These restrictions will take away consumers' rights and abilities to use lawfully-acquired content so that each use can be sold back to them piecemeal.

Consumers would never choose this future, so Hollywood will try to force it on them by regulatory fiat. DVB's imprimatur may put restrictive standards on the fast-track to becoming legally-enforced mandates, and existing laws already limit evasion of DRM even for lawful purposes. In effect, private DRM standards will trump national laws that have traditionally protected the public's interests and carefully circumscribed copyright holders' rights.

Hollywood has long pursued this goal in the U.S., but its schemes in DVB have taken place behind the public's back and outside of scrutiny by elected officials. In this paper, we will summarize and expose Hollywood's plan.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the only public interest group to have attended DVB's closed technical meetings. As a condition of participation, DVB imposed restrictions on our ability to report on these meetings. Now, after key parts of DVB's new DRM specification have been sent to the European standards body and may soon be provided to other EU regulators, we are releasing this paper to help consumer organizations and EU regulators understand the significant public policy implications of various DVB work items.

CPCM: A System to Control Innovation, Competition, and Television Viewers

Despite record profits in recent years, American movie and television studios have not relented in their cries that new technologies are a mortal threat to their industry. They sued to block the VCR and the first mass-market Digital Video Recorder (DVR) in the U.S., and, having failed to stamp out recording in those efforts, they have increasingly turned to creating restrictive technical standards backed by law.

American Studios' Secret Plan to Lock Down European TV Devices.

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:53:46 GMT

American Studios' Secret Plan to Lock Down European TV Devices.

EFF Exposes Standards Jeopardizing Innovation and Consumer Rights

San Francisco - An international consortium of television and technology companies is devising draconian anti-consumer restrictions for the next generation of TVs in Europe and beyond, at the behest of American entertainment giants.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is the only public interest group to have gained entrance into the secretive meetings of the Digital Video Broadcasting Project (DVB), a group that creates the television and video specifications used in Europe, Australia, and much of Asia and Africa. In a report released today, EFF shows how U.S. movie and television companies have convinced DVB to create new technical specifications that would build digital rights management technologies into televisions. These specifications are likely to take away consumers' rights, which will subsequently be sold back to them piecemeal -- so entertainment fans will have to pay again and again for legitimate uses of lawfully acquired digital television content.

"DVB is abetting a massive power grab by the content industry, and many of the world's largest technology companies are simply watching," said Ren Bucholz, EFF Policy Coordinator, Americas. "This regime was concocted without input from consumer rights organizations or public interest groups, and it shows."

Despite recent record profits, American movie and television studios insist that new technologies could ruin their industry. In past battles against innovation, these same studios sued to block the sale of the VCR and the first mass-marketed digital video recorder in the U.S. Having failed in those efforts, they have now turned to creating technical standards that, when backed by law, are likely to restrict consumers' existing rights and threaten the future of technological innovation.

With DVB, the plan begun by entertainment companies in the U.S. has now gone global. EFF's report is aimed at alerting European consumer groups and consumers about the dangers posed by the proposed standards and providing informational resources for European regulators.

"DVB members' active indifference, even hostility, to user rights is shameful," said EFF Staff Technologist Seth Schoen. "When American studios ask for regulatory support for restrictions pushed through the DVB Project, public officials must stand up for consumer rights, sustain competition and innovation, and tell Hollywood to back off."

For the full report:
http://www.eff.org/IP/DVB/dvb_briefing_paper.php

EFF's 2005 Submission to the U.K. Department of Media, Sports and Culture:
http://www.eff.org/IP/DVB/dvb_critique.php

Contacts:

Ren Bucholz
Policy Coordinator, Americas
Electronic Frontier Foundation
ren@eff.org

Seth Schoen
Staff Technologist
Electronic Frontier Foundation
seth@eff.org

[EFF: Breaking News]

UK official calls for international privacy standards.

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 17:31:25 GMT

UK official calls for international privacy standards. After a spate of disputes between the U.S. and the European Union over privacy safeguards, the U.K.'s information commissioner is calling for international harmonization of data-protection rules. [Computerworld Privacy News]

Don't like ID cards? Hand over your passport | the Daily Mail

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:56:16 GMT

Anybody who objects to their personal details going on the new "Big Brother" ID cards database will be banned from having a passport.

James Hall, the official in charge of the supposedly-voluntary scheme, said the Government would allow people to opt out - but in return they must "forgo the ability" to have a travel document.

With one in every eight people saying they will refuse to sign-up, up to five million adults could effectively be refused permission to leave the country.

Campaigners reacted to Mr Hall's remarks with fury, saying they were yet more evidence of the lurch towards "Big Brother" Britain.

Phil Booth, of the NO2ID group, said: "The idea that ID cards scheme is voluntary, and people can opt-out, is a joke.

"There are all sorts of reasons why people need to travel, not just for holidays. There is work, visiting relatives.

"What are these people supposed to do? It stretches the definition of voluntary beyond breaking point. They will go to any length to get personal information for this huge database. Who knows what will happen to it then?"

No Passport For Britons Refusing Mass Surveillance.

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 16:52:17 GMT

No Passport For Britons Refusing Mass Surveillance. UpnAtom writes "People who refuse to give up their bank records, tax records & details of any benefits they've claimed, and the records of their car movements for the last year, or refuse to submit to an interrogation on whether they are the same person that this mountain of data belongs to -- will be denied passports from March 26th. The Blair government has already admitted that this and other data will be cross-linked so that the Home Office and other officials can spy on the everyday lives of innocent Britons. Britons were already the most spied upon nation in Western Europe -- more so even than Sweden. Data-mining through this unprecedented level of mass-surveillance allows any future British government to leapfrog even countries like China and North Korea." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

The Local - 'Big brother' surveillance makes waves in Sweden

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 20:21:39 GMT

A far-reaching wiretapping programme proposed by Sweden's government to defend against foreign threats, including monitoring emails and telephone calls, has stirred up a fiery debate in the past few weeks, with critics decrying the creation of a "big brother" state.

The new legislation, to be presented to parliament on Thursday, would enable the National Defence Radio Establishment (FRA) to tap all Internet and telephone communication in and out of Sweden.

Sweden Admits Tapping Citizens' Phones for Decades.

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 20:18:28 GMT

Sweden Admits Tapping Citizens' Phones for Decades. paulraps writes "Sweden is close to implementing new surveillance legislation that will include the monitoring of emails, telephone calls and keyword searches using advanced pattern analysis. The objective is to detect 'threats such as terrorism, IT attacks or the spread of weapons of mass destruction' but the proposals have divided the country. In a misguided attempt to put people at ease, the government admitted that Sweden has been tapping its citizens' phones for decades anyway." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Sweden: Monitor Communications.

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 04:35:34 GMT

Sweden: Monitor Communications. A Swedish government security plan would allow a defense intelligence agency to monitor -- without a court order -- e-mail traffic and phone calls crossing the nation's borders. By the Associated Press. [Wired News: Top Stories]

Crack! Security expert hacks RFID in UK passport.

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 15:41:33 GMT

Crack! Security expert hacks RFID in UK passport. The British government says that forgery of their new biometric passports is inconceivable, but a security expert has demonstrated a successful crack of the embedded RFID chip and its info. And he did it without taking the document out of its mailing envelope. [Computerworld Privacy News]

Macworld: News: France bans citizen journalists from reporting violence

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:10:30 GMT

The French Constitutional Council has approved a law that criminalizes the filming or broadcasting of acts of violence by people other than professional journalists. The law could lead to the imprisonment of eyewitnesses who film acts of police violence, or operators of Web sites publishing the images, one French civil liberties group warned on Tuesday.

The council chose an unfortunate anniversary to publish its decision approving the law, which came exactly 16 years after Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King were filmed by amateur videographer George Holliday on the night of March 3, 1991. The officers' acquittal at the end on April 29, 1992 sparked riots in Los Angeles.

If Holliday were to film a similar scene of violence in France today, he could end up in prison as a result of the new law, said Pascal Cohet, a spokesman for French online civil liberties group Odebi. And anyone publishing such images could face up to five years in prison and a fine of â[not equal]¬75,000 (US$98,537), potentially a harsher sentence than that for committing the violent act.

In France, Only Journalists Can Film Violence.

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 02:07:13 GMT

In France, Only Journalists Can Film Violence. BostonBTS sends word that the French Constitutional Council has just made it illegal to film violence unless you are a professional journalist (or to distribute a video containing violence). The law was approved exactly 16 years after amateur videographer George Holliday filmed Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King. The Council was tidying up a body of law about offenses against the public order, and wanted to ban "happy slapping." A charitable reading would be that the lawmakers stumbled into unintended consequences. Not according to Pascal Cohet, a spokesman for French online civil liberties group Odebi: --- "The broad drafting of the law so as to criminalize the activities of citizen journalists unrelated to the perpetrators of violent acts is no accident, but rather a deliberate decision by the authorities, said [Cohet]. He is concerned that the law, and others still being debated, will lead to the creation of a parallel judicial system controlling the publication of information on the Internet." a href="http://yro.slashdot.org/">Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Cybercrime Treaty: What it Means to You

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 01:53:57 GMT

In that vein, in August the Senate ratified the Convention on Cybercrime, drafted by the Council of Europe with considerable input from the United States. So far, 43 nations have signed on. The Convention includes many sensible provisions aimed at unifying global computer-crime laws, and closes loopholes that make it possible for criminals to escape prosecution by locating their activities offshore.

But civil libertarians, along with leading telecommunications companies, strongly oppose the treaty. Civil libertarians are especially concerned about the sweeping authority given to participating countries to seize information from private parties as they investigate cybercrimes, even when the activity being investigated isn't a crime in the country where the data is located. If France is investigating a sale of Nazi memorabilia on eBay, the U.S. must cooperate, even though such transactions are not illegal in the U.S.

Telecommunications companies object to provisions that require member countries to establish and enforce potent data-retention policies for network traffic, and require any operator of a computer network to respond to requests for information from any participating country without compensation of any kind.

These are potentially serious problems, especially given that the Convention is open to any country that wants to join. But there are more practical reasons U.S. businesses should be concerned. The provisions for data retention and production apply to any operator of a computer network, not just telecoms. Worse, Article 12 attaches liability to businesses for "lack of supervision or control" of employees who commit criminal offenses covered by the Convention. Businesses must worry about employee activities that may be legal here, but illegal elsewhere, risking administrative, civil, or even criminal penalties.

These investigative and supervision costs will invariably be imposed on businesses without any real controls. Worldwide law-enforcement agencies, in other words, may now avail themselves of the opportunity to outsource their most expensive problems to you.

Cybercrime Treaty ó Hidden Costs For All.

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 01:48:08 GMT

Cybercrime Treaty [~] Hidden Costs For All. linuxtelephony writes in with an article at CIO Insight about a cybercrime treaty drafted in Europe with help from the US. It has implications for just about everyone with a network. From the article: "Civil libertarians are especially concerned about the sweeping authority given to participating countries to seize information from private parties as they investigate cybercrimes, even when the activity being investigated isn't a crime in the country where the data is located... Telecommunications companies object to provisions that require member countries to establish and enforce potent data-retention policies for network traffic, and require any operator of a computer network to respond to requests for information from any participating country without compensation of any kind... The provisions for data retention and production apply to any operator of a computer network, not just telecoms... Worldwide law-enforcement agencies, in other words, may now avail themselves of the opportunity to outsource their most expensive problems to you." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

European Retailer Embeds RFID Chips in Shoes.

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 02:28:01 GMT

European Retailer Embeds RFID Chips in Shoes. One of Europe's largest shoe companies plans to embed wireless chips in shoes sold at hundreds of stores across the continent. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

Windows for Warships nears frontline service | The Register

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 02:07:50 GMT

The Type 45 destroyers now being launched will run Windows for Warships: and that's not all. The attack submarine Torbay has been retrofitted with Microsoft-based command systems, and as time goes by the rest of the British submarine fleet will get the same treatment, including the Vanguard class (V class). The V boats carry the UK's nuclear weapons and are armed with Trident ICBMs, tipped with multiple H-bomb warheads.

All this raises a number of worrying issues. First up is basic reliability and usability. Most of us have stared in helpless despair at the dreaded blue screen; how much worse would you feel if that wasn't just your desktop gone but your combat display, and it really was the screen of death?

Windows For Warships Nearly Ready.

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 01:59:26 GMT

Windows For Warships Nearly Ready. mattaw writes "The Register is carrying the sanest and balanced article on Windows deployment in UK warships that I have read to date in the public domain. As an ex-naval bod myself we have long considered that this is potentially a REAL problem. The main issues are the huge amount of unrelated code that is imported with the kernel and the need for incredibly fast response times." [Slashdot]

German Antiterror Law Links Large Databases.

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:22:23 GMT

German Antiterror Law Links Large Databases. Law takes effect creating comprehensive pool of personal data in antiterrorist effort. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

Administrivia: Now we have a overheated CPU ( 60 degrees centigrade )

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 23:39:01 GMT

OK, if the DDOS attack wasn't enough. Now our server went down with a temperature overload. We were up to 60 degrees centigrade when we shut down. The CPU and a broken fan have been replaced.

Administrivia: Our data-center was hit by a DDOS attack today.

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:19:59 GMT

Sorry for being either very slow or off the net for a while recently. The data-center we are part of was hit by a DDOS (Distributed Denial Of Service) attack recently. At the moment it looks to be under control, but we are keeping an eye on things.

Studios, FBI Teach Swedish Cops to Hunt File Sharers.

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 16:10:37 GMT

Studios, FBI Teach Swedish Cops to Hunt File Sharers. The FBI and the MPAA, with the Swedish antipiracy organization Antipiratbyren, are training Swedish law enforcement officers in copyright and piracy matters. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

Pharming Attack Targeted Bank Customers Worldwide.

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 15:58:49 GMT

Pharming Attack Targeted Bank Customers Worldwide. A pharming attack that targeted online banking customers in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific has been shut down. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

Proposed legislation called a threat to Internet users' privacy

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 00:54:26 GMT

European governments are preparing legislation to require companies to keep detailed data about people's Internet and phone use that goes beyond what the countries will be required to do under a European Union directive.

In Germany, a proposal from the Ministry of Justice would essentially prohibit using fake information to create an e-mail account, making the standard Internet practice of creating pseudonymous accounts illegal.

A draft law in the Netherlands would likewise go further than the EU requires, in this case by mandating phone companies to save records of exactly where someone is during an entire mobile phone conversation.

Even now, Internet service providers in Europe divulge customer information -- which they normally keep on hand for about three months, for billing purposes -- to police officials with legally valid orders on a "routine" basis, a privacy expert said. The data concern how the communication was sent and by whom but not its content.

But law enforcement officials argued at the time of the 2004 terrorist bombings in Spain and Britain that they needed more, better and longer data storage from companies handling Europe's communications networks. The Spanish National Court on Thursday is to begin the trial of 29 suspects in the Madrid train bombings of March 11, 2004, which killed 191 people and injured more than 1,800.

EU countries have until 2009 to put the Data Retention Directive into law, so the proposals out now are early interpretations. But some people involved in the issue are concerned about a swing in the privacy pendulum in Europe, which has long been a defender of individuals' privacy rights.

Under the proposals in Germany, consumers theoretically could not create fictitious e-mail accounts, for example, to disguise themselves in online auctions. Nor could they use a made-up account to use for receiving commercial junk mail. While e-mail aliases would not be banned, they would have to be traceable to the actual account holder.

Dutch Hacker Appeals Jail Sentence.

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 23:23:48 GMT

Dutch Hacker Appeals Jail Sentence. The leader of a gang that committed what has been described as the Netherland's biggest cybercrime is appealing his sentence. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

Web Censorship Proposed For Norway.

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 00:08:57 GMT

Web Censorship Proposed For Norway. Aqwis writes "A Norwegian Web filtering system (link in Norwegian), comparable to the Great Firewall of China, has been proposed to the Norwegian legislature. It would, if enacted, block all Web sites and servers that contain hate material (racial hate, pro-Nazi sites, hate towards the government, etc.), most kinds of pornography (not only child pornography), foreign gambling sites, and sites that share copyrighted or other material that it is not legal to share (such as most BitTorrent sites and services such as LimeWire). Reactions have been mixed; however they are mostly negative." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

The Open Rights Group : Blog Archive - Write to your MEP: JURI to vote on IPRED2 at the end of this month

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:56:36 GMT

PRED2, the European Union's second intellectual property enforcement directive, is going to the vote at the end of this month. The European Parliament's committee on legal affairs, JURI, will be voting on several amendments to this mammoth bill which threaten to turn IP infringement from a civil offence into a criminal one. Your MEP needs to know now why this is a bad idea.

The FFII are calling IPRED2 "The Prosecution Paradise Directive":

"All over Europe piracy and counterfeiting of 'intellectual property rights' are already prosecutable (TRIPS art 61). The Criminal Measures IP Directive adds disproportionality. The European Commission proposal is not limited to piracy. All commercial scale infringements will be crimes, the proposal criminalises IPR disputes that are essentially of a civil nature and occur between legitimate commercial enterprises. Even untested rights, which may soon evaporate in a civil court cases, become grounds for prosecution. And the rights holders may assist the police."

The Open Rights Group has written this letter to all the UK MEPs sitting on JURI to express its concern at the proposed directive.

But we need your help too. Please take some time to write to your European representatives and let them know your personal concerns. You can find out who your MEPs are at WriteToThem.

There's a lot about IPRED2 to object to (and even a little bit to encourage) in the proposed directive. If you focus on one issue and explain how it affects you, your MEP is much more likely to sit up and listen. Keep your letters succinct and polite and if you can, back up what you're saying with clear references - the FFII IPRED2 website has lists of external opinions and background information, as well as analysis of each of the proposed amendments, which should get you started.

Remember, MEPs, like MPs, are unlikely to appreciate or respond to copy-and-pasted form letters, so please take the time to put down your concerns in your own words. Ask your MEP to forward your concerns to Nicola Zingaretti, the JURI rapporteur, or to their closest JURI colleague.

IPRED2 - Open Rights Group vs. Their Rights Online.

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:52:52 GMT

IPRED2 - Open Rights Group vs. Their Rights Online. Elektroschock writes "The British Open Rights Groups yells the alarm bell. Europe again. Ipred v.2, a directive proposal, will pass the Legal Affairs Committee soon. ipred2 would brand 'all intentional intellectual property rights infringements on a commercial scale' a criminal offence, thus the public prosecutor will take action and take over the role of RIAA. For commercial social communities where infringements are inevitable -- think of Youtube -- they expect dangerous times ahead. On the other hand life of content industrials would get a lot easier. It is difficult to imagine how the consumer would benefit. Toine Manders, Dutch MEP in that Committee, openly advocates his amendment proposal aimed to criminalize consumers. Open Rights Group suggests you to write to your Members of Parliament. Will they have any impact? Janelly Fourtou, wife of the Vivendi boss, is a member of the Committee. And she pushed through ipred number 1, so why should public action make a difference? The EFF started only this month to build up an office in Brussels. Do MEPs listen or could Sealand be an option for Web 2.1?" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

UK to jail privacy violators

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:52:28 GMT

In a move to crack down on the illegal trade in personal information UK courts will soon start jailing people who trade in, or deliberately misuse, the personal data of others, according to the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Today's decision follows a public consultation on increasing penalties for deliberate and wilful misuse of personal data and is part of the Government's strategy on data sharing to deliver better public services to individuals.

The British Government has been increasingly concerned about an apparent growth in the trade in personal data, especially to companies that engage in spam email and cold calling marketing tactics, and under the new regulation, offenders could face up to two years in prison.

The current penalty of a small fine in the Data Protection Act have not provided a sufficiently strong deterrent.

Jail for Selling Email Lists to Spammers.

Wed, 07 Feb 2007 18:39:19 GMT

Jail for Selling Email Lists to Spammers. amigoro writes "UK will start jailing the people who trade in email addresses, or any other personal data. The current Data Protection Act only fines people who do that, but the money one can make from trading in personal information was far higher than the measly GBP 5000 one had to pay if caught. The new regulations will result in a two year prison sentence for violating the Act." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

BBC NEWS | Technology | How the net turns code into politics

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 15:01:20 GMT

The freedoms built in to the net are under attack like never before, argues regular columnist Bill Thompson.

The launch of Windows Vista last week was accompanied by widespread criticism from advocates of open systems, open networks and the free flow of information.

Particular attention was lavished on the digital rights management (DRM) features of the new operating system, the tools that determine whether you can play or copy video or audio on your computer.

[...]

The internet that we know today is changing, turning from an open, enabling and profoundly public space into a communications system which can be regulated, controlled, monitored and - where necessary - curtailed.

A regulated internet does not have to be a closed internet, but the trend is clearly towards increased control and the loss of the freedoms which the net has provided thus far. We must understand how this is happening before we can find ways to resist it.

Today's internet has a technical architecture which expresses certain liberal values, largely concerned with fair access to the net's resources, lack of centralised control, support for freedom of speech, openness to innovation, and resistance to monopoly - either cultural, economic or technological.

Vista a Threat to Internet Freedom?

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 14:57:00 GMT

Vista a Threat to Internet Freedom? BBC columnist Bill Thompson warns readers that new DRM technology, especially that found in Vista, is damaging the freedoms that the internet was based on. "The freedom of expression that was once available to users of the Internet Protocol is being stripped away. Our freedom to play, experiment, share and seek inspiration from the creative works of others is increasingly restricted so that large companies can lock our culture down for their own profit. [...] governments and corporations around the world are making a concerted effort to dismantle the open internet and replace it with a regulated and regulable one that will allow them to impose an 'architecture of control.'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

EFF Tackles New Role in Europe - Office Opens in Brussels

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 14:39:19 GMT

EFF Tackles New Role in Europe.

EFF Europe Office Opens in Brussels

San Francisco - The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) opened a new office in Brussels today to work with various institutions of the European Union (EU) on innovation and digital rights, acting as a watchdog for the public interest in intellectual property and civil liberties policy initiatives that impact the European digital environment.

The new EFF Europe office, made possible by the generous support of the Open Society Institute and Mr. Mark Shuttleworth of the Shuttleworth Foundation, will allow EFF to have an increased focus on the development of EU law. EFF also plans to expand its efforts in European digital activism and looks forward to working with many groups and organizations to fight effectively for consumers' and technologists' interests. EFF's new European Affairs Coordinator, Erik Josefsson, will be an on-the-ground analyst, activist, and educator about critical intellectual property and civil liberties issues.

"In a networked world, protecting innovation and digital rights must be a global effort," Josefsson said. "We hope this new office in Brussels will increase awareness of European developments and enrich the policy debate."

[EFF: Breaking News]

German Court Restricts Cops From Spying On PCs.

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 14:28:38 GMT

German Court Restricts Cops From Spying On PCs. Germany's High Court has handed down a landmark decision banning police from installing spyware on computers of suspected criminals without their knowledge. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

German court bans police from spying on PCs.

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 18:57:02 GMT

German court bans police from spying on PCs. A decision from Germany's highest court resolves confusion over police power to covertly install spyware on the computers of suspected criminals. [Computerworld Privacy News]

Google's Master Plan (Video).

Mon, 05 Feb 2007 17:44:45 GMT

Google's Master Plan (Video).

Here[base ']s a slick video by some German students about privacy concerns with Google[base ']s ability to collect personal information. Little heavy on conspiracy theories (Google DNA?), and totally lacking in any theoretical analysis (that[base ']s what my dissertation is for), but nice to see some effort going into communicating these concerns to a broader audience.

[via Google Blogoscoped]

[michaelzimmer.org]

Watchdog Attacks Us Swoop for Bank Secrets

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 06:29:49 GMT

Europe's main privacy watchdog yesterday said that the banking secrets and rights of millions of people and businesses were being abused on a massive scale by a clandestine programme giving US agencies access to the information. It accused the EU's banks and financial authorities of doing nothing to stop the breaches.

In a damning report on the covert transfer to US agencies of the details of millions of financial transactions by EU citizens, Peter Hustinx, the European Data Protection supervisor, accused the European Central Bank of complicity in the system that has been used since 9/11 and which was deemed illegal by European data protection agencies two months ago.

The Belgium-based company Swift (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) has been supplying the US Treasury and the CIA with details - such as names, account numbers and sums involved - allegedly as part of George Bush's "war on terror".

After 9/11, Swift agreed to cooperate with the US Treasury by creating a system where personal data is transferred to a "black box" owned by the US authorities, enabling "massive transfers of data" and the "focused searching" of the information by US agencies.

The Brussels-based company says it is obliged to cooperate with the US authorities because it is subject to US subpoenas and could be fined for ignoring the requests. The system, which is estimated to include the bank details of more than 4m Britons, was operated secretly for years until it was disclosed last summer.

A Belgian investigation into the scheme found that Swift was operating in uncertain legal territory. Privacy watchdogs across Europe concluded in November that the company was breaching data protection laws and privacy rights.

Mr Hustinx said yesterday that the Swift operation "has breached the trust and private lives of many millions of people". He accused the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank of failing to demand a halt to the operation and of keeping quiet for years on the controversy.

The ECB denied responsibility and called instead for the European and US governments to "clarify" the dilemmas thrown up by a clash between privacy rights and combating terrorism.

BBC NEWS | Magazine | Could X-ray scanners work on the street?

Fri, 02 Feb 2007 06:01:07 GMT

X-ray cameras that would "undress" passers-by in a bid to thwart terrorists concealing weapons, could be coming to a street near you, according to reports. Aside from the obvious privacy issues, would such a plan work?

Leaked documents said to have been drawn up by the Home Office and seen by the Sun newspaper say cameras which can see through clothes could be built into lamp posts to "trap terror suspects".

While Home Secretary John Reid has denied knowledge of the plans, the technology is not dissimilar to that already found in some UK airports. Currently, air security officials pick out individuals to stand in a booth while three pictures are taken of the person in slightly different positions.

Within seconds, an X-ray scanner produces an image of the body, minus the clothes. What shows up is the naked human form and anything that may be concealed on the person, such as coins, a gun or drugs.

It's Time to Forge Global Privacy Rules.

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 17:02:40 GMT

It's Time to Forge Global Privacy Rules. Opinion: Privacy columnist Jay Cline says the time is ripe for a global privacy standard to replace the hodgepodge of privacy principles that multinational businesses must cope with. The first step is to agree on what privacy really means. [Computerworld Privacy News]

Anger Over EU Medical Data-Sharing.

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 19:36:14 GMT

Anger Over EU Medical Data-Sharing. ukhackster writes "A row is brewing in Europe over plans to make medical records available across the EU. The scheme calls for interoperability between health systems in 22 different countries. Experts are predicting that security problems could expose confidential patient records, with one calling the affair 'a colossal waste of money and energy.' This 'e-Health' initiative reflects similar projects in the United States, and raises many of the same issues discussed here. The article makes it clear that many important issues, such as security, privacy, and the rights of patients, are still up in the air as the project moves forward. Could this be another huge IT project disaster on the horizon?" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Norway Investigates Google on Privacy.

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 19:09:34 GMT

Norway Investigates Google on Privacy.

Pandia Search Engine News reports that the Norwegian Data Inspectorate, whose role is to protect persons from violation of their right to privacy through the processing of personal data, is investigating Google's information collecting practices. From Pandia's report:

"Why do the search engine store the IP addresses [of searchers] for so long and are they using them for?" Senior Engineer Atle Årnes of the Inspectorate asks in the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.

"Even if the search engines cannot identify the person behind every IP address, people do leave behind their names and other personal information that make it possible to track who they are," he continues.

Google's privacy expert Peter Fleischer has come to Oslo to meet the Directorate.

He says to Aftenposten that Google does not know the persons behind the IP numbers, and that the company is not willing to give such information to others. The only exception, according to Fleischer, are court orders or rulings in countries with a trustworthy judicial system.

If the same policy applies in the US, then Google must demand a court order before turning over the identities of YouTube users to Fox, who is hunting copyright infringers.

[michaelzimmer.org]

Telegraph | Honours probe police hacked No10 computers

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:58:20 GMT

Detectives in the cash-for-honours inquiry were forced to "hack" into Downing Street computers in the search for evidence, The Sunday Telegraph has discovered.

Police used computer experts to obtain confidential material, and are also believed to have approached Number 10's internet suppliers to gain access to government email records.

Scotland Yard became suspicious that potentially vital information was being withheld after it twice asked Downing Street for all emails, letters and other material relating to the system of awarding peerages. Concerns grew among officers that there had been a cover-up.

They were deeply frustrated by the "very slim" file of documents that was handed over -- and decided to obtain further evidence by their own devices, senior sources close to the inquiry have revealed.

It is understood that John Yates, the Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner leading the investigation, authorised officers to use all lawful and legitimate means to discover whether information was being withheld.

British Cops Hack Into Government Computers.

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:55:16 GMT

British Cops Hack Into Government Computers. CmdrGravy writes "The British Police have hacked into Government computers as part of the on-going 'cash for peerages' investigation. They've uncovered evidence which has, so far, led to one arrest and charge of perverting the course of justice for a leading Labour party figure. This charge carries a potential life sentence. The British police have the power to hack into computer systems as part of an investigation. On previous occasions they have said they did not believe the government was providing them with the information they had been asking for and had warned that they would seek other methods to gather evidence. The police won't say what tools they have used. From the article: 'The investigators did not have to notify No 10 if they were "hacking" into its system. One legal expert said: "In some cases, a senior officer can give permission. In other cases, you might need the authorization of an independent commissioner, who is usually a retired judge appointed by the Home Office."'"

[Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Cattle branding comes to the 21st Century | The Register

Sun, 21 Jan 2007 04:48:50 GMT

Somark Innovations, a small company working out of Saint Louis, has successfully tested an RFID tattoo, on cows, mice and rats: enabling an identifying number embedded under the skin to be read from over a meter away.

[...]

Somark are in the process of raising money to exploit the technology, and point out that what works for animals can, of course, also work for people; identifying Military Personnel as one of their secondary markets, after cattle and other livestock.

Botnet Gang Faces Jail.

Thu, 18 Jan 2007 02:14:24 GMT

Botnet Gang Faces Jail. Dutch prosecutors seek prison, fines for two charged in international hacking scheme. [PC World: Latest Technology News]

BBC NEWS | UK | Tories attack data-sharing plans

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 18:00:32 GMT

A plan to share people's personal details between government departments on a database would be a threat to privacy, the Conservatives say.

Shadow constitutional affairs secretary Oliver Heald accused the government of "moving one step closer to a 'Big Brother' state".

But the government believes a database would give the public better access to vital services.

Tony Blair is expected to unveil the proposal in Downing Street on Monday.

Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton said departments already stored "vast amounts of data about individual citizens".

But the information is not shared intelligently across various government agencies, he said.

Blair denies plans for super database - Computing

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:41:39 GMT

Prime Minister Tony Bair has denied that government plans to make more intelligent use of information held by departments will create a Big Brother 'super database' that poses a threat to privacy and civil liberties.

Plans to share information across Whitehall are 'perfectly sensible' and opposition to them is based on a misrepresentation of what is proposed, claims the PM.

No new database is being planned and the row 'is a very good example of how a perfectly sensible thing can be misconstrued', he said at a Downing Street seminar this week.

The prime minister's comments follow the launch this week of a public consultation on improvment of public services which includes questions about government departments and agencies sharing citizen data.

The proposals follow Cabinet Office ministerial committee recommendations in August that datasharing practices switch from the basis that information may not be shared, to the assumption that it can be unless it is specified otherwise.

Conservative Party - Database state being introduced by stealth

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:39:50 GMT

The Government is seeking to create a "Big Brother" super database that will be used to raise more taxes and extend the nanny state, the Conservatives have warned.

Ministerial plans to enable Government departments to share personal information on people will flout human rights and extend official intrusion into the private lives of individuals, Oliver Heald said.

The Shadow Secretary for Constitutional Affairs warned of the threat to privacy after Secretary for Work and Pensions John Hutton rejected the concept of a "Big Brother" state and claimed that the scheme was intended to prevent "over-zealous data sharing rules" becoming an obstacle to improving public services.

Mr Heald said: "People should not take Tony Blair's words at best value. Day by day, the Government is creating a database state - potentially intrusive and sinister 'Big Brother' computers that will be used to increase taxes by stealth and extend the reach of the nanny state.

"Labour plans to weaken the data protection laws must be resisted. For all of Labour's talk of human rights, it is clear they have no respect for the privacy of law-abiding citizens."

UK proposes sharing data among gov't agencies.

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:28:16 GMT

UK proposes sharing data among gov't agencies. A proposal that would relax data-protection laws in the U.K. would allegedly allow government agencies to improve service, but privacy watchdogs, fearing Big Brother-like ramifications, call those claims as "ludicrous" and "rather sickening." [Computerworld Privacy News]

UK to review school fingerprinting.

Wed, 17 Jan 2007 03:35:48 GMT

UK to review school fingerprinting.

Leave them kids alone, as they say

The Department for Education and Skills is to reconsider the fingerprinting of school children after a four year campaign by parents.

[The Register - Music and Media]

New Plan In UK For "Big Brother" Database.

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 04:51:25 GMT

New Plan In UK For "Big Brother" Database. POPE Mad Mitch writes "The BBC is reporting that Tony Blair is going to unveil plans on Monday to build a single database to pull together and share every piece of personal data from all government departments. The claimed justification is to improve public services. The opposition party and the Information Commission have both condemned the plan as another step towards a 'Big Brother' society. Sharing information in this way is currently prohibited by the 'over-zealous' data protection legislation. An attempt to build a similar database was a key part of the, now severely delayed, ID card scheme." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

BBC NEWS | Politics | Whitehall plan for huge database

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 04:50:20 GMT

A giant database of people's personal details could be created at Whitehall under government plans which ministers say will help improve public services.

Tony Blair is expected to unveil the proposal in Downing Street on Monday.

Strict regulations currently prevent one part of government sharing personal information it holds with another.

Ministers argue the data-sharing rules are "overzealous" but the Conservatives say relaxing them would be "an excuse for bureaucrats to snoop".

So-called citizens' panels will gauge public reaction to relaxing privacy procedures so people do not have to repeat personal information to different public bodies - particularly at times of stress such as a family death.

Imminent Conversion of EU Directive on Data Retention Into Law Compels Communications Service ....

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 21:07:21 GMT

Imminent Conversion of EU Directive on Data Retention Into Law Compels Communications Service .... "The provisions of the EU directive will apply not just to mobile and fixed telephony, but also to Internet telephony, e-mail services and messaging services." [GT: Security and Privacy]

MINI Introduces RFID-Activated Billboards.

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 21:01:38 GMT

MINI Introduces RFID-Activated Billboards. frinkster writes "MINI USA has placed interactive billboards in 4 US cities (Chicago, Miami, New York and San Francisco) and invited a few hundred MINI owners in those cities to join their targeted 'advertisement' pilot program. The owners sign up on MINI's website and receive an RFID keyfob in the mail. When that MINI owner drives by the billboard, a targeted message appears. Each owner tells MINI what to show when they drive by, such as 'Jim, you are one sexy beast.' If the pilot program is successful, MINI plans to put up more billboards in more cities and allow every owner to participate. MINI swears that no personal information in contained in the keyfobs and that all communication between the MINI and the owner is subject to their privacy policy and thus the program is completely safe. But how well will they keep their billboard logs away from the prying eyes of law enforcement or private detectives? And what are they doing to prevent 'hackers' from changing the personal messages to insults, such as 'Jim, nice to see you finally emerge from your mother's basement'?" MINI calls the interactive billboards "Motherboards." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

UK airport iris biometric system flunks its exams.

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:57:48 GMT

UK airport iris biometric system flunks its exams.

Buried evaluation reveals awful truth

An evaluation of the Home Office scheme to operate border controls via iris recognition "pretty much fails" Project Iris, according to Tory MP Ben Wallace. Wallace has been doggedly pursuing the results of the evaluation since autumn 2005, and these were quietly placed in the House of Commons library in late December. They reveal, according to Wallace, that Project Iris "failed half its assessments."

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Hacker Con Submits to Spychips.

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 02:47:01 GMT

Hacker Con Submits to Spychips. One thousand attendees of the Chaos Communication Congress voluntarily wire themselves up to RFID location-tracking devices. Just because they can. Quinn Norton reports from Berlin. [Wired News: Security Blanket]

Germany checks 22M credit cards for child porn payments.

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:45:07 GMT

Germany checks 22M credit cards for child porn payments. German credit-card companies are working with police in that country to scan the records of over 22 million customers, looking for anyone who might have used their plastic to purchase child pornography. So far, 322 customers have drawn suspicion. [Computerworld Data Mining News]

Government drops iris scan plan.

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:41:38 GMT

Government drops iris scan plan.

Fingerprints only

Iris scans will not form part of the UK Government's planned identity card system the National Identity Register (NIR). The only biometric information to be held on ID cards will now be fingerprints, in contrast to previously stated plans.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Britons to be scanned for FBI database | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited

Mon, 08 Jan 2007 18:46:38 GMT

Millions of Britons who visit the United States are to have their fingerprints stored on the FBI database alongside those of criminals, in a move that has outraged civil rights groups.

The Observer has established that under new plans to combat terrorism, the US government will demand that visitors have all 10 fingers scanned when they enter the country. The information will be shared with intelligence agencies, including the FBI, with no restrictions on their international use.

US airport scanners now take only two fingerprints from travellers. The move to 10 allows the information to be compatible with the FBI database.

'We are going to start testing at several airports,' a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman confirmed. 'It will begin some time this summer.'

Sources said 10 airports would initially be involved. The scheme will cover most of the major airports frequently used by British travellers, including New York, Washington and Miami. Countries subject to the new scheme include Britain, other European Union nations, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

Last night the British civil rights group Liberty expressed astonishment at the plan, which will affect four million British travellers to the US. 'This must be the Keystone Cops school of border control,' said Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty. 'Accumulating the fingerprints of millions of innocent passengers will not deter would-be suicide bombers.'

16-year-old Norwegian filesharer charged.

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 20:52:15 GMT

16-year-old Norwegian filesharer charged.

Parents may have to pay too

A 16-year-old from Stavanger in Norway who shared thousands of movies and songs through the P2P program Direct Connect, has been charged with illegal file-sharing, Norwegian Aftenposten reports.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

New fraud concerns over Dutch ballot computers.

Sat, 06 Jan 2007 20:50:32 GMT

New fraud concerns over Dutch ballot computers.

Good enough for local elections

A Dutch plan to use e-voting computers by manufacturer Sdu for the coming provincial elections in March has met with fierce criticism.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Telegraph | News | US 'licence to snoop' on British air travellers

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 02:04:24 GMT

Britons flying to America could have their credit card and email accounts inspected by the United States authorities following a deal struck by Brussels and Washington.

By using a credit card to book a flight, passengers face having other transactions on the card inspected by the American authorities. Providing an email address to an airline could also lead to scrutiny of other messages sent or received on that account.

The extent of the demands were disclosed in "undertakings" given by the US Department of Homeland Security to the European Union and published by the Department for Transport after a Freedom of Information request.

About four million Britons travel to America each year and the released document shows that the US has demanded access to far more data than previously realised.

Not only will such material be available when combating terrorism but the Americans have asserted the right to the same information when dealing with other serious crimes.

Shami Chakrabarti, the director of the human rights group Liberty, expressed horror at the extent of the information made available. "It is a complete handover of the rights of people travelling to the United States," she said.

Flying To the US? Pay In Cash.

Tue, 02 Jan 2007 02:00:33 GMT

Flying To the US? Pay In Cash. pin_gween writes to point us to a report in the Telegraph that British travelers using a credit card to purchase their ticket may now have their credit card and email accounts inspected by US authorities. This has been true since October, when the US and the EU agreed about what information the US could demand from airlines and how this information would be handled. But details of the agreement only recently came to light following a Freedom of Information request. The US says it will "encourage" US carriers to reciprocate to any requests by European governments. From the article: "[T]he Americans are entitled to 34 separate pieces of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data... Initially, such material could be inspected for seven days but a reduced number of US officials could view it for three and a half years. Should any record be inspected during this period, the file could remain open for eight years...'It is pretty horrendous, particularly when you couple it with our one-sided extradition arrangements with the US,' said [a human rights activist]. 'It is making the act of buying a ticket a gateway to a host of personal email and financial information. While there are safeguards, it appears you would have to go to a US court to assert your rights.'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Computers, Freedom and Privacy - Montreal, May 1-4 2007

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 23:41:06 GMT

Come to CFP2007 in Montreal, May 1-4 2007. There's a lot at stake.

Computers, Freedom and Privacy 2007 - Call For Proposals

Thu, 28 Dec 2006 23:37:58 GMT

Call For Proposals - The deadline for proposals is January 20, 2006

The Program Committee of the Seventeenth Conference on Computers, Freedom, and Privacy (CFP2007) seeks your proposals for innovative conference sessions and speakers.

U.S. Skimps on Americans' Privacy.

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 06:29:02 GMT

U.S. Skimps on Americans' Privacy. Europeans enjoy greater privacy rights than U.S. citizens under Homeland Security's Automated Targeting System. In 27B Stroke 6. [Wired News: Top Stories]

BBC's Legal BitTorrent Downloads.

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 04:43:38 GMT

BBC's Legal BitTorrent Downloads. The British broadcaster's deal with file-sharing company Azureus will deliver high-def hit shows to U.S. computers. In Monkey Bites.

[...]

Doctor Who, The League of Gentlemen and Invasion Earth are coming to your computer desktop via BitTorrent -- except this time, legally.
[Wired News: Top Stories]

DoH sticks to 'opt out' for patient e-records.

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 01:48:51 GMT

DoH sticks to 'opt out' for patient e-records.

Patients have a 'realistic' period to opt out

The Department of Health (DoH) has stuck by the "implied consent" model for the central collection of electronic patient records in England, but will provide support for those who want to opt out

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

BBC NEWS | Programmes | Click | ePassports 'at risk' from cloning

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:03:48 GMT

So when Lukas Grunwald and Christian Bottger realised they could clone the new ePassport they were pretty sure it would be identical to the original, and undetectable. So how did they do it?

The chip inside the ePassport is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip of the type poised to replace the barcode in supermarkets.

A new British biometric European Union passport, which is embedded with a microchip
The 'enhanced' security features of ePassports are being questioned

The good thing about RFID chips is that they emit radio signals that can be read at a short distance by an electronic reader.

But this is also the bad thing about them because, as Lukas demonstrated to me, he can easily download the data from his passport using an RFID reader he got for 200 Euros on eBay.

Lukas is less forthcoming about where he got what is called the Golden Reader Tool, it is the software used by border police and it allows him to read the chip on his ePassport, including the photo.

Now for the clever bit. Thanks to a software he himself has developed, called RFdump, he downloads the passport's data onto his computer and then onto a blank chip.

Using a standard off-the-shelf component you can just buy at a component store you can have a cloned ePassport in less than five minutes.

E-Passport Cloned In Five Minutes.

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:00:23 GMT

E-Passport Cloned In Five Minutes. Last month a panel of EU experts warned that the e-Passport's security is "poorly conceived", and in fact a week later a British newspaper demonstrated a crack. Now another researcher has shown how to clone a European e-Passport in under 5 minutes. A UK Home Office spokesman dismissed it all, saying "It is hard to see why anyone would want to access the information on the chip." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online]

Information Commissioner names and shames newspapers.

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 19:31:09 GMT

Information Commissioner names and shames newspapers.

'Lawbreaking' newspapers outed

The Information Commissioner will today name and shame the newspapers he says are breaking the law in their pursuit of stories. Richard Thomas has published a report to Parliament on information theft which contains a league table of alleged offenders.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

Home Office bumps up innocents on DNA Database.

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 19:16:22 GMT

Home Office bumps up innocents on DNA Database.

Eight times figure previously announced

Less than two thirds of people whose profile is stored on the National DNA Database are there for having been cautioned or convicted of a criminal offence, Home Office figures have revealed.

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]

UK plans 'real-time' no-fly lists plus fingerprint ID for air travel.

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 13:43:59 GMT

UK plans 'real-time' no-fly lists plus fingerprint ID for air travel.

'No finger, no fly' to commence at Heathrow

As has been illustrated all too frequently in the past, they don't tell immigration ministers anything - and, if what he had to say this week at the official unveiling of Heathrow's biometric trial is anything to go by, current incumbent Liam Byrne is no exception. Quoted here in the Telegraph, Byrne observes that he does not see the Heathrow system as being a "stand-alone scheme", and that the Government wanted to see it used as part of efforts to control immigration and to check the identity of people coming to this country.âo[oe]

[The Register - Internet and Law: Digital Rights/Digital Wrongs]