Press review
The press review catalogues press articles related to la Quadrature's issues, compiled by its volunteers.
See also our French press review.
[ZDNet] No piracy watchdog, a tablet tax and free software: France's vision of culture in the digital age
A study commissioned last summer to find how to protect France's "exception culturelle" in the online era has delivered its verdict - and it's generating its fair share of criticism already. [...]
In a statement, the French internet advocacy group La Quadrature du Net also acknowledged that the mission Lescure had a few interesting ideas ,but added that: "When it comes to concrete proposals regarding sharing of cultural works on the internet, [the report] quickly gives in to the arguments of the content distribution industry. The proposals are carbon copies of the policies suggested by the corresponding industry lobbies." [...]
http://www.zdnet.com/no-piracy-watchdog-a-tablet-tax-and-free-software-f...
[Netzpolitik] [DE] Three-Strikes in Frankreich: Hadopi ist tot, lang lebe der CSA!
Am Montag wurde der langerwartete Bericht Lescure (fr) veröffentlicht, über den wir bereits hier berichteten. Der ehemalige Chef von Canal+ macht nun in über 700 Seiten 80 Vorschläge, um Frankreich’s Kampf gegen Urheberrechtsverletzungen effektiver zu gestalten. [...]
“Ziel ist es, eine privatisierte Zensur im Namen des Kampfes gegen Urheberrechtsverletzungen einzuführen, wie zum Beispiel Filter und Sperr-Mechanismen. Da es jedoch nach europäischem Recht illegal wäre, solche Maßnahmen rechtsverbindlich zu machen, möchte Pierre Lescure sie jetzt durch Softlaw, Vertragsrecht oder Drohungen an Unternehmen durchsetzen” erklärt Jérémie Zimmermann, Sprecher der Quadrature du Net. [...]
https://netzpolitik.org/2013/three-strikes-in-frankreich-hadopi-ist-tot-...
[TheInquirer] France could drop three strikes copyright law
France's controversial three strikes copyright rules could be going the way of its aristocracy's heads. [...]
Protest group La Quadrature du Net called the announcement of the death of Hadopi "misleading".
"The announcement of the suppression of the Hadopi is misleading: its missions are redistributed to other entities (CSA), with the exception of the never-applied internet cut-off, and even completed by new monitoring or repressive competence. It hides the pursuit of Nicolas Sarkozy's anti-sharing policies," said Philippe Aigrain, co-founder of La Quadrature du Net. [...]
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2267879/france-could-drop-three...
[BBC] Should Google pay for the internet?
Governments should treat all data on the internet the same according to the principle of net neutrality. But in reality that is not the case - not just in North Korea or China but even in the US and the UK.
David Reid looks at the how the debate is shaping up in France, where one provider cut off users from some Google content, and what neutrality means in a world wide web filled with worldwide corporations.
[NYTimes] Bloomberg Admits Terminal Snooping
Reporters at Bloomberg News were trained to use a function on the company’s financial data terminals that allowed them to view subscribers’ contact information and, in some cases, monitor login activity in order to advance news coverage, more than half a dozen former employees said. [...]
The company acknowledged that at least one reporter had gained access to information on Goldman Sachs after the bank complained to the company last month. On Sunday, Ty Trippet, a Bloomberg spokesman, said that “reporters would not have been trained to improperly use any client data.” [...]
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/business/media/bloomberg-admits-termi...
[NYTimes] Limiting Data Use in Germany
The debate over “network neutrality,” the principle that all bits of digital information are created equal, has come home in a real way for millions of Germans. [...]
The Deutsche Telekom proposal is controversial not only because it would impose the nation’s first comprehensive download limits on landline broadband service; Deutsche Telekom also plans to exempt from the limits the traffic generated by its own Internet television service, Entertain. At the same time, the operator does not plan to exempt the traffic of rival services, like YouTube, from Google; iTunes, from Apple; or Facebook. [...]
Deutsche Telekom has so far not said what its new broadband fees will be. Christian Fronczak, a spokesman for Ms. Aigner, said the consumer protection agency was worried that Deutsche Telekom would create a class system in which surfing would be available only to those consumers who could afford it. [...]
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/technology/deutsche-telekom-data-use-...
[CNet] Apple deluged by police demands to decrypt iPhones
ATF says no law enforcement agency could unlock a defendant's iPhone, but Apple can "bypass the security software" if it chooses. Apple has created a police waiting list because of high demand. [...]
Mobile device users should take this as a warning that Google and Apple can provide access to data stored on an encrypted device at least in some circumstances, says Christopher Soghoian, principal technologist with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy and Technology Project.
"That is something that I don't think most people realize," Soghoian says. "Even if you turn on disk encryption with a password, these firms can and will provide the government with a way to get your data." [...]
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57583843-38/apple-deluged-by-police-de...
[HuffingtonPost] Google Aims To Patent Policy Violation Checker, Potentially Revolutionizing Email Snooping
We've all come to rely on spell-checkers that correct misspellings as we type. Now, Google has filed a patent for a tool that seems like an evil-checker: a software system that could prevent people from writing out, in electronic correspondence and documents, phrases that run afoul of policies or laws. [...]
It also seems reasonable to venture that the database could initially be populated by an authoritarian regime's Internet censors. And with the ability to integrate the software on “any type of processing device,” from a smartphone to a television, oppressive governments could be empowered to see anything their citizens write -- in Word documents, in emails, in drafts of blog posts, in digital journals -- and to view it before someone hits “send.”
While Google suggests this technology could come in handy for companies, its broad definition of “problematic phrases” raises the question of how else it might be used and what correspondence could be monitored. Could Google flag pedophiles for the police? Could it thwart a politician’s extramarital affair, or alert a spouse to his wife’s indiscretions? Could it stop white supremacists or religious extremists from emailing with each other? And if the software could do those things, should it? [...]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/06/google-policy-violation-checker...
[Re:publica2013] Personal Data: Nothing to hide? - Katarzyna Szymielewicz and Jérémie Zimmermann
Are we building the digital environment enhancing our life, or are we guinea pigs of those who control and trade our data?
From major battles won in 2012 against ACTA, SOPA and PIPA, we have a collective responsibility to project ourselves into advocating for protecting our freedoms online. Copyright, Net neutrality, data protection are among the key issues that will determine if our future societies will be more open and based on cooperation and sharing or knowledge, or will turn into authoritarian regimes based on control of our actions and communications.
Social media and all kinds of companies collect a lot of data about us. Some of it is essential to deliver relevant services or is given away with informed consent to receive better service. One may even think that we don't share anything important or valuable, while we do get convenient and innovative services in return. After all, we have nothing to hide, do we? However, more and more often our data becomes a commodity that can be used not only to make things easier but also to control our lives and profit from us. What about price discrimination, profiling based on our ethnic origin, sexual orientation or age, refusal of certain benefits or services because of the "wrong profile"?
The new "Data Protection" regulation that is currently being discussed in the European Parliament may answer some of these questions…
…we all have a role to play in the rewriting of Privacy, whether we take a technological approach, through the use of decentralized services and encryption, or an activist/legislative approach. Multitude is our strength!
Katarzyna Szymielewicz of Panoptykon and Jérémie Zimmermann
[CSO] EU data protection vote delayed again
An important vote on the future of the European Union's privacy laws has been delayed again. [...]
In a published statement, digital rights group La Quadrature du Net said that as it currently stands, the regulation would significantly strengthen citizens' rights. But it added that in response to the Commission proposal, "powerful companies, mainly based in United States (banks, insurances and Internet services), have led an unprecedented lobbying campaign."
"Their goal is to make withdraw from the final version of the Regulation those proposals aimed at protecting citizens' personal data. Before this vote, we have to make certain that civil liberties MEPs will not break under lobby pressure," said organization spokesman Jérémie Zimmermann.
http://www.cso.com.au/article/461163/eu_data_protection_vote_delayed_again/
