Press review
The press review catalogues press articles related to la Quadrature's issues, compiled by its volunteers.
See also our French press review.
[TechnologyReview] Has Big Data Made Anonymity Impossible?
As the amount of data expands exponentially, nearly all of it carries someone’s digital fingerprints. [...]
Such data sets are often portrayed as having been “anonymized” in some way, but the more data they involve, the less likely that is to be actually true. Mobile-phone companies, for instance, record users’ locations, strip out the phone numbers, and sell aggregate data sets to merchants or others interested in people’s movements (see “How Wireless Carriers Are Monetizing Your Movements”). MIT researchers Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye and César A. Hidalgo have shown that even when such location data is anonymous, just four different data points about a phone’s position can usually link the phone to a unique person. [...]
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/514351/has-big-data-made-anonymity-...
[Infoworld] Apple, AT&T, and Verizon fall short in protecting your data
EFF releases its annual report on whether companies are fighting to keep customers' personal data from the government. [...]
Near the bottom of the list? Apple. The only star Apple scored was for joining the Digital Due Process coalition -- basically, the company signed a check. As the EFF says, "Apple and AT&T are members of the Digital Due Process coalition, but don't observe any of the other best practices we're measuring. And this year -- as in past years -- MySpace and Verizon earned no stars in our report. We remain disappointed by the overall poor showing of ISPs like AT&T and Verizon in our best practice categories."
https://www.infoworld.com/t/internet-privacy/apple-att-and-verizon-fall-...
[TorrentFreak] Pirate Site Blocking Legislation Approved By Norwegian Parliament
Norway has moved an important – some say unstoppable – step towards legislative change that will enable the aggressive tackling of online copyright infringement. Proposed amendments to the Copyright Act, which will make it easier for rightsholders to monitor file-sharers and have sites such as The Pirate Bay blocked at the ISP level, received broad support in parliament this week and look almost certain to be passed into law. [...]
Just over a year later in May 2011 the Ministry of Culture announced that it had put forward proposals for amendments to the Copyright Act. In January of this year the amendments were presented and on Monday they were put to the vote in parliament. [...]
The proposed amendments, which observers say will almost certainly be signed into law, are designed to make it easier to chase down both enablers and end-users of unauthorized material. [...]
https://torrentfreak.com/pirate-site-blocking-legislation-approved-by-no...
[Gizmodo] Which Tech Companies Protect Your Data From the Government?
The Electronic Frontier Foundation just released its annual "Who Has Your Back" report card, detailing the privacy policies of tech companies. Here's the rundown of who fights for your privacy in the face of government requests for your data—and who doesn't even bother. [...]
In this annual report, the Electronic Frontier Foundation examined the policies of major Internet companies — including ISPs, email providers, cloud storage providers, location-based services, blogging platforms, and social networking sites — to assess whether they publicly commit to standing with users when the government seeks access to user data. The purpose of this report is to incentivize companies to be transparent about how data flows to the government and encourage them to take a stand for user privacy whenever it is possible to do so. [...]
http://gizmodo.com/which-tech-companies-protect-your-data-from-the-gover...
[TechDirt] What New-Style Trade Agreements Are Really About (Hint: It's Not Trade)
Given the massive impact that new-style trade agreements like TPP and TAFTA/TTIP are likely to have on the lives of hundreds of millions of people, it's surprising how few members of the public know about what's being negotiated in their name. Fortunately, publications are starting to run more articles on the subject, like this great piece by David Brodwin in US News. [...]
"In a global economy, trade policy has sweeping ramifications for every sector of the economy. Decisions on trade policy are really decisions on the relative power of corporations and governments. Trade policy affects employment rates, wage levels, the availability of capital, environmental conditions, public health, and much more. We cannot allow negotiations over these vital things to be conducted by secret bodies, without public oversight, comment, and ultimately the right of the public to affirm or reject these agreements." [...]
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130424/04062522822/what-new-style-tr...
[WashingtonPost] Proposal seeks to fine tech companies for noncompliance with wiretap orders
A government task force is preparing legislation that would pressure companies such as Facebook and Google to enable law enforcement officials to intercept online communications as they occur, according to current and former U.S. officials familiar with the effort. [...]
Susan Landau, a former Sun Microsystems distinguished engineer, has argued that wiring in an intercept capability will increase the likelihood that a company’s servers will be hacked. “What you’ve done is created a way for someone to silently go in and activate a wiretap,” she said. Traditional phone communications were susceptible to illicit surveillance as a result of the 1994 law, she said, but the problem “becomes much worse when you move to an Internet or computer-based network.” [...]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/proposal-seeks-to-...
[TorrentFreak] PayPal Bans BitTorrent VPN / Proxy Service
After banning several of the largest file-hosting sites and Usenet providers, PayPal is now taking aim at a VPN/proxy service. The payment processor has just cut off the BitTorrent proxy provider GT Guard and frozen the company’s funds. In an email PayPal’s Brand Risk Management department explains that GT Guard’s affiliation with BitTorrent is the reason for the drastic actions. [...]
This is not the first time that PayPal has gone after a BitTorrent-friendly VPN provider. Last year TorGuard was also banned but after a careful review PayPal decided that this was a mistake and eventually restored service. [...]
https://torrentfreak.com/paypal-bans-bittorrent-vpn-proxy-service-130427/
[PCPro] EU data regulation changes would "strip citizens naked"
A coalition of consumer rights groups has launched a campaign calling on the European Parliament to stop corporations from weakening regulations designed to protect online privacy. The campaigners – including the Open Rights Group, Privacy International, Digitale Gesellschaft, Access and La Quadrature du Net – have this morning presented a report to lawmakers claiming that amendments to the proposed Data Protection Regulation would strip consumers of a right to privacy. [...]
"Instead of fixing this often misused ground, members of the European Parliament are proposing to extend it by including the interests of third parties as a 'legitimate interest'," the report said. "This will allow companies unknown to citizens to process personal data if the companies believe it is in their 'best interest' to do so."
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/381424/eu-data-regulation-changes-would-stri...
[PCWorld] Civil rights coalition says EU data protection bill threatens citizens' rights
The European Parliament is currently considering proposals from the European Commission for a complete overhaul of the E.U.’s data protection laws. The original laws date from 1995, the pre-Internet age, and are arguably in great need of an update. [...]
The civil liberties coalition, which includes Access, Bits of Freedom, EDRI, La Quadrature du Net and Privacy International, has set up a website, nakedcitizens.eu, to help concerned citizens contact their representatives in the Parliament. [...]
Another contentious issue is the right to be forgotten. Much of the concern is over the role of search engines. Privacy advocates want to see the burden of proof shifted from consumers justifying why data should be deleted to businesses having to prove why it should be kept.. [...]
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2036380/civil-rights-coalition-says-eu-da...
[NetzPolitik] EU-Datenschutzreform: Mit nackten Postkarten gegen gläserne Bürger
Die Bürgerrechtsorganisationen European Digital Righs, Bits of Freedom, Open Rights Group und Privacy International haben die Änderungsanträge zur EU-Datenschutzreform durchforstet und nun in einem 13-seitigen Bericht die “fünf Vorschläge, die die Privatsphäre am stärksten verletzen würden” veröffentlicht. Unter dem Motto “NakedCitizens” starten sie gemeinsam mit dem Verein Digitale Gesellschaft, Access und La Quadrature du Net eine Kampagne und rufen dazu auf, die Abgeordneten im EU-Parlament zu kontaktieren. Mit einem Postkarten-Remixer können freizügige Motive per Mail an die Abgeordneten geschickt werden, mit der Aufforderung, sich für das Recht auf Datenschutz einzusetzen. [...]
https://netzpolitik.org/2013/eu-datenschutzreform-mit-nackten-postkarten...
