Press review
The press review catalogues press articles related to la Quadrature's issues, compiled by its volunteers.
See also our French press review.
[InfoWorld] EU data protection bill threatens citizens' rights, warns civil rights coalition
'Unprecedented' lobbying by big tech companies, the U.S. government, and advertisers could result in a bill that severely weakens privacy rights, coalition says. [...]
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. The groups have also presented a report based on their analysis of the proposed amendments. [...]
"Without effective privacy protection, our personal lives are laid bare, to be used and abused by business and governments," said Joe McNamee of European Digital Rights and spokesperson of the coalition. [...]
http://www.infoworld.com/t/federal-regulations/eu-data-protection-bill-t...
[Spiegel] Government Wary of Telekom Limits on Flat Rate DSL Access
German telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom sparked controversy this week with plans to curtail flat-rate DSL speeds once certain data thresholds are reached. Customers, Internet advocates and the German government are all concerned. [...]
Rösler also warned against possible curtailments for flat-rate customers, adding that the German government and competition authorities would "very carefully follow ongoing developments with regard to a possible differential treatment of (Telekom's) own and rival services under the aspect of net neutrality." [...]
The press release also noted that Telekom has announced that, starting in 2016, high-speed Internet access could become more expensive for some customers. According to the company, the alternative would be an across-the-board rate increase for all customers: "We have consciously decided against this," the company said. Instead, customers who require above-average high-speed volumes may have to pay extra in the future. [...]
http://www.spiegel.de/international/business/government-wary-of-telekom-...
[TechDirt] Not Learning From ACTA: IPR Protection And Enforcement Seen As 'Less Difficult Issue' For TAFTA/TTIP
Despite increasing calls for the imminent TAFTA/TTIP trade negotiations to be conducted as openly as possible, it seems likely that, as with ACTA and TPP, everything will be decided behind closed doors. That means the rest of us are forced to take our information about what is likely to happen where we can find it. For example, a new survey entitled "The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership: Ambitious but Achievable" (pdf), carried out by The Bertelsmann Foundation and Atlantic Council, offers some interesting thoughts on the subject. [...]
Indeed, that is surprising: the rejection of ACTA's measures by the European Parliament -- to say nothing of the tens of thousands of people who took to the streets of Europe -- was overwhelming: why do the "stakeholders" think this time will be different? [...]
The fact that they think re-introducing some of ACTA's ideas might be one of the "less difficult" issues for TAFTA/TTIP suggests that they are either completely out of touch, or know something that we don't -- which is precisely why it's worth reading the full document just in case they do.
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130423/03514622805/not-learning-acta...
[CNET] U.S. gives big, secret push to Internet surveillance
Justice Department agreed to issue "2511 letters" immunizing AT&T and other companies participating in a cybersecurity program from criminal prosecution under the Wiretap Act, according to new documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center. [...]
Because it overrides all federal and state privacy laws, including the Wiretap Act, legislation called CISPA would formally authorize the program without the government resorting to 2511 letters. In other words, if CISPA, which the U.S. House of Representatives approved last week, becomes law, any data-sharing program would be placed on a solid legal footing. AT&T, Verizon, and wireless and cable providers have all written letters endorsing CISPA. [...]
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-57581161-38/u.s-gives-big-secret-push-...
[Spiegel] Daten-Drosselung: Telekom schafft DSL-Flatrates ab
Mit dem unbegrenzten Surfen soll es für Neukunden der Telekom bald vorbei sein. Ab 2. Mai werden neue Tarife eingeführt, und bei denen gibt es Obergrenzen für Datenmengen wie bei Handy-Verträgen. Wer zu viel Daten abruft oder hochlädt, wird auf Schneckentempo abgebremst. [...]
Kunden der Deutschen Telekom können mit ihren Anschlüssen zu Hause künftig nur noch bis zu einem bestimmten Datenvolumen schnell surfen. Wie bei Handy-Verträgen mit Internetpauschale soll in Zukunft auch für das Surfen zu Hause das Datenvolumen für schnelles Surfen begrenzt werden, teilte die Telekom mit. Wird die Volumengrenze erreicht, soll die Geschwindigkeit des Internetanschlusses gedrosselt werden. Die Begrenzung gilt für neue Verträge, die ab Mai abgeschlossen werden. [...]
http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/netzpolitik/dsl-flatrate-telekom-fuehrt-v...
[NYTimes] Germany Fines Google Over Data Collection
A German privacy regulator fined Google €145,000 on Monday for the systematic, illegal collection of personal data while it was creating the Street View mapping service, and called on European lawmakers to significantly raise fines for violations of data protection laws. [...]
Fragments of personal e-mails, photographs and other unencrypted digital data were collected by Google’s fleet of Street View automobiles as they compiled panoramic maps covering about five million miles, or eight million kilometers, of roadway in 49 countries. [...]
Google said it would not appeal the fine. [...]
“Germany has the strongest data protection laws in Europe, and this is all they could do,” Ms. Fielder said. “Most businesses are not complying with data protection laws because the costs of noncompliance — I mean these tiny penalties — are so low.” [...]
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/23/technology/germany-fines-google-over-...
[ArsTechnica] Japanese police ask ISPs to start blocking Tor
Authorities in Japan are so worried about their inability to tackle cybercrime that they are asking the country's ISPs to block the use of Tor. [...]
According to The Mainichi: "[The panel], which was looking into measures to combat crimes abusing the Tor system, compiled a report on April 18 stating that blocking online communications at the discretion of site administrators will be effective in preventing such crimes. Based on the recommendation, the NPA will urge the Internet provider industry and other entities to make voluntary efforts to that effect." [...]
Tor is a valuable tool for activists who live under repressive regimes and anyone who might want to do something online anonymously (like whistleblowers for instance). Quite what "abuse" of Tor means is unclear. Since by definition you can't really know what someone does when they're using the service, it seems a blanket ban is the real intention. [...]
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/japanese-police-ask-isps-to-s...
[ZDNet] The end of privacy? Everyone worries about data leaks, but shares everything anyway
Businesses are not transparent enough about how they use customers' personal data and regulation preventing misuse of such information is weak, research has found — but that doesn't mean consumers will stop sharing their details. [...]
But the report said that while fears of potential abuse abound, this is not stopping consumers from sharing data: 84 percent of survey respondents belong to social networks, and 34 percent said they are more willing to share basic personal information online than they were three years ago, compared with the 23 percent who said the opposite, according to the survey of 758 internet users. [...]
http://www.zdnet.com/the-end-of-privacy-everyone-worries-about-data-leak...
[Torrentfreak] Massive BitTorrent and Cyberlocker Domain Crackdown Underway
In what is being described as the biggest domain crackdown since US Homeland Security seized more than 70 domains in 2010, Italy has targeted more than two dozen BitTorrent, cyberlocker and other file-sharing sites. The Public Prosecutor of Rome has ordered the blocking of Rapidgator, Uploaded, BitShare, NowVideo, VideoPremium and many others, warning that he will progress the action internationally in order to properly seize their domains. [...]
Fulvio Sarzana, a lawyer with the Sarzana and Partners law firm specializing in Internet and copyright disputes, is concerned by the developments.
“I think that operations like this one could jeopardize freedom of speech, and endanger legitimate web sites, being also a risk for the civil liberties. Copyright cannot be considered as a more essential right than freedom of expression, or a more important matter than a free and open internet,” he said. [...]
https://torrentfreak.com/massive-bittorrent-and-cyberlocker-domain-crack...
[Giornalettismo] [ITA] La libertà della rete è in pericolo
La libertà della rete è in pericolo in Europa. 80 associazioni che si battono per i diritti digitali hanno lanciato un appello alla Commissione europea al fine di proteggere il bene più prezioso di internet, la sua neutralità. [...]
Secondo i proponenti dell’appello gli operatori commerciali della rete stanno andando nella direzione sbagliata. “Si muovono verso un ambiente online frammentato, dove gli innovatori non hanno più uguale accesso ma dipendono da sottostanti accordi commerciali. Molti utilizzatori non potranno più decidere cosa vorranno fare con un accesso a Internet. Dare priorità e regolare specifici servizi, applicazioni o protocolli dove non è necessario per ragioni tecniche come il sollievo temporaneo per la congestione del traffico rappresentano una violazione. Internet deve essere neutrale, e tutti i suoi contenuti devono essere trattati allo stesso modo”. Sia le prove raccolte dagli organismi europei di riferimento che dai cittadini attraverso le piattaforme come Glasnost and RespectMyNet forniscono un quadro chiarissimo delle violazioni che stanno avvenendo in Europa, a parere delle associazioni che combattono per i diritti digitali. [...]
http://www.giornalettismo.com/archives/887107/la-neutralita-della-rete-e...
