Europe has been working for several years on a powerful, advanced, leading-edge set of identity data standards, called #eIDAS. Almost everyone who's followed it has been impressed. It was set to be one of those global-leading policy innovations like GDPR.
However.
Now it looks like, at the last minute, some politicians are inserting severe anti-privacy, pro-surveillance mandates.
What a shame.
RT @aral: “[A]ll web browsers distributed in Europe will be required to trust the certificate authorities and cryptographic keys selected by EU governments. These changes radically expand the capability of EU governments to surveil their citizens by ensuring cryptographic keys under government control can be used to intercept encrypted web traffic across the EU.” https://last-chance-for-eidas.org #eu#privacy#surveillance
"We occasionally end up with products that can be dangerous to you, or to society in general, which we believe to be the case with Amazon-owned Ring and its relationship with law enforcement."
"We would like to remind you that there are many, many alternatives. Ring cameras are cheap and ubiquitous, but contributing to a just society is also a factor in keeping your family safe."
Si vous ne lisez qu'un truc ajdh, que ce soit le récit de Félix Blanc, mon partenaire chez Danaïdes.org, embarqué en GAV lors d'une enquête pour "#écoterrorisme"
"Nous sommes insidieusement enjoints à rester connectés 24h/24 pour alimenter la #surveillance et être blanchis de tout soupçon. Le simple fait d’être déconnecté pendant 2 heures et de ne pas avoir répondu à des textos pendant 2 autres heures a été considéré dans cette affaire comme un élément à charge"
#AI#ComputerVision#Surveillance#Patents#IP: "A rapidly growing number of voices argue that AI research, and computer vision in particular, is powering mass surveillance. Yet the direct path from computer vision research to surveillance has remained obscured and difficult to assess. Here, we reveal the Surveillance AI pipeline by analyzing three decades of computer vision research papers and downstream patents, more than 40,000 documents. We find the large majority of annotated computer vision papers and patents self-report their technology enables extracting data about humans. Moreover, the majority of these technologies specifically enable extracting data about human bodies and body parts. We present both quantitative and rich qualitative analysis illuminating these practices of human data extraction. Studying the roots of this pipeline, we find that institutions that prolifically produce computer vision research, namely elite universities and "big tech" corporations, are subsequently cited in thousands of surveillance patents. Further, we find consistent evidence against the narrative that only these few rogue entities are contributing to surveillance. Rather, we expose the fieldwide norm that when an institution, nation, or subfield authors computer vision papers with downstream patents, the majority of these papers are used in surveillance patents. In total, we find the number of papers with downstream surveillance patents increased more than five-fold between the 1990s and the 2010s, with computer vision research now having been used in more than 11,000 surveillance patents. Finally, in addition to the high levels of surveillance we find documented in computer vision papers and patents, we unearth pervasive patterns of documents using language that obfuscates the extent of surveillance. Our analysis reveals the pipeline by which computer vision research has powered the ongoing expansion of surveillance."
ORG’s investigation into the Prevent duty has uncovered shocking widespread data sharing due to finding a poorly redacted FOI, as revealed in The Observer today.
🚨 When the UK government attacks ‘activist lawyers’, it’s not just a soundbite. They’re spying on human rights lawyers who are acting on immigration matters and blocking any transparency.
This is a direct attack on our justice system and the rule of law!
Silicon Valley has just one service they sell, available to the highest bidder: exploitation.
It might look like a phone, a laptop, a social network, or even a car but it’s always just the same thing, decorated differently: a mechanism by which to addict you, extract value from you, and exploit you for profit.
The UK Department for Work and Pensions will be given powers to force financial bodies to hand over data belonging to benefit claimants.
This data could be misinterpreted and benefits sanctions imposed incorrectly. Migrants, refugees and people who are disabled or in need of care may encounter new challenges.
EU governments want a broad legal carve-out to continue to use #spyware such as #Pegasus against reporters.
Governments are "taking dangerous steps towards legalising unacceptable forms of #surveillance against #journalists and their #sources. If confirmed, these changes would kill all the potential the European #MediaFreedomAct#EMFA has to stop spyware scandals in the EU," says @edri's @chlobemy
If your first thought when you hear that a company that makes computers and writes curricula that trains kids how to use computers proudly hired a spy cop and gave the middle finger to those who raised ethical concerns is to defend the company and the spy cop in question, you should take a moment, stop what you’re doing, and give yourself a firm slap in the face.
It won’t change anything but it’ll make me feel better at least.
🚨 BREAKING: Very bad news. The European Parliament and Member States just reached an agreement on introducing the Digital Identity, #eID. #privacy#surveillance
10 years ago, Edward Snowden changed the world. The 'Snowden leaks' were a wake-up call: The conspiracy theory that Secret Services were monitoring our private conversations has proven to be true.
Public backlash after this revelation might have bought us years in our fight for privacy. However, today governments around the world are again pushing for more surveillance. This must be stopped! 🔒
🌍Digital data can travel freely across geographical boundaries. But what happens to our rights to have our data protected if they are half across the globe?
@OpenRightsGroup sheds light on the UK extension to the EU – US Transatlantic Data Privacy Framework
The extension provides a sneak peek at:
⚠️the future of UK international data transfers
👁️the erosion of essential guarantees against #surveillance that the UK #DataProtection reform would bring.
"As you use your PC, Recall takes snapshots of your screen. Snapshots are taken every five seconds while content on the screen is different from the previous snapshot. "
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal must ensure the Police Service of Northern Ireland and other police forces are held to account for surveilling journalists. A free press is essential for an open and functioning democracy.
ORG joined with Committee to Protect Journalists, Amnesty International UK, Index on Censorship and Reporters Without Borders UK to support Trevor Birney and Barry McCaffrey in their case.