News: Security & privacy
Why the Stop Online Piracy Act might pass -- and why it shouldn't
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is being debated in the US House of Representatives today. Wildly unpopular, this bill is the latest in a series of extreme and reactionary legislation that seek a heavy-handed approach to dealing with copyright infringement online. If passed, SOPA would grant broad powers to censor and restrict content on the Internet.
Panel identifies crucial link between online safety and social activism
A recent panel on “Social movements and data security” held at the University of Costa Rica highlights the crucial importance of information security to today’s activists.
Women human rights defenders and the internet
GenderIT examines the risks many activists face online. “Security emerged not only as one of the main topics in our interviews but also forced us to change our ways of working so that we didn’t jeopardise the safety of our interviewees,” say the editors. A must read.
Should the private sector protect our online privacy?
Increasingly governments are delegating responsibility for content restriction, surveillance, and even internet blackouts to private companies. APCNews spoke with Milka Pietikainen, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Nokia Siemens about the role of the private sector in protecting our rights.
London Riots: Social media does not cause social problems say APC and GreenNet
Following last week’s riots, British PM David Cameron said that his government is considering a crackdown on online communications. However he forgets that the same websites and phone networks were also used to locate friends and plan safe exits from trouble-spots. APC and GreenNet issue a statement.
Dear Librarian in Denver: Why are you filtering the internet?
Controlling what users can and can’t see on computers using filtering software is standard in US libraries. APC questions the Denver Public Library on their filtering policy and practices in a fictional exchange that tackles very real questions of freedom of information.
Pro-democracy protesters in Malaysia warn of internet clampdown
As the Bersih 2.0 protesters campaign for free and open elections, signs of a stuttering internet from various providers are becoming apparent, and are pointing to a possible internet and telco blackout warns the group . APC supports the Bersih protesters in their fight for democracy.
APC questions new Pakistan petition to filter the internet
A recent petition which calls on Pakistani internet service providers to filter the internet has sparked concern among internet rights advocates. APC criticises the proposal as inappropriate in a democratic society which values freedom of expression and the right to information.
"Gay Girl in Damascus" needs to Man Up, says APC
Tom MacMaster’s masquerading as blogger activist “Gay Girl in Damascus” was harmful, say APC in a statement, and endangers the right to use the internet anonymously.
Equal access to the internet can counter discrimination against women, says UN report
Efforts to mitigate violence against women online can backfire explains a report presented at the UN Human Rights Council. APC covered women’s issues and the internet at the HRC in a special edition of the policy and gender bulletin GenderIT.org.
Last week the G8, this week the UN: APC helps Access Now campaign in Geneva
Major international decisions are being made about the internet in the coming weeks – decisions that could affect the internet as we know it forever. This week the United Nations Human Rights Council will receive its first ever official report on freedom of expression online – and APC is helping deliver the message to the UN in Geneva.
APC welcomes ruling of Egyptian court
APC welcomes the recent ruling of an Egyptian court that fined former president Mubarak and two of his aides $90 million for cutting internet and cell phones during the Egyptian revolution.
APC member JCA-NET speaks out against Japanese digital surveillance bill
The proposed bill criminalises a number of online activities, granting Japanese authorities extremely broad powers to monitor and investigate their citizens. It also requires network providers to record and hold communications data on all users so it can be used by law enforcement agencies.
APC event at the UN Human Rights Council: Watch the video
As part of APC’s Connect your rights! Internet Rights are Human Rights campaign, APC is co-hosted a side-event at the Human Rights Council’s seventeenth session in Geneva on 3 June.
Human rights belong to people, not to networked computers
Former New Zealand human rights commissioner Joy Liddicoat has just joined APC to lead a new Internet Rights are Human Rights campaign. Although she is busy getting ready for Internet Governance Forum consultations on May 18-19, she took a few moments to talk to APCNews.
I Can Stalk U - Raising awareness about inadvertent information sharing
The aptly named icanstalku.com attempts to expose the dangers inherent in posting information — in this case pictures — online in a rather unconventional way: the site regularly updates its news feed with individuals’ user names and locations, all gleaned from photos posted to Twitter.
Women's rights and realities transformed by technology
Can information and communication technologies (ICTs) transform women’s realities? Undoubtedly, yes. This connection between ICTs and the advancement of women’s rights will be addressed during the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) 22 February – 4 March in New York. The CSW is a global policy-making body of the United Nations dedicated to gender equality and the advancement of women. APC’s GenderIT.org has released a special edition that speaks directly to this year’s theme of the CSW: gender, education and technology. APC staff attending the CSW will provide live coverage from the session in GenderIT.org’s Feminist Talk section on the website, so stay tuned.
Irresponsible Pakistani media and authorities violates rape victim's privacy
One women was raped and another beaten in Pakistan. Both electronic media and law enforcing agencies, rather than respecting the survivors’ privacy, publicly identified them by their names and gave irrelevant information about them (that they were returning from a ‘dance party’ at 2:00 am), reinforcing the ‘she asked for it’ mindset. The rape survivor withdrew her case. Read the open letter that Take Back the Tech Pakistan wrote to Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh, one of the authorities harmed the survivor’s reputation.
Internet rights are human rights
Restricting free expression, association and the free flow of information on the internet has become a global trend and its intensity and impact is greatest in countries lacking a culture of democracy or strong human rights regimes. People who speak out against repression risk their own freedom and safety and the sites that carry their online denouncements are often censored or banned. A new APC project “Internet rights are human rights” starting in November 2010 builds on our long-standing work including our Internet Rights Charter aims to secure freedom of expression and association on the internet to those who need it most: human rights defenders.
South Africa: Privacy and domestic violence online and off
While women’s rights activists have been at the forefront of making the private crimes that occur at home – domestic violence, marital rape – public, new technologies are making the private public in ways that disenfranchise, alienate and violate women. Esther Nasikye and Sally-Jean Shackleton explore how ICTs, privacy and domestic violence in South Africa are exposing problems in both policy and practice. Photo: “John Atherton”:http://www.flickr.com/people/gbaku/
