Popular news
- Mobile phones and poverty reduction: Can this shortcut work in Latin America? (APCNews) (1431 reads)
- APC elected to the board of a leading development partnership (APCNews) (1387 reads)
- APC enters into a partnership with privacy specialists (APCNews) (1353 reads)
- Battlefield internet: Belarusian civil society active despite censorship (APCNews) (1277 reads)
- Copyright and education in Africa: Launch of the ACA2K network (ACA2K) (1181 reads)
News: Security & privacy
Internet powerhouse, Korea? Shame on its internet policies!
The OECD ministerial meeting on “the Future of the Internet Economy” is being held in Seoul, Korea from June 17th to 18th. The Korean government seems to use this meeting as an opportunity to show off its advances of the Internet technology. However, no one would call a nation a ‘leading country of the Internet’ solely on its strong information technology base and IT industries. We hope this meeting would be a chance for the Korean government to recognize and feel embarrassed for its information and communication policies, including Internet policies, which violate many human-rights and is lagging behind. Read Jinbonent, APC member in Korea, press release.
APC enters into a partnership with privacy specialists
Crackdown on internet users in Bangladesh
Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members assisted by Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) officials are conducting house-to-house searches in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet pinpointing each and every internet user with a fast connection. They are collecting user details from all the internet service providers (ISPs) in order to profile more than 450,000 internet subscribers in the country.
Pakistan’s Draconian Electronic Crime Bill
A controversial Electronic Crime Bill, drafted by The Ministry of IT & Telecom, Government of Pakistan, is currently being tabled in Parliament in advance of a vote. The bill has already been approved by Cabinet and could receive final approval as early as November. Critics say the Bill is draconian and lacks the safeguards to ensure the protection of civil liberties.
South Korea: Opposition to draft legislation on "Communication Data Retention"
The South Korean parliament is discussing a dangerous revision of the "Protection of Communications Secrets Act". So what? It seems quite clear that the revision would legally enforce telecommunications companies and internet service providers (ISPs) to retain ‘communications data’. But do people agree with this? APC-member in South Korea, Jinbonet, thinks not. International civil society organisations think not. They endorsed a letter of protest that was sent to the South Korean parliament
30 March: Stop Cyberbullying Day
Increasingly, harassment and stalking is happening in and through digital communications technology. As we gain access and use stuff like blogs, mobile phones, social networking platforms like Orkut and Friendster, personal information displayed and shared may be used in targeted harassment.

