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29 November 2011
Stop Online Piracy Act: The Fight Continues
A recent hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives on the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), companies and organizations that oppose the bill were branded as “pro-pirates.” But civic activists and law professionals have stressed it would give corporations unprecedented power to censor almost any site on the internet, thereby stifling free speech online.
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22 November 2011
Northern Exposure: Unmasking Online Spying in Canada
The Canadian national anthem proudly honors “The True North strong and free!” Yet Canadians face an imminent round of frightening online spy proposals that threaten long held civil liberties and privacy rights. Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has insisted that he won’t budge in his support of online spying legislation despite heavy criticism from privacy watchdogs.
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15 November 2011
8 November 2011
Brazil: Cybercrime Law Could Restrict Fundamental Rights, Internet Openness
Pending in Brazil’s House of Representatives is a proposed cybercrime law that could criminalize many ordinary online activities and that would mark an abrupt shift in Brazil’s progressive digital policy environment. The Committee on Science and Technology will vote on the bill on November 9, 2011.
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19 September 2011
MagyarLeaks: This Is A Test of the Hungarian Media Law
Not long after the launch of the first Hungarian whistleblower website police started an investigation against its editor-in-chief. Reason: “keeping the confidentiality of informants is perjury, or even aiding or abetting in the blackmailing.” Atlatszo.hu is a watchdog NGO and online magazine for investigative journalism started in July 2011 by Tamás Bodoky and other pro-transparency and anti-corruption journalists, and lawyers, IT-specialists, academics, independent experts. (The meaning of the word ‘átlátszó’ is ‘transparent’ in Hungarian.)
18 August 2011
27 July 2011
The Politics of Surveillance: The Erosion of Privacy in Latin America
While most Latin American countries have democratically-elected governments, many still fail to respect human rights, including the right to privacy. Across the region, there have been multiple scandals involving government officials and intelligence agencies engaged in illegal surveillance of communications. These include numerous chilling examples of how interception technologies are being misused to spy on politicians, dissidents, judges, human rights organizations and activists.
