Blog
Human Rights Day: Back to the basics on privacy – part 2 of 2
The revelations of mass government surveillance and pervasive monitoring of communications that broke earlier this year have led to an erosion of trust among internet users. So much so that organizations responsible for coordination of the internet’s technical infrastructure globally were compelled to release the Montevideo Statement on the “Future of Internet Cooperation.”…
11 December 2013
Blog
Human Rights Day: Back to the basics on privacy Part 1 of 2
The revelations of mass government surveillance and pervasive monitoring of communications that broke earlier this year have led to an erosion of trust among internet users. So much so that organizations responsible for coordination of the internet’s technical infrastructure globally were compelled to release the Montevideo Statement on the “Future of Internet Cooperation.”
…10 December 2013
Blog
UN General Assembly Takes Critical Step to Address Privacy amid Surveillance Controversy
Today the U.N. General Assembly took a critical first step in addressing mass surveillance as a human rights violations with the passage of a resolution recognizing the right to privacy in the digital age.
…26 November 2013
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Message to U.N. General Assembly: Stand up for Right to Privacy in the Digital Age
As negotiations at the United Nations General Assembly over the right to privacy in the digital age grow heated, Access, together with Amnesty International, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Human Rights Watch, and Privacy International have written a letter to members of the General Assembly urging them to “take a stand against indiscriminate practices such as mass surveillance, interception, and data collection, both at home and abroad”.
…21 November 2013
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2013 Internet Governance Forum in Review
The 8th annual U.N. Internet Governance Forum wrapped up late last month in Bali, Indonesia. This year’s official main theme was “Building Bridges – Enhancing Multi-stakeholder Cooperation for Growth and Sustainable Development”; however, mass online surveillance and a recently announced 2014 world summit on internet governance dominated many discussions at the IGF.…
7 November 2013
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Brazil, Germany introduce resolution on Right to Privacy in the Digital Age at UN General Assembly
The United Nations is the site of the latest diplomatic response to revelations of mass surveillance by the United States and its allies. Today at the General Assembly, Brazil and Germany formally introduced their draft resolution on “The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age.”
…1 November 2013
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With no votes cast, Azerbaijani election app releases ‘final’ election results
While the October 9 Azerbaijani general election was not expected to meet international standards as “free and fair,” an app developed by the country’s authoritarian government has accidentally released a final vote tally a full day ahead of the election. According to the application, the votes count for tomorrow’s election have the the country’s incumbent dictator, Ilham Aliyev, “winning” the election by a landslide.
…8 October 2013
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UN Human Rights Council discusses surveillance and other internet issues at 24th session
The 24th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) opened last Monday, and already in the first week, internet-related human rights issues were highlighted as areas of concern by governments, civil society, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, alike. With the international community still reeling from the revelations of mass state surveillance sparked by Edward Snowden’s leaks in May, much, but not all, discussion of internet issues focused on how to protect human rights, in particular privacy, in the digital age.
…16 September 2013
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Broad Civil Society Coalition Delivers Statement to UN HRC on Surveillance and Human Rights
A broad civil society coalition of more than 90 civil society organizations and individuals issued a joint statement at the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) today calling for the protection of human rights in the digital age in the wake of the recently revealed PRISM and US National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program. The statement, which was delivered at the 23rd session of the HRC, by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Reporters without Borders, in particular highlighted the need to protect the rights of whistleblowers and to prevent the establishment of a global internet surveillance system.
…10 June 2013
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WTPF: expected outcomes, revealing debate
The UN World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF) concluded yesterday in Geneva, with the adoption of six opinions to guide international policy on broadband and internet exchange point (IXP) deployment, as well as internet governance. That was exactly the plan–but what happened over the course of the three day meeting is revealing for the future of internet governance reform. …
17 May 2013
Blog
US House of Representatives Bill on IG unnecessary and potentially harmful to diplomacy
Yesterday, the US House of Representatives voted unanimously to pass a bill on internet governance that was superfluous, misguided, and potentially harmful to ongoing international negotiations on internet governance.…
16 May 2013