Peter Micek, Esq.

On Monday, October 19th, stakeholders in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process gathered in New York for an interactive summit that represents one of the last few chances for civil society to discuss the WSIS findings and help shape the future of the initiative. Access Now joined a diverse coalition of groups to submit a unified revision of the “zero draft” — the draft of language that will become the resolution for adoption by the U.N. General Assembly in December.

Even George A. Romero, visionary creator of zombie movies, would scarcely believe this script. After public outcry, policy turnarounds, and regulatory scrutiny, tracking headers live on in Verizon’s networks. The company just announced a new program combining AOL’s online advertising and tracking capabilities with Verizon’s UIDH mobile tracking headers, to track users across the fixed and mobile web. We have fought to expose the use of mobile tracking headers, and made some progress in holding companies to account. The nonprofit Business and Human Rights Resource Centre invited formal responses from the companies named in our report. Let’s go through the responses, one by one.

Today Access joined a coalition of international organizations to launch a campaign demanding essential changes to Facebook’s “real name” policy.

The U.S. government does not protect the privacy rights of non-citizens beyond its borders. That’s the message it will deliver at the U.N. Human Rights Council tomorrow in its official response to the 348 recommendations received during the second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the U.S. human rights record in Geneva.

Vodafone employees accessed journalist Natalie O’Brien’s call and text records in 2011, after she wrote reports about problems with the company’s Siebel security system. According to a leaked email, Vodafone managers asked employees to use “any means available” to uncover the source of O’Brien’s information. Vodafone commissioned an investigation by a top accounting firm, the results of which it refuses to release, while denying any “improper behavior.” However, after public pressure intensified this week, Vodafone reversed course and has asked federal police to investigate. We call on Vodafone to cooperate fully with investigators, release the independent report it commissioned, publicly explain what actions the company took after it became aware of the breach, and promise non-repetition. The company should strive to implement encryption, including end-to-end encryption, which would prevent employees from being able to access user data like this in the future.

The 30th Session of the U.N. Human Rights Council (“HRC30”) has begun in Geneva. Over the course of the three-week session, the 47 Member States of the Council – and a full slate of civil society representatives, observer states, and technical experts – will debate resolutions and reports on the current status of human rights worldwide. Access and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) have compiled highlights identifying the key digital rights issues on the Council’s agenda, as well as relevant side events and countries under review in the Universal Periodic Review.

In the wake of the Bersih 4.0 rally, we call on the government of Malaysia to uphold freedom of expression online.

Today Access joined Article 19, APC, and Human Rights Watch in a letter to Prime Minister Najib denouncing the blocking of Sarawak Report and the revocation of publishing permits. The letter also warned against imposing further restrictions on mass protests planned for this weekend.

We sent an open letter to GSMA’s new Director General, in the hope of sparking a meaningful dialogue on how the association can join the fight to protect and respect the rights of users at risk.