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Peter Micek, Esq.

General Counsel

Peter Micek is General Counsel and UN Policy Manager at Access Now, based in New York City. Peter Micek leads the Legal arm, managing risk to global programming and operations, closely with the organization’s Digital Security Helpline, Grants, and RightsCon teams. The Legal arm engages in strategic litigation and bolsters legal support for civic space online and civil society actors globally. As UN Policy Manager, Peter advances international norms and law on digital rights, including on privacy and spyware, censorship and internet shutdowns, and digital identity programs. Peter is also Lecturer at the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) on internet governance and public policy in the digital age, and sits on the Advisory Board of the Univ. of Oklahoma College of Law’s Center for International Business and Human Rights, and formerly the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Future of Cybersecurity. A lawyer by training, Peter completed a JD cum laude at the University of San Francisco School of Law, and in 2010 published “A Genealogy of Home Visits,” critiquing surveillance of at-risk communities. As a law student, Peter defended independent journalists and engaged in Freedom of Information litigation at First Amendment Project. Peter studied political science and journalism at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He is licensed by the state bars of California and New York, and has no cats.

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Telcos claim innocence in Ukraine’s threatening text messages

23 Jan 2014

Just as new laws outlawing public assembly go into effect, Ukrainian security forces are accused of threatening protesters through targeted phone text messages.

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Telcos claim innocence in Ukraine’s threatening text messages
23 Jan 2014
Telcos claim innocence in Ukraine’s threatening text messages
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Vodafone answers call for greater transparency worldwide

16 Jan 2014

Today, Vodafone announced it will ask governments in 25 countries for the right to disclose the number of demands it receives for wiretapping and customer data.

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Vodafone answers call for greater transparency worldwide
16 Jan 2014
Vodafone answers call for greater transparency worldwide
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CREDO steals telcos’ thunder with new transparency report

9 Jan 2014

After years of public calls for telco transparency, today marks a historic moment: the release of the first-ever telco transparency report. We applaud CREDO Mobile for being the first telco in the world to issue such a report, detailing their responses to law enforcement requests for user data.

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CREDO steals telcos’ thunder with new transparency report
9 Jan 2014
CREDO steals telcos’ thunder with new transparency report
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AT&T takes first step toward transparency

21 Dec 2013

Following close on Verizon’s heels, AT&T today announced it will begin to publish a semi-annual online transparency report in early 2014. This announcement is an abrupt about-face for the company, which only two weeks ago requested that the SEC allow it to ignore a shareholder proposal calling for exactly such transparency.

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AT&T takes first step toward transparency
21 Dec 2013
AT&T takes first step toward transparency
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Human Rights Day: Breaking with tradition, companies find opportunities in human rights

10 Dec 2013

News broke last week that the US government is surveilling the location and movements of international cell phones, collecting 5 billion daily records of cellphone location data. An official confirmed the bulk collection of data through fiber optic cables in the US, saying intelligence agencies do not intentionally target cellphones in the United States.

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Human Rights Day: Breaking with tradition, companies find opportunities in human rights
10 Dec 2013
Human Rights Day: Breaking with tradition, companies find opportunities in human rights
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NSA hacks internet company data centers

1 Nov 2013

The NSA is eavesdropping on the private cables running between the Google and Yahoo data centers where all user data is held. Under a program codenamed MUSCULAR the NSA is going right in, without permission from the companies or the courts.

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NSA hacks internet company data centers
1 Nov 2013
NSA hacks internet company data centers
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Investors hear call for digital sustainability

1 Nov 2013

Investors taking note that government spying “threatens the foundation” of many technology companies’ business models.

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Investors hear call for digital sustainability
1 Nov 2013
Investors hear call for digital sustainability
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Update: Mass internet shutdown in Sudan follows days of protest

15 Oct 2013

All internet services in Sudan were abruptly shut down today while protests swelled in the capital Khartoum for the third day after fuel subsidies were cut, doubling the price of gas.

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Update: Mass internet shutdown in Sudan follows days of protest
15 Oct 2013
Update: Mass internet shutdown in Sudan follows days of protest
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Broad international coalition urges U.S. government surveillance to conform with global human rights

23 Aug 2013

This week, Access joined with 65 organizations and individuals from 25 countries to urge the U.S. Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) to consider the global human rights implications of the U.S. National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance programs.

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Broad international coalition urges U.S. government surveillance to conform with global human rights
23 Aug 2013
Broad international coalition urges U.S. government surveillance to conform with global human rights
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Investors raise unique surveillance concerns

11 Jul 2013

Some of the world’s leading sustainable investment firms have joined the growing chorus of voices speaking out against private sector compliance in the U.S. government’s sweeping violations of human rights through its widely publicized NSA surveillance programs.

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Investors raise unique surveillance concerns
11 Jul 2013
Investors raise unique surveillance concerns
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