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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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Massive US surveillance program exposed
Update: The initial disclosure by Greenwald and the Guardian has since been followed by reports from, first from the Washington Post and followed by the New York Times, Guardian, and Wall Street Journal confirming and dramatically enlarging the scope of…
6 June 2013
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It’s time for companies to act: US eases sanctions on export of tech to Iran
Yesterday the US government announced a new round of sanctions relief for Iranian citizens, providing users with easier access to the internet and a wide range of personal communications technologies. With the road to export without the need for specific licenses explicitly cleared, now is the time for these companies to make their products and services available to Iranian users. …
31 May 2013
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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
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Cautious optimism as US privacy oversight board finally confirms chair
The US Senate finally voted to confirm David Medine as the first Chair of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), a government oversight body charged with protecting privacy and civil liberties in the United States.…
13 May 2013
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Google’s National Security Letter suit: what it confirms about due process
A month after the publication of its first Transparency Report mentioning National Security Letters (NSLs), Google filed a motion before the Northern District of California to “set aside”–or in plain language, defer–this controversial form of request. Google’s action follows in the courageous legal footsteps of a handful of service providers–including the ACLU’s defense of the Calyx Institute and EFF’s successful petition on behalf of an unnamed client–raising hopes that Google’s suit may finally expose the worldwide reach of NSLs.
…8 May 2013
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CISPA passes House despite Obama veto threat
The House of Representatives passed the privacy-invading Cybersecurity Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) by a vote of 288 – 127. The bill must still pass the Senate, and overcome a veto threat from Obama, before it becomes law.…
18 April 2013
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U.S. “Internet Governance Bill” advances to the full House of Representatives with modifications
The proposed U.S. House of Representatives “Internet Governance Bill” was approved by the full Energy and Commerce Committee today and will now move on to the full House of Representatives. The revised draft of the bill would make it the “policy of the United States to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet.”…
17 April 2013
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U.S. Congress deliberates keeping the internet “free of government control”
The proposed U.S. House of Representatives “Internet Governance Bill” has moved on to the full Energy and Commerce Committee after two days of markup and debate in the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology. If passed into law, the bill would make it the “policy of the United States to promote a global Internet free from government control and to preserve and advance the successful multistakeholder model that governs the Internet.”
…12 April 2013
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Access Joins Obama Administration CISPA Veto Letter
Access has joined nearly forty other privacy advocates, civil society organizations, and companies like Reddit and Mozilla in signing a letter urging the Obama administration to renew its veto threat against the resurrected cybersecurity bill CISPA.…
20 March 2013
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Keeping IP out of TAFTA
On the heels of the announcement of the newly kicked off EU-US Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA), also known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), Access joined a group of roughly 35 internet freedom organizations, public health groups, activists, and other public interest leaders to urge both the US and the EU to keep copyright, patents, trademarks and geographical indications — so-called “intellectual property” — out of the negotiations.…
18 March 2013
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Free Cookies: Strings attached to browsing raise costs for users
The recent introduction of Do-Not-Track legislation is again bringing the issue of online privacy back to the forefront in the United States. Given its mixed history, lack of widespread agreement on how to treat Do-Not-Track requests, and what sort of behavior constitutes tracking, the effectiveness of existing Do-Not-Track systems are far from adequate.…
11 March 2013
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Privacy under siege: Unprecedented lobby efforts against the Regulation are revealed
As the European Parliament debates new data protection reforms,US technology companies have arrived in Brussels to commence an unprecedented lobbying effort aimed at preventing strong regulation and weakening existing standards. Most troublingly, some of the draft legislative proposals have been copied and pasted directly from lobbying documents, evidence of the immense influence of US giants like Google and Amazon on European policy.…
26 February 2013
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Chile takes blogger to court over Twitter parody account
Today, Access filed a Freedom of Information Act request before the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice to ask which governments are requesting user information through mutual legal assistance treaties. This filing comes two days after a blogger and lawyer Rodrigo Ferrari was formally charged by Chilean prosecutors, who obtained his Twitter information through such a process, which was seemingly executed improperly.…
21 February 2013
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Cybersecurity bill CISPA is back: same privacy concerns, more political support
CISPA, the ill-conceived piece of US legislation on information sharing and cybersecurity, is back. Yesterday, the Intelligence Committee of the US House of Representatives held a hearing on cybersecurity, under the banner of “Advanced Threats Facing Our Nation.” The committee, chaired by Republican congressman Mike Rogers, heard testimony from representatives of the financial, energy, corporate, and security industries. No representative of the civil liberties or privacy community was invited to testify.…
15 February 2013
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Obama cybersecurity executive order good in short term, but sets worrying precedent
The order sets out provisions for sharing critical threat information from government to the private sector, but potentially establishes a foundation for later bidirectional sharing of sensitive information. Its vague categorization of what constitutes critical infrastructure limits transparency on threat reduction, and may hinder confidence building measures intended to mitigate cyber conflict. It offers some civil liberties protections, but doesn’t go far enough.…
13 February 2013
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Federal Trade Commission gets serious about Do Not Track
In the rapidly-changing mobile landscape in the U.S., users often lack information about the new technology running their apps, games, devices, and accompanying privacy policies. On Friday, the Federal Trade Commission stepped in with guidelines to the mobile marketplace to better protect the privacy of mobile users.…
6 February 2013
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Intellectual property and the implementation of US Free Trade Agreements in Latin America
From 2004, the United States has signed onto free trade agreements with nearly half of the countries in Latin America. As a product of these agreements, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Panama and other Central American countries agreed to enact new and more restrictive copyright laws, which can place important threats on the fundamental rights of internet users across the region.
…4 February 2013
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Happy Data Privacy Day!
Today is Data Privacy Day, an international holiday that marks the 32nd anniversary of the signing of the Council of Europe’s Data Protection Convention 108. Data Privacy Day, which is celebrated all over Europe, Canada, and the US, recognises our fundamental right under human rights law and the importance of privacy to the maintenance of democratic societies, the advancement of human dignity, and the flourishing of other rights such as freedom of expression and association.…
28 January 2013
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New nomination to US privacy oversight board, just ahead of cybersecurity fights in Congress
With the recent re-nomination of David Medine as chairman, the long-dormant US Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) may finally come to life. The renewal of the Board and its mandate comes not a moment too soon. A strong,…
25 January 2013