Tag: Business & Human Rights

The island nation of Nauru may be tiny — it’s only 21 square kilometers (8.5 square miles) — but what is happening there matters to people around the world. Today, Access and a coalition of international organizations sent a letter calling for the government to stop blocking internet services and to repeal a dangerous new criminal law that restricts free expression.

Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Trade, presented on May 6th a handful of cosmetic proposals to the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism. ISDS has been a central point of the ongoing discussions about the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement, currently being negotiated between the U.S. and the EU. Malmström’s “new” ISDS reminds us of a Thai turn of phrase, “same same but different.”

In a major step forward for free expression and human rights in Crimea, the United States today lifted some of its previous restrictions on the export of vital communications technology to the region. Journalists, human rights defenders, and ordinary people in Crimea can now freely use key communications technologies, software, and services to make their voices heard.

On May 6, the European Union’s Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Günther Oettinger, and the Vice President for the Digital Single Market, Andrus Ansip, presented the EU Commission’s strategic plan to establish the Digital Single Market, or DSM.

Access joins coalition opposing crypto backdoors, but that’s just the beginning.

This year, 11 companies published transparency reports for the first time, including Snapchat, Kickstarter, and GitHub. We take a look at the information that some of these companies are sharing (or not sharing), and the implications for users’ rights.

The internet has enabled significant advances in health, education, and creativity, and it is now essential to fully realize human rights. We wouldn’t allow a government to shut off water to an entire city. It’s time we say no to internet shutdowns.

Major UN and international rights experts have just declared that internet kill switches are absolutely impermissible under international human rights law, even in times of conflict. This historic statement holds that governments can no longer justify ordering telecommunications companies to shut off mobile or internet services in the face of social unrest or protest. It is a critical decision that impacts the rights of people who are protesting from Burundi to Baltimore.

Access advises the Council of Europe to develop guidance for regulations that protects users’ freedom of expression and freedom from surveillance