Tag: Telcos

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.

The White House issued a veto threat to congress, saying if CISPA doesn’t include privacy safeguards and civilian oversight, President Obama won’t sign the bill.

The Dutch hosting provider Leaseweb releases first transparency report, joining growing ranks of internet companies proactively disclosing their human rights impacts. The Leaseweb report provides insight into both the type of requests faced by hosting companies and provides a model for hosting companies seeking to undertake similar disclosure efforts.

From May 14-16, the World Telecommunication Policy Forum (WTPF) will bring together representatives from government, industry, and the global regulatory community to exchange views on key policy issues related to the internet. The meeting is hosted by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the same UN agency that hosted the controversial World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT) last December in Dubai. We break down the key issues to watch and ways to participate.

Marie Ehrlin, newly-elected Chairman of the Board, told reporters at TeliaSonera’s annual shareholder meeting that the company would bring in outside help to review their operations “country by country, transaction by transaction, and deal by deal” after a year of bruising human rights and corruption allegations. For some, this response is not enough.

This week, Access joins a coalition of Internet advocacy organizations in a week of action to express our opposition to the U.S. Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA).

Access welcomes the announcement of a new collaboration between the Telecommunications Industry Dialogue on Freedom of Expression and Privacy, and the Global Network Initiative. Beginning with a two-year trial, this collaboration holds the potential for meaningful engagement that yields more rights-respecting policies and actions in the telecoms sector.

Joining a growing number of governments proposing regulations that mandate pervasive surveillance, Peru recently introduced a draconian bill that accelerates the review of evidence related to criminal investigations in a way that contravenes the due process rights of Peruvians.

As Burma solicits bids from telcos to build out its telecommunications infrastructure, the country is making it clear that they’re open for business.

After two weeks of voting, the “winner” of our Telco Hall of Shame is AT&T, who was nominated for being BFF’s with the NSA. The US-based telecommunications company won with nearly a quarter of the the vote, followed by another American telco, Verizon, with 17%.