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Problems of Social Media Law Dismissed
The legislation that governs the use of social media is “generally appropriate”, or so says a report from the House of Lords Communications Committee. This is despite the legislation being passed,...
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EU Chief wants to block ‘undesirable’ content on the web
Yesterday the new European Union anti-terror chief appeared infront of MPs to discuss various issues, including what people are reading online. As we’ve previously warned, the UK’s Anti-Extremism task...
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Surveillance law reform is not optional
Today, some of the world’s biggest technology companies have spelled out the principles that they believe should underpin the balance between privacy and security online. In full page advertisements...
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A (brief) recent history of security and the free press
Today, the editor of the Guardian gives evidence to the Home Affairs select committee, as part of the committee’s work on counter terrorism. Perhaps that might give the committee to question why...
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Who decides what we can read?
Speaking at the Internet Service Providers Association, Security Minister James Brokenshire said that an announcement on blocking extremist websites is ‘forthcoming.’ This follows the Prime Minister...
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Time for surveillance transparency
Today the three heads of Britain’s intelligence agencies appear infront of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee in a televised hearing, the first time for such a hearing to be broadcast....
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Parliamentarians warn of ‘deliberate failiure’ to conceal GCHQ capability
Shortly after Lord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, condemned the way the new head of MI5 had dismissed calls for greater scrutiny several senior figures involved in the scrutiny...
View ArticleIdeas to start the debate and reform surveillance
Dear Prime Minister, cc Deputy Prime Minister; Chair – ISC; Chair – Home Affairs committee; Chair – Joint Committee on the Draft Communications Data Bill; Chair – LIBE Committee of the European...
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No debate please, we’re British.
In a speech to the Royal United Services Institute on Tuesday, the Director General of MI5 said: “it causes enormous damage to make public the reach and limits of GCHQ techniques.Such information...
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GCHQ faces legal action over mass surveillance
Today Big Brother Watch, working with the Open Rights Group, English PEN and German internet activist Constanze Kurz, has announced legal papers have been filed alleging that GCHQ has illegally...
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State sponsored cyber attack: Will we practice what we preach?
Another week, another set of documents leaked by Edward Snowden. This time it has been reported that GCHQ is responsible for a cyber attack on Belgacom. Considering the Foreign Office has repeatedly...
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British police are third highest users of Facebook data globally
Today Facebook has published it’s first transparency report, detailing law enforcement and national security requests from countries around the world. Britain requested data on 1,975 occasions,...
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To be, or not to be, blocked, that is the question
In the latest development of over-zealous internet filtering, the British Library has blocked access to Shakespeare’s Hamlet because of its “violent content”. The block was discovered by author Mark...
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Won’t someone think of the students…?
For privacy campaigners, the issue of big data has been a cause for some time, with a growing trend of governments, businesses and other institutions gathering increasing amounts of data which is then...
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Intelligence and Securtity Committee reports on PRISM
The ISC has today made a statement on it’s investigation into PRISM, following the revelations made by whistleblower Edward Snowden. While it appears the investigation was limited to PRISM, as opposed...
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GCHQ revelations must lead to Parliamentary inquiry into RIPA
Recent alarming revelations have raised some incredibly important questions about the use of surveillance techniques and Big Brother Watch, alongside seven other foremost campaign croups, have called...
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New research: Global attitudes to privacy online
Our latest research looks at consumer attitudes towards online privacy, with the findings confounding presumptions that consumers – young or old – do not care about their privacy. Undertaken by ComRes,...
View ArticlePress comment: NSA spying, GCHQ and Prism
Nick Pickles, director of privacy and civil liberties campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: “There are legal processes to request information about British citizens using American services and if...
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Who decides what we can see online?
Today, along with the Open Rights Group, English PEN and Index on Censorship, we have signed a letter to Culture Secretary Maria Miller highlighting our concerns about the current debate around...
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The taxman wants to HMRC who you’ve been calling
Under the (brilliant) headline ‘We’re Under Atax’ the Sun exclusively reveals today reveals the extent of the taxman’s snooping. As our Freedom of Information request shows, Between 2009 and 2011, HRMC...
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