The government has set a secret target to reduce illegal filesharing of music and films by up to 80% over the next three years…

Source: Mark Sweney, writing in the Guardian.

The details of 45,000 people, including criminal records and banking and court information have been lost or compromised in the past year by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Source: Silicon.com

The European Court of Human Rights has ordered the Finnish government to pay out €34,000 because it failed to protect a citizen’s personal data. One data protection expert said that the case creates a vital link between data security and human rights.

Source: Out-Law

This afternoon, Yahoo alerted customers of its erstwhile downloadable music store that it would no longer provide support after Sept. 30 … The upshot: starting Oct. 1, said customers won’t be able to revive frozen tracks or move working ones onto new hard drives or computers, because Yahoo won’t be providing any more keys to the songs’ DRM wrappers.

Source: LA Times

From the Interception of Communications Commissioner’s report:

More than 500,000 official “spying” requests for private communications data such as telephone records were made last year… Police, security services and other public bodies made requests for billing details and other information… 1,707 of these had been from councils… A separate report criticises local authorities for using powers to target minor offences such as fly-tipping… The total number of requests for last year - amounting to more than 1,400 a day - compared with an average of fewer than 350,000 a year in the previous two years.

Source: BBC.

Five police forces have been ordered to delete old criminal convictions from the Police National Computer. In dismissing appeals by Humberside, Northumbria, Staffordshire, Greater Manchester and West Midlands Police, the Information Tribunal has today upheld the view of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) that the retention of the old convictions data is in breach of the Data Protection Act.

Source: ICO press release (PDF)

Personal details were lost by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) after taxpayer information was left on a city centre bench … The documents, which disappeared in Exeter, contained personal information about tax affairs, including business, property and land values.

Source: BBC (via PogoWasRight.org)

Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Miller joined a protest, held outside BT’s annual general meeting in the Barbican Centre, London, on Wednesday, against the 2006 and 2007 trials of the controversial ad-serving technology Phorm.

Source: Tom Espiner writing in ZDNet

Opposition is gaining momentum in the House of Lords to a proposed centralised government database of all internet communications.

Source: Tom Espiner writing in ZDNet

Minister of Intellectual Property Baroness Delyth Morgan said,

“Because copyright represents a monopoly we need to be very clear that the circumstances justify an extension. We will therefore need to consider these proposals carefully to understand how they would work and what the benefits are likely to be. I would like to hear what the public thinks about this and would urge all those who have an interest in these proposals to make sure their voice is heard and to contact the UK-IPO by the end of August.”

The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, an independent government commissioned review, recommended against an extension of copyright term. Evidence suggested that extending the term of protection would negatively impact on consumers and industry.

If you have any comments on the proposal you are invited to contact Barbara Squires at Termextension@ipo.gov.uk by the end of August.