Blog

14 Sep 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

Pubs vs. Privacy: what changes for contact tracing

The Prime Minister announced on Wednesday 9 September that “premises and venues where people meet socially will be legally required to request the contact details of a member of every party, record and retain these details for 21 days and provide them to the NHS Test and Trace without delay when required”.

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20 Aug 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

How I learned to stop worrying and love the algorithm

United Kingdom, 2020 AD.

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05 Aug 2020 By Jim Killock

Fighting and winning for privacy, where was the ICO

The Government admitted their Test and Trace programme is operating unlawfully, but we should never have had to threaten legal action.

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29 Jul 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

Digital advertising market study: the good, the bad and the ugly

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently released their market study on online platforms and digital advertising.

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22 Jul 2020 By Pascal Crowe

Hot Take: the Russia Report and Elections

Amongst the many revelations in the Russia report, a battle is playing out for the future regulatory landscape of UK elections.

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16 Jul 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

CJEU invalidates Privacy Shield: what about the UK?

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) just delivered their Schrems II judgment, writing a new chapter of the never ending saga about the adequacy of US privacy standards.

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08 Jul 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

What will Brexit mean for our privacy?

The Brexit clock is ticking.

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03 Jul 2020 By Pascal Crowe

Winners, losers, and unanswered questions

In their report released on Monday the House of Lords’ Democracy and Digital Technologies Select Committee produced a comprehensive overview of problems it considers to be of high importance to a functioning democracy.

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26 Jun 2020 By Matthew Rice

Where everybody knows your name: pubs and data

The UK Government has announced that pubs can reopen on 4 July, and in the process asked them to start collecting the personal data of their customers to assist in test and trace.

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23 Jun 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

NHSX App delayed, but data protection still MIA

It finally happened: NHSX came to realise the issues surrounding their contact tracing app, and decided to switch to a decentralised approach.

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17 Jun 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

NHSX App: no news is bad news

Amid some confusion, reports would indicate that the NHSX contact tracing app may be released nationwide in less than two weeks.

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16 Jun 2020 By Matthew Rice

Police data practices need to change: LEDS is a start

A new information management system is being developed to replace the maligned and dated Police National Computer and Police National Database.

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15 Jun 2020 By Yva Alexandrova Meadway

Immigration sector privacy concerns

As part of ORG’s work in the area of immigration we have consulted 30 organisations on their priorities and needs.

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09 Jun 2020 By Pascal Crowe

Political parties: listen to your members

ORG’s Data and Democracy Project has been working for over a year to limit the use of personal data by political parties.

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08 Jun 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

The ICO we want

Last week, Open Rights Group (ORG) found out that the Information Rights tribunal ceased their general stay.

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03 Jun 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

Demand strong legal safeguards for Contact Tracing

The NHSX is currently testing their digital contact tracing app in the Isle of Wight, and is set to release it nation-wide sometime soon.

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02 Jun 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

Something is rotten in the Information Commissioner’s Office

The COVID-19 test and trace system immediately hit the news for its dubious privacy policy, as well as the lack of a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA).

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29 May 2020 By Yva Alexandrova Meadway

Immigration Bill brings surveillance to EU migrants

The UK immigration regime is set for major changes, as the UK leaves the EU.

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22 May 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

ICO may have slowed down on AdTech, but we’re up and running

The ongoing coronavirus crisis may have pulled the brake on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) enforcement of your rights, but online advertising companies are doing just fine.

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19 May 2020 By Yva Alexandrova Meadway

Data, privacy and new tech in the immigration sector

Understanding the needs and capacities to deal with data, privacy and the use of new technologies in the immigration sector Please take a moment to answer our survey on the immigration sector needs and capacities to deal with privacy, personal data, digital and technological changes: https://www.

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13 May 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

NHSX tracking app Privacy Assessment: Key Concerns

NHSX finally released the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) for their contact tracing app at the weekend.

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07 May 2020 By Yva Alexandrova Meadway

Hostile environment may stop migrants from using NHSX tracker app

This week the Government confirmed that the NHSX app being developed as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic is using a centralised contact matching system.

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24 Apr 2020 By Jim Killock

Time for a Coronavirus Safeguards Bill

While we pause our weekly online discussions, we’ll keep you informed here on the fast moving debate over digital privacy and Covid-19.

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21 Apr 2020 By Yva Alexandrova Meadway

Contact tracing apps & vulnerable migrants: key concerns

In our recent blog we discussed the emerging privacy issues around contact tracing and ‘immunity passports’, and the announcement from Google and Apple that they are jointly working on a contact tracing app.

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15 Apr 2020 By Jim Killock

Contact tracing and immunity passports must respect privacy

The government’s plans for contact tracing and immunity passports should respect privacy, both at a technical level and backed by legal safeguards.

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07 Apr 2020 By Jim Killock

Contact tracing and immunity passports: questions for the government

We continue to hear bits and pieces about the way that mobile apps may be developed, and about the possibilities that Immunity Passports might come with intrusive database projects.

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Data and Democracy

07 Apr 2020 By Pascal Crowe

Democracy and Covid-19

The Covid 19 epidemic has disrupted our economic and social life unlike anything seen in peacetime.

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03 Apr 2020 By Jim Killock

The government must explain its approach to mobile contact tracing

Mobile data and contact tracing is a hot topic, as the UK and EU develop projects to provide privacy-protecting means of understanding who is at risk of infection.

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Data and Democracy

31 Mar 2020 By Pascal Crowe

Imprints: who’s responsible?

Many proposed electoral reforms are highly contested.

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26 Mar 2020 By Jim Killock

Open tech, privacy and Covid-19

From enabling strategies to curb the virus to empowering individuals to connect and work from home, digital technology is playing a vital role in the COVID-19 epidemic.

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Data and Democracy

24 Mar 2020 By Pascal Crowe

We need political accountability more than ever- and the ICO can lead the way

We are living in an unprecedented historical moment.

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20 Mar 2020 By Jim Killock

In the Coronavirus crisis, privacy will be compromised—but our right to know must not be

At Open Rights Group (ORG), we want the government to succeed in its pursuit of the eradication of Coronvirus COVID-19.

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02 Mar 2020 By Javier Ruiz

UK publishes trade objectives for deal with the US: What you need to know

The UK government has set out its plans and priorities for the negotiations of a free trade agreement with the US.

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19 Feb 2020 By Francis Davey

Data Protection and Brexit

At the moment, the General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR) is an important piece of legislation protecting personal data, but it is European, not UK law.

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Data and Democracy

31 Jan 2020 By Pascal Crowe

APPG on Electoral Campaigning Transparency adopt ORG reforms

Last summer, Open Rights Group gave oral evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Electoral Campaigning Transparency.

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29 Jan 2020 By Javier Ruiz

Is ethical Ad-Tech possible?

Last week ORG was in Brussels at the main annual privacy conference in Europe, CPDP, which stands for Computer Privacy and Data Protection.

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11 Dec 2019 By Javier Ruiz

Leaked UK US trade talks risk future flow of data with the EU

We come to the end of the 2019 election campaign, which has seen some huge controversies.

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Data and Democracy

09 Dec 2019 By Amy Shepherd

Profiling, Political opinions, and Data Protection – The Legal Background

We’re campaigning to stop political parties abusing personal data in their rush to try and win elections.

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03 Dec 2019 By Matthew Rice

What we’ve learned from asking political parties: Who do you think we are?

Over 2019, Open Rights Group (ORG) have been exercising our rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to find out what UK political parties are up to with our personal data.

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20 Nov 2019 By Amy Shepherd & Mike Morel

The AdTech showdown is coming but will the ICO bite?

The 2018 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was meant to be a Good Thing – a strong law that would make businesses act responsibly and give ordinary people control over our personal data.

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17 Oct 2019 By Jim Killock

Age Verification is dead – for now

Open Rights Group welcomes this change for two reasons.

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07 Oct 2019 By Amy Shepherd

Be the future – 5 simple ways political parties can protect digital rights

No-one fully knows what a post-Brexit Britain will look like.

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Data and Democracy

02 Sep 2019 By Pascal Crowe

Out for the count : the £9 million white elephant in London’s next election

Electronic counting in London – the subject of criticism from the Electoral Commission and Open Rights Group for many years – is now spiralling in cost.

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08 Jul 2019 By By Daniel Markuson, a digital privacy expert at NordVPN

European Net Neutrality is Under Attack

Network neutrality explained Net neutrality is the idea that ISPs must ensure an equal internet connection to each and every user.

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29 Jun 2019 By Ed Johnson-Williams and Amy Shepherd

Online Harms: Blocking websites doesn’t work – use a rights-based approach instead

This is the finding from our recent research into website blocking by mobile and broadband Internet providers.

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Data and Democracy

28 Jun 2019 By Pascal Crowe

Hunting for a solution? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

It seems apt that it was at this week’s ‘digital hustings’ for the Conservative Party leadership that Jeremy Hunt unilaterally came out in favour of online voting.

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11 Jun 2019 By Jim Killock

EFF and Open Rights Group Defend the Right to Publish Open Source Software to the UK Government

https://www.

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09 May 2019 By Pascal Crowe

More than money – How to tame online political ads

Political parties target ads online by using personal data to include or exclude potential voters.

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08 Apr 2019 By Jim Killock and Amy Shepherd

The DCMS Online Harms Strategy must ‘design in’ fundamental rights

Read the White Paper here.

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19 Mar 2019 By Jim Killock

Jeremy Wright needs to act to avert disasters from porn age checks

The government rejected Parliamentary attempts to include privacy powers over age verification tools, so DCMS have limited possibilities right now.

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14 Mar 2019 By Javier Ruiz

US red lines for digital trade with the UK cause alarm

Trade negotiations between the US and the UK have recently received a lot of attention due to the publication of the official negotiating objectives of the US Government, which set out in sometimes candid detail the areas of interest and priorities.

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11 Mar 2019 By Amy Shepherd

Brexit, Data Privacy and the EU Settled Status Scheme

The EU Settled Status Scheme (“the scheme”) provides the administrative route through which all EU nationals must apply to remain in the UK after 30 June 2021, in the event of a deal, or 31 December 2020, in the event of no deal.

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08 Mar 2019 By Jim Killock

Informal Censorship: The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF)

Read the full report here.

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05 Mar 2019 By Jim Killock

Informal Internet Censorship: The Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU)

Read the full report here.

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28 Feb 2019 By Jim Killock

Informal Internet Censorship: Nominet domain suspensions

Read the full report here.

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27 Feb 2019 By Jim Killock

We met to discuss BBFC’s voluntary age verification privacy scheme, but BBFC did not attend

We invited all the AV providers we know about, and most importantly, the BBFC, at the start of February.

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26 Feb 2019 By Matthew Rice

The missing piece from the DCMS report? Themselves

The Disinformation and ‘fake news’ report from the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee splashed onto front pages, news feeds and timelines on 18 February.

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19 Feb 2019 By Jim Killock

Formal Internet Censorship: BBFC pornography blocking

Read the full report here.

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15 Feb 2019 By Jim Killock

Formal Internet Censorship: Copyright blocking injunctions

Read the full report here.

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14 Feb 2019 By Amy Shepherd

Patently unfair – Epson takedowns continue

Platform takedown notice procedures are a personal patent guard-dog As a verified rights-owner (VeRO) on eBay UK and by using Amazon UK’s reporting notice system, Seiko Epson Corporation (“Epson”) has free rein to remove any and all third-party cartridge listings that it wishes.

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11 Feb 2019 By Mike Morel

A new wave of Internet censorship may be on the horizon

2018 was a pivotal year for data protection.

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06 Feb 2019 By Jim Killock

Duty of care: an empty concept

There is every reason to believe that the government and opposition are moving to a consensus on introducing a duty of care for social media companies to reduce harm and risk to their users.

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04 Feb 2019 By Javier Ruiz

ORG calls for public participation in digital trade policy after Brexit

A key aspect of Brexit is the future of trade policy.

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01 Feb 2019 By Mike Morel

Response to IAB statement

IAB: We have taken note of media reports regarding an update to complaints made by ad-blocking browser developer Brave and Polish activist group Panoptykon Foundation to a number of European data protection authorities.

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28 Jan 2019 By Ed Johnson-Williams

Public Understanding of GDPR

Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a lot of attention given to data protection.

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20 Dec 2018 By Javier Ruiz

Law Commission report asks for complete reform of online offensive communications

In 2019 ORG will be doing more work on the regulation of online content and free expression, as there are various important government initiatives in the area that could impact the rights of internet users.

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20 Sep 2018 By Javier Ruiz

Machine learning and the right to explanation in GDPR

This blogpost is a small section of a much larger research report Debates, awareness, and projects about GDPR and data protection.

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11 Sep 2018 By Ed Johnson-Williams

Helping IoT developers to assess ethics, privacy, and social impact

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) introduces a mandatory Data Protection Impact Assessment.

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04 Sep 2018 By Mike Morel

We need copyright reform that does not threaten free expression

Seen through an economic lens the Directive’s journey is viewed as a battle between rights holders and tech giants.

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21 Aug 2018 By Javier Ruiz

The right of access in GDPR: What are the debates?

This blogpost is a small section of a much larger research report Debates, awareness, and projects about GDPR and data protection.

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03 Aug 2018 By Matthew Rice

What is at stake with the immigration exemption legal challenge?

The immigration exemption in the Data Protection Act 2018 will remove key data protection rights for everyone in the United Kingdom.

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05 Jul 2018 By Mike Morel

MEPs hold off Article 13’s Censorship Machine

The odds were steep, but thanks to everyone who contacted their representatives, MEPs got the message that Article 13 and it’s automated “upload filters” would be a catastrophe for free expression online.

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26 Jun 2018 By Ed Johnson-Williams

A new GDPR digital service: the crowdsourced ideas

A few months ago we put out a call for ideas for a new digital service that would help people use their rights under General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

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13 Jun 2018 By Alex Haydock

Victory for Open Rights Group in Supreme Court web blocking challenge

The Supreme Court ruled today that trade mark holders must bear the cost of blocking websites which sell counterfeit versions of their goods, rather than passing those costs on to Internet service providers.

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08 May 2018 By Jim Killock

The government is acting negligently on privacy and porn AV

We asked the BBFC to tell government that the legislation is not fit for purpose, and that they should halt the scheme until privacy regulation is in place.

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30 Apr 2018 By Alex Haydock

The latest ruling against the Snooper’s Charter is welcome, but the Courts need to do more

Last Friday – 27 April 2018 – the High Court delivered its judgment in a challenge brought by human rights organisation Liberty against the mass surveillance powers of the Investigatory Powers Act.

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25 Apr 2018 By Alex Haydock

We asked the BBFC to warn the Government about the dangers of age verification

On the 23rd April 2018, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) closed their consultation on their age verification guidelines for online pornography.

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24 Apr 2018 By Jim Killock

Google or CTIRU: who is fibbing about terror takedowns?

These referrals, to Google, Facebook and others, come from a unit hosted at the Metropolitan Police, called CTIRU, or the Counter-Terrorism Internet Referrals Unit.

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04 Apr 2018 By Henry Prince

Filters are for coffee and water, not copyright.

It would be the largest internet filter Europe has ever seen – reading every single piece of text uploaded to the internet, and watching every video.

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29 Mar 2018 By Jim Killock

Facebook Don’t Want You To Know How Their Algorithm Works

Facebook don’t want you to know how their algorithm works.

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29 Mar 2018 By Jim Killock

Facebook Don’t Want You To Know How Their Algorithm Works

Facebook don’t want you to know how their algorithm works.

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29 Mar 2018 By Jim Killock

Facebook Don’t Want You To Know How Their Algorithm Works

Facebook don’t want you to know how their algorithm works.

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29 Mar 2018 By Jim Killock

Facebook Don’t Want You To Know How Their Algorithm Works

Facebook don’t want you to know how their algorithm works.

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20 Mar 2018 By Jim Killock

Matt Hancock has no right to complain about the internet being a ‘Wild West’

In recent years, many have warned about the dangers of Facebook knowing so much about everyone’s beliefs, preferences, and attitudes.

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05 Mar 2018 By Jim Killock

The Data Protection Bill’s Immigration Exemption must go

The government has introduced a sweeping “immigration exemption” in Schedule 2, Paragraph 4.

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20 Feb 2018 By Cory Doctorow

Unleashing ORG in the courts

No one said protecting the digital world was going to be easy (or cheap)!

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15 Feb 2018 By Jim Killock

Election results

The full results are in the linked documents (report, results, details).

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13 Feb 2018 By Jim Killock

Even extremist takedowns require accountability

The Government is very keen to ensure that extremist material is removed from private platforms, like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

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12 Jan 2018 By Ed Johnson-Williams

2019

https://www.

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12 Jan 2018 By Javier Ruiz

2018

https://www.

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10 Jan 2018 By Slavka Bielikova

Peers have a chance to make the UK one of the safest places to be online. They should take it.

Do you remember that time when Uber didn’t tell us that the data of 57 million of their users got exposed?

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04 Jan 2018 By Javier Ruiz

Alphonso knows what you watched last summer

The New York Times has published a story about a company called Alphonso that has developed a technology that uses smartphone microphones to identify TV and films being played in the background.

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11 Dec 2017 By Caitlin Bishop

Battle lines have been drawn over the Data Protection bill

Open Rights Group have delivered briefings to Peers on its core campaigning points, including: supporting stronger powers for representation of data subjects; and raising concerns about the hazardous immigration exemptions alongside the3million, the campaigning organisation representing EU citizens living in the United Kingdom.

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