Blog
06 Mar 2017 By Jim Killock
Why the IPO needs to change the criminal offence for online copyright infringement
The IPO has responded to your letters to the minister Jo Johnson MP about the new 10 year sentences for online copyright infringement.
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09 Feb 2017 By Jim Killock
Ten years jail for file sharers – the governments’ gift to copyright trolls
Ten years jail for filesharing: or in fact any minor copyright infringement where there is a “loss by not getting what one might get” or cause a “risk” of further infringement.
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Digital Privacy
08 Feb 2017 By Jim Killock
Just how much censorship will the DEBill lead to?
Officials wrote to the New Statesman yesterday to complain about Myles Jackman’s characterisation of the Digital Economy Bill as leading to an attempt to classify everything on the Internet.
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07 Feb 2017 By Slavka Bielikova
Government says privacy safeguards are not ‘necessary’ in Digital Economy Bill
The House of Lords debated age verification for online pornography last week as the Committee stage of the Digital Economy Bill went ahead.
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20 Jan 2017 By Javier Ruiz
Lords Committee slams data sharing powers in Digital Economy Bill
In a report published today the Committee asks for the “almost untrammeled” powers given to Ministers in the Bill to be severely curtailed, and for all Codes of Practice associated with these data sharing powers to be laid before Parliament in draft for full approval before coming into force.
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16 Jan 2017 By Ed Johnson-Williams
Let’s save ‘backdoor’ for the real thing
The Guardian reported on Friday last week that WhatsApp – owned by Facebook – has a “backdoor” that “allows snooping on encrypted messages”.
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21 Dec 2016 By Javier Ruiz
EU Court slams UK data retention surveillance regime
The full judgment can be read here.
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20 Dec 2016 By Jim Killock
Is the government misleading the Lords about blocking Twitter?
The Bill is even worse than we illustrated.
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16 Dec 2016 By Javier Ruiz
ORG’s first take on the leaked e-Privacy Regulations
Blog Leak
The leaked e-Privacy Regulation (ePR) brings many improved protections to our communications data, which are now extended to communications devices and internet services, not just traditional telecom providers.
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16 Dec 2016 By Jim Killock
How it works: website blocking in the Digital Economy Bill
Blocking takes two shapes, after the Lords debate.
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13 Dec 2016 By Jim Killock
MPs leave it to House of Lords to sort out porn cock up
Although Labour raised the issue of privacy, nothing was changed so there are still no privacy duties in the Bill.
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25 Nov 2016 By Ed Johnson-Williams
TfL needs to give passengers the full picture on WiFi collection scheme
When a device has WiFi turned on, it broadcasts a unique identifier called a MAC address.
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25 Nov 2016 By Pam Cowburn
No one expects spam for Christmas
The benefits of an email, at least according to the shops, are that it’s more convenient for customers who don’t have to worry about losing their receipts, and of course it’s better for the environment to use less paper.
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24 Nov 2016 By Javier Ruiz
DEBill loophole will allow energy companies to be given your tax and benefits data
ORG, of course, supports the idea of helping people lower their energy bills, but we are concerned that for this to happen, companies will be given sensitive information about their customers.
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20 Nov 2016 By Jim Killock
Website blocking will open up age verification to credit card fraud
Currently the BBFC are pinning their hopes on being able to specify some kind of privacy and safety standard through their ability to regulate “arrangements” that deliver age verified material.
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09 Nov 2016 By Jim Killock
Donald Trump will exert a great deal of control over GCHQ’s operations
“If there were a crisis in the relationship between the UK and the US, what risks would our shared intelligence arrangements pose?
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03 Nov 2016 By Jim Killock
Age verification for porn sites is tricky so let’s try censorship
The amendment has been tabled because MPs understand that age verification cannot be imposed upon the entire mostly US-based pornographic industry by the UK alone.
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Digital Privacy
02 Nov 2016 By Jim Killock
Facebook is right to sink Admiral’s app
Late yesterday, on the eve before Admiral tried to launch Firstcarquote, their application’s permission to use Facebook data was revoked by the social media site.
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27 Oct 2016 By Jim Killock
Now we want censorship: porn controls in the Digital Economy Bill are running out of control
That’s right: in order to make age verification technologies “work”, some MPs want to block completely legal content from access by every UK citizen.
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Digital Privacy
19 Oct 2016 By Jim Killock
Fig leafs for privacy in Age Verification
Yesterday we published a blog detailing the lack of privacy safeguards for Age Verification systems mandated in the Digital Economy Bill.
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Digital Privacy
18 Oct 2016 By Jim Killock
A database of the UK’s porn habits. What could possibly go wrong?
To this end the Digital Economy Bill creates a regulator that will seek to ensure that adult content websites will verify the age of users, or face monetary penalties, or in the case of overseas sites, ask payment providers such as VISA to refuse to process UK payments for non-compliant providers.
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17 Oct 2016 By Pam Cowburn
In ‘vest’ing in crime fighting technology – accountability versus privacy rights?
What impact is wearable technology likely to have on police safety and effective crime fighting?
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16 Sep 2016 By Paul Sanders
A fair way to close the value gap
The music industry says that artists, labels, and songwriters are getting a raw deal from services that allow users to upload content.
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14 Sep 2016 By Jim Killock
GCHQ should not push ISPs to interfere with DNS results
While these two goals are not automatically in conflict, they are certainly in tension, which will also raise questions of trust.
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31 Aug 2016 By Javier Ruiz
Bad news in leaked EU Copyright Directive
Several documents have been leaked from the European Commission providing a clear picture of the proposed reforms to copyright that will be presented later in the year.
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23 Aug 2016 By Javier Ruiz
Review of bulk surveillance powers gives one side of the argument
David Anderson’s Review of Bulk Powers gives broad endorsement to the contents of the Investigatory Powers Bill.
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22 Jul 2016 By Slavka Bielikova
IPBill Committee stage latest sitting
Throughout the debate, the Lib Dem Lords mounted strong opposition to the Government in all three areas being discussed.
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20 Jul 2016 By Jim Killock
Is the CJEU passing the buck on data retention?
However, who is prepared to stand up against these practices when police or others say it is necessary for their work?
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14 Jul 2016 By Pam Cowburn
Could Boris Johnson’s appointment persuade the Lords that we need judicial authorisation?
Is it penning a goat-shagging limerick about Turkey’s President Erdogan?
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14 Jul 2016 By Pam Cowburn
Could Boris Johnson’s appointment persuade the Lords that we need judicial authorisation?
Is it penning a goat-shagging limerick about Turkey’s President Erdogan?
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14 Jul 2016 By Pam Cowburn
Could Boris Johnson’s appointment persuade the Lords that we need judicial authorisation?
Is it penning a goat-shagging limerick about Turkey’s President Erdogan?
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14 Jul 2016 By Pam Cowburn
Could Boris Johnson’s appointment persuade the Lords that we need judicial authorisation?
Is it penning a goat-shagging limerick about Turkey’s President Erdogan?
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13 Jul 2016 By Javier Ruiz
Telcos threaten to pull 5G investments if EU net neutrality rules are not watered down
A public EU consultation on the future deployment of 5G mobile technology closed yesterday.
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12 Jul 2016 By Ed Johnson-Williams
Net neutrality in Europe: what are the issues?
Net neutrality is the principle that Internet Service Providers should treat all data on the Internet equally.
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08 Jul 2016 By Javier Ruiz
Overview of the Digital Economy Bill 2016
Digital Economy Bill 2016
The Digital Economy Bill 2016 was announced in the Queen’s Speech 2016, and has its first reading in the House of Commons this week.
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29 Jun 2016 By Jim Killock
How digital rights will be affected by Brexit
The short term
Nothing changes in the short term.
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28 Jun 2016 By Pam Cowburn
What does Brexit mean for the IP Bill?
One of the consistent criticisms by ORG and other civil society organisations has been that there has been insufficient scrutiny of such an important and far-reaching Bill.
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15 Jun 2016 By Ed Johnson-Williams
Tesco Mobile customers should think twice before viewing ads for a £3 a month discount
Customers have to see “at least one ad, offer or piece of content” on at least 21 days each month to get the discount.
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13 Jun 2016 By Slavka Bielikova
Investigatory Powers Bill Report stage and Third Reading
Privacy Clause
There have been repeated calls for an overarching privacy clause to be added to the Bill.
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10 Jun 2016 By Javier Ruiz
What the Commons changed in the #IPBill
The vast majority of amendments presented by opposition parties were rejected with little discussion.
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07 Jun 2016 By Jim Killock
It’s not over. We keep fighting.
But thanks to your campaigning, some MPs – particularly Joanna Cherry, David Davis, Alistair Carmichael and Stephen McPartland – did a great job in putting the Government under pressure.
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03 Jun 2016 By Jim Killock
Understanding and reviewing the bulk powers in the IP Bill
This post represents the opinions of Privacy International and the Open Rights Group.
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03 Jun 2016 By Javier Ruiz
The Request Filter will turn your personal records into a police database
The Investigatory Powers BIll (IPB) is reaching a critical junction.
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26 May 2016 By Jim Killock
Andy Burnham’s demands – can they be met?
Strong opposition is vital to ensure surveillance is conducted lawfully and proportionally.
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26 May 2016 By Jim Killock
How we make sure the bulk powers review is meaningful
As he mentions in his letter review of bulk powers is particularly important, if it is done correctly.
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18 May 2016 By Javier Ruiz
Government announces new data sharing legislation in Queen’s Speech
This is not a surprise, as the Cabinet Office has been preparing for over two years, with extensive discussions across government and with civil society groups under the Open Policy Making programme.
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06 May 2016 By Slavka Bielikova
IPBill Public Bill Committee – what happened?
Thirteenth and Fourteenth Sittings (28 April)
Transcripts of both sittings: 13th, 14th
The amendments tabled for these sessions discussed:
IP Commissioner and other Judicial Commissioners
Keir Starmer – speaking for Labour – brought to the table that the appointment of Judicial Commissioners should not follow the full Judicial Appointments Commission process.
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21 Apr 2016 By Javier Ruiz
Better Data in Government Consultation
The Cabinet Office is embarked on an attempt to redesign public administration, a new digital revolution led by a belief in the power of data to solve every problem.
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17 Mar 2016 By Jim Killock
The Investigatory Powers debate is missing one huge power: the ‘filter’, or police profiling engine
However, the really novel and threatening part of this proposal isn’t being given anywhere near the level of attention needed.
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15 Mar 2016 By Jim Killock
Phone your MP and ask them to go to the IP Bill debate
Can you call your MP’s office now to ask them to go to the debate?
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02 Mar 2016 By Jim Killock, Pam Cowburn and Javier Ruiz
The revised Investigatory Powers Bill: what has changed
There are two broad questions for Parliament.
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22 Feb 2016 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
Next moves for the IPB: Split, Delay or Publish?
With criticism like that and their credibility undermined, we’re expecting Theresa May and the Home Office to do one of three things with the Bill: Split it, Delay it or Publish it.
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11 Feb 2016 By Pam Cowburn
Investigatory Powers Bill: Home Office needs to start again
The Joint Committee report’s is far from perfect – for example it accepts the Bill’s weak proposals for judicial authorisation – but its 86 recommendations cannot be addressed with anything less than a full rewrite.
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09 Feb 2016 By Ed Johnson-Williams
ISC comes down hard on Investigatory Powers Bill
The ISC is a committee of MPs and Peers who scrutinise the intelligence and security agencies.
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01 Feb 2016 By Javier Ruiz
Science and Technology Committee of Parliament slams Snoopers’ Charter
The Science and Technology Committee of Parliament has delivered a major blow to the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB) in its scrutiny report.
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28 Jan 2016 By Javier Ruiz
Data Privacy Day: the new EU Data Protection Regulation explained
The new Data Protection Regulation has taken four years to go through Brussels, in a convoluted process that has seen the original proposal from the European Commission utterly transformed through unprecedented levels of lobbying by companies and governments.
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Digital Privacy
28 Jan 2016 By Jason Kitcat
E-voting won’t solve the problem of voter apathy
As the old English proverb has it “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
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19 Jan 2016 By Pam Cowburn
Thanks to our supporters, we can make our mass surveillance film
Thanks to our supporters, we more than reached the target of our Indiegogo crowd-funder.
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Digital Privacy
19 Jan 2016 By Jim Killock
Does the government want to break encryption or not?
The government opens up by stating:
This Government recognises the importance of encryption, which helps keep people’s personal data and intellectual property safe from theft by cyber means.
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22 Dec 2015 By Pam Cowburn
How the Investigatory Powers Bill will affect Internet Service Providers
Earlier this month, President of BT Security, Mark Hughes, Director of Policy at Sky, Adam Kinsley, Director of Operations at Virgin Media, Hugh Woolford, Chair of the Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA), James Blessing and Managing Director of AAISP, Adrian Kennard all gave evidence to the Joint Committee scrutinising the IPB.
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18 Dec 2015 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
Ten Triumphs of 2015
We saw off a sneaky attempt to introduce Snoopers’ Charter into law.
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10 Dec 2015 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
The Investigatory Powers Bill: PR myth list
So we’ve broken down some of the lines that you might have seen used by the Government and those who are pro surveillance:
1.
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04 Dec 2015 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
Responding to “Nothing to hide, Nothing to fear”
This powerful sentence does many things:
It encourages a complete trust in state powers – that you will never face wrongful suspicion or misuse of powers, for only the guilty are affected by mass surveillance.
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05 Nov 2015 By Pam Cowburn
First take on the Investigatory Powers Bill
Legitimising bulk interception and previously unknown access to UK communications data
The draft bill spells out the powers that the security services have to collect content and data in bulk.
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04 Nov 2015 By Ed Johnson-Williams
Investigatory Powers Bill published and now the fight is on
Open Rights Group has been calling for a new surveillance law for years.
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29 Oct 2015 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
Bring on the fight for free expression
A chance at last for a full debate about free expression in this country?
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16 Oct 2015 By Pam Cowburn
Why ORG is offering to help protect MPs’ communications
The Wilson Doctrine is named after former Prime Minister Harold Wilson who in 1966, following a spate of scandals involving the alleged telephone-bugging of MPs, told the House of Commons that MPs’ phones would not be tapped.
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16 Oct 2015 By Pam Cowburn
Why ORG is offering to help protect MPs’ communications
The Wilson Doctrine is named after former Prime Minister Harold Wilson who in 1966, following a spate of scandals involving the alleged telephone-bugging of MPs, told the House of Commons that MPs’ phones would not be tapped.
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16 Oct 2015 By Pam Cowburn
Why ORG is offering to help protect MPs’ communications
The Wilson Doctrine is named after former Prime Minister Harold Wilson who in 1966, following a spate of scandals involving the alleged telephone-bugging of MPs, told the House of Commons that MPs’ phones would not be tapped.
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16 Oct 2015 By Pam Cowburn
Why ORG is offering to help protect MPs’ communications
The Wilson Doctrine is named after former Prime Minister Harold Wilson who in 1966, following a spate of scandals involving the alleged telephone-bugging of MPs, told the House of Commons that MPs’ phones would not be tapped.
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06 Oct 2015 By Javier Ruiz
Why the CJEU ruling on #SafeHarbor is a landmark victory for privacy rights
What is Safe Harbor?
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25 Sep 2015 By Pam Cowburn
ORG launches Corporate Supporter Scheme
It has been ten years since 1,000 digital activists donated £5 a month to create Open Rights Group.
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21 Aug 2015 By Javier Ruiz
Police body worn cameras raise security and privacy concerns
Sky has reported that UK police are using body worn cameras from the company Evidence.
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05 Aug 2015 By Jim Killock and Maxine Chng
Should file sharers face ten years in gaol?
The IPO has recently started consultation on proposals to increase the maximum prison sentence for criminal online copyright infringement to 10 years, aiming to match sanctions for online copyright infringement with physical copyright infringement.
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28 Jul 2015 By Maxine Chng
Answers needed from the Copyright Police
The City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) first became operational in 2013.
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22 Jul 2015 By Maxine Chng
UK Court rules DRIPA unlawful
The successful judicial review was brought by Liberty, represented by David Davis MP and Tom Watson MP, with ORG and PI acting as intervenors.
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14 Jul 2015 By Jim Killock
RUSI review adds to consensus for reform
Their Panel included three former senior security staff, and RUSI are themselves very close to the UK’s defence and security apparatus.
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10 Jul 2015 By Jim Killock
Caspar Bowden
Among his contributions to ORG were a series of lectures he gave prior to the PRISM revelations, where he pointed out the gaping holes in US legislation that could allow bulk collection and access to US corporations’ data vaults.
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09 Jul 2015 By Maxine Chng
DRIPA challenge in court today
Last year, Tom Watson MP and David Davis MP representing Liberty, brought judicial review proceedings to challenge the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA).
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23 Jun 2015 By Ed Johnson-Williams
Net Neutrality in Europe in danger
Net neutrality is the principle that Internet Service Providers should treat all data on the Internet equally.
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11 Jun 2015 By Pam Cowburn
Anderson review: “It is time for a clean slate”
The UK’s Independent Review of Terrorism Legislation has said, “it is time for a clean slate” when it comes to surveillance law in the UK.
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22 May 2015 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
Imagine the web without hyperlinks
Our ability to link is under attack, and we need your help to save it!
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14 May 2015 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
We’re 3000 strong
On Theresa May’s first day back in office she didn’t wait to re-arrange her desk plants, but instead committed to her favourite piece of legislation: The Snoopers’ Charter.
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08 May 2015 By Ed Johnson-Williams
This Government will put the Snoopers Charter and more back on the table
Against all expectations the Conservatives have won an absolute majority in the General Election.
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29 Apr 2015 By Elizabeth Knight
Does the Popcorn Time judgment put other software distribution sites at risk?
The blocking order is appended to the judgment, which improves transparency, something that ORG has been campaigning for as part of our 451 Unavailable project.
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27 Apr 2015 By Pam Cowburn
General Election 2015: What do MPs think about mass surveillance?
Post Snowden, there has been little parliamentary debate and no opportunity for MPs to vote on whether current levels of surveillance are acceptable in a democracy.
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17 Apr 2015 By Ed Johnson-Williams
Surveillance in the General Election Manifestos
We’ve picked out the most relevant parts from their manifestos on surveillance.
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07 Apr 2015 By Elizabeth Knight
Status of data retention in the EU following the CJEU ruling – update April 2015
We prepared the chart using information provided by member organisations of EDRi (European Digital Rights).
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19 Mar 2015 By Lydia Snodin
Digital Rights Are For Everyone, Including Young People.
When I was 17 I skipped an afternoon of sixth form to join the Open Rights Group outside parliament to protest the Digital Economy Bill.
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19 Mar 2015 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
Why do digital rights matter?
This isn’t just a question for our members, so I asked the staff in our office what motivates them and their campaigning for digital rights:
“I love the Internet.
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19 Mar 2015 By Jim Killock
Why are digital rights important?
Digital rights are your human rights in the digital age.
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19 Mar 2015 By Cory Doctorow
Every issue is a digital issue
A message from ORG Advisory Council and founding member Cory Doctorow on why digital rights matter.
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16 Mar 2015 By Jim Killock
GCHQ’s hacking technologies go unregulated and unsupervised
This is detailed in last week’s Privacy and Security report from the Intelligence and Security Committee in paragraphs 179–183.
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12 Mar 2015 By Ed Johnson-Williams
What the ISC missed – ORG’s quick take on the ISC report
The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) today released the results of their inquiry into GCHQ’s surveillance.
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10 Mar 2015 By Ed Johnson-Williams
MPs criticise TTIP on corporate courts and lack of transparency
A committee of MPs released a report today on TTIP (the Trans-Atlantic Trade & Investment Partnership) – the trade agreement being negotiated in secret by the EU and the USA.
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05 Mar 2015 By Ruth Coustick-Deal
Digital Rights Matter Day: Coming soon
Help us hit 3000 supporters!
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Digital Privacy
26 Feb 2015 By Jim Killock
GCHQ is damaging businesses and the digital economy – we need your help
But it is the Internet economy that is at risk, just as much as our civil liberties.
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