22/05/2013   No credibility in Cameron's G8 tax clampdown

Oxfam’s latest report, revealing a stash of £4.7tn in British Overseas tax havens, calls Cameron’s G8 Summit leadership in June “a mockery” when there is no deal on the table to help poor countries reclaim over £100bn they are owed. The UK has “consistently opposed” reforming the tax system for Transnational Corporations (TNCs), claims the Tax Justice Network.

 03/05/2013   FinSpy software hijacks Firefox

Tickle the WireTickle the WireMozilla takes legal action against spyware from UK company Gamma imitating its Firefox browser. Privacy International has also filed for judicial review of HMRC’s refusal to release information on Gamma exporting its FinFisher surveillance technology to repressive regimes.

 23/04/2013   A black day for data privacy

Activists called for another web blackout in protest against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) passed by the US House of Representatives, similar to last January’s action by Wikipedia, Reddit, Google, Mozilla and others, while UK internet security experts have written to the PM to object to the “Snooper’s Charter” Communications Data Bill.
13/04/2013   Libel reform under attack

leftfootforward.orgleftfootforward.org The House of Lords voted overwhelmingly to protect freedom of expression – defamation will only have occurred if “serious harm” has been caused. But Conservative MP and libel barrister Sir Edward Garnier’s amendment to the Defamation Bill would allow companies to continue to use libel laws to silence criticism. Tell your MP to oppose Garnier’s amendment in the debate on Tuesday 16th April.

 03/04/2013   Defiant Google risks EU blacklisting and penalties

After a £14m fine for breaching Safari users’ “do not track” settings, Google has now ignored EU privacy directive 95/46 and faces enforcement actions from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK which could result in criminal prosecution and cancellation of contracts.

 15/03/2013   UK government's fossil fuel industry links revealed

The Word Development Movement’s Web of Power report has revealed that a third of the UK government has links to the finance and energy companies driving climate change. Ministers embroiled in the energy industry’s nexus of money and power include David Cameron, William Hague, George Osborne, Michael Gove, Oliver Letwin and Vince Cable.
03/03/2013   Revolution by 'MeetUp' - the internet wins Italy's election

Beppe GrilloBeppe GrilloWeb guru Pierandrea Casaleggio and comedian Beppe Grillo’s M5S, winning almost a quarter of votes in Italy’s general election, is no traditional political party. It’s a horizontal web-based network whose spending on offline media advertising was zero.

 11/02/2013   Indefinite detention in Australia's own Guantanamo Bay

Families in Sydney’s Villawood Detention Centre with ‘negative security assessments’ from Australian Intelligence (ASIO) are not told why they are a security threat and cannot apply for a permanent visa. Their indefinite detention may also be based on `suspicions’ about their electronic communications.

 13/01/2013   Shock and grief at the death of Aaron Swartz

demandprogressdemandprogressInternet pioneer, activist and Demand Progress founder Aaron Swartz has committed suicide in New York. He was 26. His family and friends blame his death on an impending criminal prosecution for downloading academic data for release into the public domain.