[ALT-Plus] ODP: RightsCon News
jkuleszaicann at gmail.com
jkuleszaicann at gmail.com
Sat Feb 27 20:26:51 UTC 2021
Great idea! Do we know how many panels were submitted by our community and on what topics? We might want to coordinate our presence at RightsCon once they're accepted. I'm certain also GSE and Adam Peake will be there.Best to all, Joanna ------ Oryginalna wiadomość------Od: Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond via ALT-PlusData: Sob., 27 lut 2021 18:10Do: Maureen Hilyard;DW: ALT-Plus;Temat:[ALT-Plus] RightsCon News
Dear Maureen,
some news forwarded from Brett Solomon, whose organisation is in
charge of RIGHTSCON.
I know that there was discussion in the past in at least some
regions, to have people doing outreach at RightsCon. Perhaps a
virtual meeting could be an opportunity?
Kindest regards,
Olivier
-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject:
It's almost March?!
Date:
Thu, 25 Feb 2021 18:45:08 -0500 (EST)
From:
Brett Solomon <brett at accessnow.org>
Reply-To:
Brett Solomon <brett at accessnow.org>
To:
ocl at gih.com
Dear friends and colleagues,
What a year already? From the military coup in Myanmar to the shutdown in Uganda, and the insurrection attempt in the United States to the ongoing pandemic, it seems like this year will be no easier than the last.
On a personal note, I’m fortunate to have just returned from the last part of a sabbatical. I’m feeling refreshed and am back full-time in my role as Access Now’s Executive Director, ready to help take on the challenges to human rights that we’re facing across the world in this very digital age.
Here’s an update on what Access Now has been up to so far this year. If you haven’t already, check out last year’s digital rights wins -- we wanted to end the year on a good note, and it really wasn’t all bad!
All links below are to Access Now original content or press that quotes or refers to us:
RightsCon 2021
The RightsCon team closed its Call for Proposals at the end of January, receiving 1,050 proposals from over 105 countries! Please put 7-11 June 2021 in your calendar.
Registration for RightsCon 2021 will be launching very soon -- so keep an eye out, and subscribe to the RightsCon Rundown newsletter if you haven’t already!
Leading up to the 10th edition of RightsCon this year, Access Now is looking at milestone events from the past decade for digital rights. On February 17th we hosted a live panel, “Arab Spring: ten years in, how can we reclaim the internet as an open space?” View the video here.
New Access Now Reports, Publications and Releases
MENA: Our new report, Exposed and exploited: Data protection in the Middle East and North Africa, explores the privacy dangers burgeoning in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Tunisia. Check out our bonus report snapshot too!
MENA: When Google announced it was going to open a new Google Cloud in Saudi Arabia, we raised the alarm.
MENA: The Tunisian government responded to protests on the 10th anniversary of the Tunisian revolution with violence and repression of basic rights; we urge the government to instead protect the right to freedom of expression, stop prosecuting internet users for criticizing the government, and adopt a strong data protection law.
MENA: Access Now joined over 100 civil society and human rights organizations in calling on governments to take action on the human rights crisis in Egypt.
Asia-Pacific: As the nation’s military seized control, Myanmar shut down the internet and blocked social media. We condemn this attack on human rights and are regularly updating our work on it here.
Asia-Pacific: The government of India is escalating censorship efforts by cutting the internet and ordering Twitter to block hashtags and handles. At the same time, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is attempting to develop a framework for use of data without first securing data protection of all Indians.
Asia-Pacific: Facebook has blocked an unknown number of news and civil society organizations’ accounts -- including Access Now’s page (now live again) -- in Australia.
Asia-Pacific: The conviction in Malaysia of a news media company for user comments published on its site must not be allowed to set a precedent!
Latin America: Costa Rica: proponen una moderna ley de datos personales! A victory for privacy! Congratulations!
Latin America: Ecuador es de los pocos países de América Latina que no cuenta con una ley de protección de datos personales! La Asamblea puede revertir esa situación al aprobar un proyecto de ley que en los próximos días tendrá su primer debate.
EU: The European Commission is set to present a regulation on artificial intelligence in a few months, and seems likely to base it on a risk-based approach that will not be adequate to protect human rights.
EU: Human rights groups to U.N. Special Rapporteur on Belarus: it’s time to stop internet shutdowns, website blocking, anti-extremism laws.
EU: The agreement on ePrivacy reform reached by EU states lost forward-looking provisions for privacy protection, added surveillance measures, and generally missed the mark.
North America: Facebook’s removal of Trump, though justified, reinforces the need for meaningful transparency in Facebook’s decision-making processes.
North America: Free Press and Access Now together urged the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to quickly deliver Emergency Broadband Benefit to people in need.
Africa: In Kenya, the right to privacy is already in jeopardy, but a new amendment to the law is deepening the crisis.
Africa: Uganda shut down the internet on the eve of the general elections. Read the stories of some of the Ugandans who experienced the shutdown.
Global: Will the internet shutdowns in Uganda, Myanmar, and India set the precedent for 2021? We’ve launched the #KeepItOn 2021 Elections tracker and we’re keeping watch.
Global: We celebrated Data Protection Day on January 28! To mark the occasion, we explored what the future of data protection could look like!
Global: Access Now welcomes a new resolution on privacy in the digital age adopted by consensus at the UN General Assembly, but there are areas to strengthen.
Global, North America: We’re telling US courts to hold NSO Group accountable! From India to Rwanda, the victims of NSO Group’s WhatsApp hacking are speaking out.
Select Access Now Campaigns
#KeepItOn: 2021 Elections Watch: We’re tracking carefully the elections in 2021 where there’s risk of internet shutdowns and are helping to organize efforts to prevent, circumvent, and document these violations of human rights and free expression.
Biden Era Digital Rights Tracker: The new US administration campaigned on promises to put people first. Our Digital Rights Tracker is covering the major US themes we’re following in 2021 — and helping hold the government to account!
US’s Section 230: After terrorists stormed the Capitol, 70 organizations sent a letter to US Congress warning against responding by renewing attacks on Section 230.
Transparency reports: We want transparency from Parler on how its policies affect human rights, and will keep pushing Parler and all social media companies
Reclaim Your Face: Access Now, Edri, and the Reclaim Your Face coalition are calling for a Europe-wide ban of the use of dangerous facial recognition technologies. In the U.S., we joined a letter with over 40 other civil society organizations to call for a federal moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology.
Access Now in the News (just a handful - see full list here)
Financial Times: Myanmar junta pushes punitive cyber security bill
Bloomberg: India’s Internet Crackdown Fuels Anger as Farmers Block Highways
Reuters: 100 hours in the dark: How an election internet blackout hit poor Ugandans
Fast Company: Browsers are rushing to stop shadowy ‘supercookies’ that spy on your activity
Times of India: Why ordering internet shutdown is outrageous
Forbes: Getting News in the time of internet shutdown
Politico EU: How Europe’s new privacy rules survived years of negotiations, lobbying and drama
Al Jazeera: ‘TRACK IT’ - WHEN SURVEILLANCE TOOLS GO VIRAL,
Reuters: Coalition of human rights groups joins suit against Israeli firm NSO.
New York Times: After Barring Trump, Facebook and Twitter Face Scrutiny About Inaction Abroad
BBC: Tanzania 'using Twitter's copyright policy to silence activists'
Voice of America: Media Covering Myanmar Coup Face Harassment, Restrictions
(Digital) Events
Access Now was well represented at Computers, Privacy & Data Protection (CPDP) 2021. Read more!
Estelle Massé, Senior Policy Analyst and Global Data Protection Lead, spoke at The Schrems II Decision: Mission Impossible? Video here.
Daniel Leufer, Europe Policy Analyst, spoke at Expectations for AI regulation within the Council of Europe and beyond.
Peter Micek, General Counsel and UN Policy Manager, spoke at Anti-Surveillance & the Duty to Encrypt: Practical Lessons for Nonprofit Organisations.
Felicia, Campaigner for #KeepItOn, took part in Oxford University’s The Changing Landscape of Internet Shutdowns in Africa roundtable.
And too many other zoom meetings, conferences, and roundtables to list ….
There is a lot more to report on the Helpline, our Grants program and our emerging legal team, but for now, thank you as always to our staff, partners, funders, communities, and to each of you for supporting our work.
Best,
Brett
Brett Solomon
Executive Director
Access Now | accessnow.org
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