 Google warns of US government "hacking any facility" in the worldhttp://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/18/google-warns-government-hacking-committee-hearing<< Google says increasing the FBI's powers set out in search warrants would raise monumental legal concerns that should be decided by Congress. Google is boldly opposing an attempt by the US Justice Department to expand federal powers to search and seize digital data, warning that the changes would open the door to US "government hacking of any facility" in the world. >> |
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 Aid money for development projects in Nepal linked to child labourhttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/feb/12/aid-money-development-projects-nepal-child-labour<< Bricks made by children and adults trapped in bonded labour have been used in construction projects funded by international donors including the UN, UK and the Asian Development Bank. Children as young as eight are working 15-hour days making bricks that have been used in major international development projects in Nepal, including a World Food Programme (WFP) project funded with $3.2m (£2m) of UK aid money. >> |
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 Mass surveillance is fundamental threat to human rights, says European reporthttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/26/mass-surveillance-threat-human-rights-council-europe<< Europe's top rights body has said mass surveillance practices are a fundamental threat to human rights and violate the right to privacy enshrined in European law. The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe says in a report that it is "deeply concerned" by the "far-reaching, technologically advanced systems" used by the US and UK to collect, store and analyse the data of private citizens. It describes the scale of spying by the US National Security Agency, revealed by Edward Snowden, as "stunning". The report also suggests that British laws that give the monitoring agency GCHQ wide-ranging powers are incompatible with the European convention on human rights. It argues that British surveillance may be at odds with article 8, the right to privacy, as well as article 10, which guarantees freedom of expression, and article 6, the right to a fair trial. "These rights are cornerstones of democracy. Their infringement without adequate judicial control jeopardises the rule of law", it says. There is compelling evidence that US intelligence agencies and their allies are hoovering up data "on a massive scale", the report says. US-UK operations encompass "numerous persons against whom there is no ground for suspicion of any wrongdoing", it adds. >> |
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 How Facebook May Secretly Foil Your Activist Planshttp://linkis.com/filmsforaction.org/yL3ma<< In recent years, Facebook has become an unexpectedly crucial tool for activism. The social media platform allows activists to efficiently connect and communicate with one another in order to arrange meetings, protests and boycotts. Unfortunately, activists who once found that Facebook helped make organizing easier are now encountering obstacles – and the resistance is coming from Facebook itself. With little explanation, Facebook has been disabling pages related to activism. In some cases, administrators who set up the pages are no longer able to add updates. In others, the pages are being deleted entirely. Understandably, activists are frustrated when a network of 10,000 like-minded individuals is suddenly erased, leaving no way to reconnect with the group. >> |
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 Firearms company cuts ties with Liam Neeson over gun-control commentshttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/20/firearms-company-para-usa-liam-neeson-gun-control<< PARA USA accuses Taken 3 star of "cultural and factual ignorance" after he called the number of guns owned in the US a disgrace. A US gun manufacturer which provided weapons for the Liam Neeson action sequel Taken 3 has criticised the Irish actor for pro-gun control comments he made in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attacks. Neeson launched a tirade against the proliferation of firearms in the US an interview last week, while denying that Hollywood contributes to the problem. Now PARA USA says it is severing all ties with the Ballymena-born star and urged all other manufacturers to do the same. >> |
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 Internet use rockets up in Brazilhttps://www.internetretailer.com/2015/01/08/internet-use-rockets-brazil<< Web penetration increased by 33% in the third quarter of 2014, Akamai reports today, continuing an upward trend fueled by Brazilians buying web-connected mobile phones. The U.S. still leads in the number of unique IPv4 addresses, followed by China and then Brazil. >> |
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