Access Express | 03/14/13
Telecom Industry Dialogue to collaborate with GNI on freedom of expression, privacy rights
In response to the use of telecommunications networks to violate human rights, the Industry Dialogue on Freedom of Expression and Privacy has released its guiding principles and begun a two-year collaboration with the Global Network Initiative...
via accessnow 
Staff Picks
France wants Skype to set a dangerous precedent
The French government has asked prosecutors to investigate whether Skype is breaking the country’s laws by operating as a telecommunications company without meeting the legal obligations that go with it...
via blogs
Iran blocks use of VPNs used to get around internet filtering
Iranian authorities have blocked the use of most "virtual private networks," a tool that many Iranians use to get around an extensive government internet filter...
via reuters
From the Access Community
Reporters Without Borders releases "Enemies of the Internet" report
For the first time, RSF has announced that five private sector firms have joined its annual list of enemies of the Internet, alongside countries such as...
via rsf
The right to be forgotten: Spain and Google before the European Court
Spain's Data Protection Agency has required Google to omit personal information in its search results in order to comply with Spanish law. The case appeared before the ECJ, which will issue its non-binding ruling on 25 June...
via globalvoicesonline
The internet won’t save us: Evgeny Morozov’s stand against technology solutionism
Tech observer Evgeny Morozov speaks about Google’s social responsibility, what's next for the internet, why he avoids Facebook, and what kinds of politics of reform technological solutions smuggle through the backdoor...
via thedailybeast
Syrian cyber-rebel wages war, one hack at a time
The internet is a battleground in Syria, and the Syrian Electronic Army, an arm of the Syrian military, is in charge of monitoring activists. But online rebels have mounted a counteroffensive...
via npr
Do Not Track legislation and the dangers of internet cookies
The recent introduction of Do-Not-Track legislation is again bringing the issue of online privacy back to the forefront in the United States. Corporate tracking of our online activity is a violation of privacy, and is done for commercial gain...
via accessnow
Mesh-Casting attempts to democratizes flow of information for human rights activists
The “Mesh-Casting” pilot project attempts to democratize the flow of information and move it between phones directly, by creating autonomous mesh-based voice and data networks among Wi-Fi enabled mobile phones...
via innovation
You only click twice: FinFisher’s global proliferation
A Citizen Lab project has discovered the command and control servers of FinFisher’s surveillance software and the details of a campaign using FinFisher in Ethiopia used to target individuals linked to an opposition group...
via citizenlab
Jillian York, the Director for International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, discusses increasing regulation, declining freedoms, social networks, and how traditional journalists are adapting to the digital reality...
via niemanlab
Skype's been hijacked in China, and Microsoft is OK with it
When Internet users in China try to access Skype, they’re diverted to a site which, despite bearing the blue Skype logo and providing services for online phone calls and text chats, is a modified version of the program found elsewhere in the world...
via businessweek
US Congress tries to fix outdated electronic privacy laws
ECPA reform has been brought back again by Reps. Zoe Lofgren, Ted Poe, and Suzan DelBene. They've introduced a strong bill called The Online Communications and Geolocation Protection Act, and law enforcement folks are likely to flip out...
via techdirt