Access Express | 06/27/13
The Obama administration for more than two years permitted the National Security Agency to continue collecting vast amounts of records detailing the email and internet usage of Americans, according to new secret documents obtained by the Guardian.
via guardian 
Staff Picks
GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world's communications
British spy agency collects and stores vast quantities of global email messages, Facebook posts, internet histories and calls, and shares them with NSA, latest documents from Edward Snowden reveal.
via guardian
Civil society calls for human rights to underpin surveillance at Freedom Online Coalition Conference
The Freedom Online Coalition convened in Tunis for their third annual meeting, where recent revelations of state surveillance took center stage, including civil society's statement of principles that should underlie communications surveillance policies.
via accessnow
From the Access Community
Australia shelves plans to store phone, internet metadata
Australia's government on Monday shelved plans to force phone and internet companies to hold two years of phone call and email data following concerns raised by a parliamentary inquiry into telecommunications interception laws.
via reuters
Secret rules allow NSA to use US data without a warrant
FISA court submissions show broad scope of procedures governing NSA's surveillance of Americans' communication.
via guardian
Privacy board awakens after NSA spying is revealed
In the eight years since it was established, the US Privacy Civil Liberties Oversight Board has rarely met. But with recent revelations of massive data collection by the NSA, it seems its long run of applied irrelevance may have finally come to an end.
via accessnow
Students cite EU data protection laws, challenge firms over NSA data transfers
In response to NSA surveillance, Austrian students have filed formal complaints with European data protection agencies. The case could be the first legal challenge to disclosure of non-US data to the US government on the basis of EU data protection law.
via arstechnica
Social media and the surveillance state in Brazil
As Brazilians use social media to plan protests and spread the word about what is going on in various parts of the country, the Agência Brasileira de Inteligência (Brazilian Intelligence Agency; ABIN) is beginning to monitor such outlets.
via americasouthandnorth
Mixed bag for freedom of expression in Ecuador’s new Communications Law
After almost four years of discussion, Ecuador’s passed a new Communications Law. While this new legislation represents a great advance for internet access, it also contains some provisions that represent a threat to freedom of expression.
via accessnow
China completes monitoring scheme in Tibet
China has undertaken a monitoring scheme in Tibet asking all internet and phone users to register under their real names and addresses to curb "social problems."
via aljazeera
Access delivers Remedy Plan for telcos to redress human rights harms
To help telcos address their human rights concerns, Access has developed guidance for telcos and other information and communication technology (ICT) firms in a new paper: "Forgotten Pillar: The Telco Remedy Plan."
via accessnow
Internet companies fight US government’s surveillance silence
As secrets about the NSA’s surveillance continues to command the world’s attention, some communications companies are advocating that the US government allow them to reveal more about their participation.
via accessnow
New regulations for Skype and Viber in Bahrain
“Security considerations” have been cited as a basis for regulations which could put an end to the use of popular services such as Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, and Tango in Bahrain.
via globalvoicesonline
Google gets 3 months to fix privacy or face French fines
Google faces probes across Europe over changes to privacy policies for more than 60 products last year. France gave Google three months to amend its policy regarding internet users’ data to avoid fines, and said five other European countries will follow s
via bloomberg
Concern over escalating persecution of bloggers in Vietnam
The Vietnamese government should unconditionally release recently arrested bloggers and end physical attacks on critics, Human Rights Watch said on June 20, 2013.
via ifex
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