Access Express | 07/26/13
U.S. NSA spying reform fails, would have limited bulk collection
The Amash-Conyers amendment, the U.S. Congress' first attempt to limit NSA surveillance, lost narrowly, an indication of the growing force behind the call to reform. The amendments' proposed limitations would have benefited U.S. and non-U.S. persons.
via accessnow 
Staff Picks
U.K. PM announces online pornography to be blocked by default
David Cameron has launched a campaign against pornography, announcing households in the U.K. will have pornography blocked by their internet provider unless they choose to receive it, and calling for "horrific" internet search terms to be "blacklisted."
via bbc
Jailed blogger on hunger strike as Vietnam continues crackdown on expression
A Vietnamese blogger, jailed for 12 years for anti-state propaganda, is "very weak" after a month-long hunger strike protesting his treatment. In 2013 at least 46 activists have been convicted of anti-state activity, with three bloggers arrested in June.
via timeslive
From The Access Community
Zambia steps up assualt on independent media online
Zambian authorities have stepped up their assaults on independent news site the Zambian Watchdog. Three journalists have been arrested for contributing to the site, and at least one charged with sedition. Meanwhile, authorities blocked access to the site.
via techpresident
E.U. questions decade-old U.S. data sharing agreement
The European Commission is questioning the Safe Harbor Agreement, a 13-year old data sharing agreement with the U.S. According to E.U. justice commissioner Viviane Reding, “the Safe Harbor Agreement, might not be so safe, after all."
via euobserver
Secret U.S. court lets NSA extend its trawl of phone records
The U.S. National Security Agency has been allowed to extend its dragnet of the telephone records of millions of customers of U.S. telco Verizon through a court order issued by the secret court that oversees surveillance.
via guardian
Google now serves 25% of North American internet traffic
Everyone knows Google is big. But the truth is that it’s huge. On an average day, Google accounts for about 25% of all consumer internet traffic running through North American ISPs. That means it’s bigger than Facebook, Netflix, and Instagram combined.
via wired
Public hearing reveals most of U.S. Congress was in the dark about surveillance programs
Representatives from the NSA, FBI, and DOJ faced scrutiny before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee in a hearing on FISA Authorities, where members of Congress contended that they were kept in the dark about the nature and scope of surveillance programs.
via accessnow
Civic hackers visualize votes in Argentina's National Congress
Civic hackers have built an application called Década votada (a decade in votes) to help Argentinian citizens and journalists track the voting records of Congress members.
via techpresident
Obama administration asserts NSA phone snooping cannot be challenged in court
The Obama administration for the first time responded to a 'Spygate' lawsuit, telling a federal judge the collection of U.S. phone metadata is in the “public interest,” does not breach constitutional rights, and cannot be challenged in a court of law.
via wired
Japanese railway to sell customers’ e-ticket data
Japan's largest rail company has announced that it will be gathering data from its e-ticketing system, strip it of identifying information such as names, and then sell it in bulk to third party companies.
via globalvoicesonline
Retail stores using surveillance, cell phones to track shoppers
Retailers are gathering data about shoppers’, using video surveillance and signals from their cellphones to track demographic data like gender and age, and buying behavior.
via nytimes