Reuters: Thai proposal for all-powerful cyber agency alarms businesses, activists. “A proposed cybersecurity law in Thailand would give a new government agency sweeping powers to spy on internet traffic, order the removal of content, or even seize computers without judicial oversight, alarming businesses and activists.”
digital surveillance
New York Times: At China’s Internet Conference, a Darker Side of Tech Emerges
New York Times: At China’s Internet Conference, a Darker Side of Tech Emerges. ” Every year at the World Internet Conference, held since 2014 in the photogenic canal town of Wuzhen near Shanghai, companies and government officials have convened to send a message: China is a high-tech force to be reckoned with. With that message now settled beyond much doubt, this year’s conference showcased something different. China’s tech industry is becoming more serious about grappling with its products’ unintended consequences — and about helping the government.”
CNET: Twitter employee may have spied on users for Saudis, says report
CNET: Twitter employee may have spied on users for Saudis, says report. “Western intelligence officials notified Twitter that an employee had been co-opted by Saudi Arabia several years ago to spy on the accounts of users critical of the government, The New York Times reported on Saturday. Officials alerted Twitter to the alleged Saudi mole in late 2015, prompting the company to investigate, according to the Times report, which cited anonymous sources.”
The Daily Star: HRW concerned over Bangladesh govt’s intensive surveillance on social media
The Daily Star: HRW concerned over Bangladesh govt’s intensive surveillance on social media. “Human Rights Watch today said Bangladesh government has embarked upon intensive and intrusive surveillance and monitoring of social media ahead of national elections, raising concern over a chilling effect on speech.”
Columbia Journalism Review: Spyware hijacks smartphones, threatens journalists around the world
Columbia Journalism Review: Spyware hijacks smartphones, threatens journalists around the world. “IN MAY 2016, the Mexican investigative journalist Sebastián Barragán was working on an explosive story. An anonymous source had sent Aristegui Noticias, the investigative outlet where he worked, a grainy video that appeared to show a scene of brutal torture; in it a group of police officers surround a man handcuffed to a chair; they strike him over and over again, and pull a plastic bag over his head. One of the men in the video is wearing a jacket with the letters PGJEM, The Prosecutor General for the State of Mexico, a state that surrounds Mexico City like a horseshoe. Barragan called the PGJEM and the Mexican Attorney General’s (PGR) office for comment.”
The Guardian: Police super-database prompts Liberty warning on privacy
The Guardian: Police super-database prompts Liberty warning on privacy. “A new super-database being built for the police represents a ‘grave’ risk to privacy, a leading human rights group has said. Liberty claims the government is glossing over concerns that the database, the largest built for British law enforcement, threatens civil liberties. The group fears it gives massive power to the state at the expense of millions of Britons.”
TechCrunch: US government loses bid to force Facebook to wiretap Messenger calls
TechCrunch: US government loses bid to force Facebook to wiretap Messenger calls . “US government investigators have lost a case to force Facebook to wiretap calls made over its Messenger app. A joint federal and state law enforcement effort investigating the MS-13 gang had pushed a district court to hold the social networking giant in contempt of court for refusing to permit real-time listening in on voice calls.”
