CBC: ‘Learn how to read English’: Kijiji discrimination case highlights human rights law online. “Eight years after the complaint was made, a decision has come down in a St. John’s human rights case that centres on discrimination in the world of online commerce. The decision in Zaid Saad’s case appears to be one of the first of its kind, according to the Human Rights Commission of Newfoundland and Labrador, which explicitly states a person cannot be discriminated against on online commerce websites, like Facebook Marketplace, Kijiji or NL Classifieds.” I’m going to be thinking about this one a long time.
human rights
Slate: How Iran Turned Off the Internet
Slate: How Iran Turned Off the Internet. “Ten years ago, a Senate bill proposed by Sens. John Rockefeller and Olympia Snowe spurred considerable controversy. The bill, which never even came up for a vote, would have made it possible for the U.S. government to build an ‘internet kill switch’ that would allow it to shut off the internet in the event of an emergency. The proposal drew significant criticism, and U.S. politicians backed off relatively quickly, but in other countries around the world, the kill switch model was—and is—very real, as Iran’s government has just demonstrated.”
CNET: Facebook, Google ‘surveillance’ threatens human rights, Amnesty International says
CNET: Facebook, Google ‘surveillance’ threatens human rights, Amnesty International says. “Amnesty International joined the ranks of Facebook and Google critics on Wednesday, saying the two companies have ‘surveillance-based business models’ that threaten human rights and undermine privacy. The human rights organization also called on governments to enact and enforce legislation that restricts the amount of personal data companies collect. “
TechCrunch: Iran shuts down country’s internet in the wake of fuel protests
TechCrunch: Iran shuts down country’s internet in the wake of fuel protests. “Iran, one of the countries most strongly identified with the rise cyber terrorism and malicious hacking, appears now to be using an iron fist to turn on its own. The country has reportedly shut down nearly all internet access in the country in retaliation to escalating protests that were originally ignited by a rise in fuel prices, according to readings taken by NetBlocks, an NGO that monitors cybersecurity and internet governance around the world.”
EurekAlert: Free Internet access should be a basic human right — study
EurekAlert: Free Internet access should be a basic human right — study. “Free internet access must be considered as a human right, as people unable to get online – particularly in developing countries – lack meaningful ways to influence the global players shaping their everyday lives, according to a new study.” This is a few steps beyond the United Nations’ declaration from 2011.
Study: Russia’s web-censoring tool sets pace for imitators (Houston Chronicle)
Houston Chronicle: Study: Russia’s web-censoring tool sets pace for imitators. “Russia is succeeding in imposing a highly effective internet censorship regime across thousands of disparate, privately owned providers in an effort also aimed at making government snooping pervasive, according to a study released Wednesday.”
University of Texas at Austin: New Digital Resources Launch Online for Study of Human Rights
University of Texas at Austin: New Digital Resources Launch Online for Study of Human Rights. “Thousands of digitized records reflecting major historical events of the 20th century related to PEN International, a global writers’ organization, are available online beginning this month. A project funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and completed by the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin has resulted in a new online finding aid for researchers, as well as access to teaching guides and nearly 5,000 digitized records.”
