[ORG PM] ORG parliamentary update - 10 July 2015

Fri Jul 10 15:59:48 BST 2015

ORG policy update/2015-w28

This is ORG's Policy Update for the week beginning 03/07/2015

Caspar Bowden, popular, respected and outspoken privacy campaigner, has
sadly died of cancer. He was a strong opponent of mass surveillance and had
been, among other influential positions, a director for the Tor Project, in
charge of overseeing the development of the Tor browser. See our post
<https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2015/caspar-bowden> for further
details.

 Debates House of Lords' debate on the Anderson report

The House of Lords held a debate
<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldhansrd/text/150708-0001.htm#15070839000405>
on Wednesday, July 8th, on the report of the investigatory Powers Review
<https://terrorismlegislationreviewer.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/IPR-Report-Print-Version.pdf>
written by David Anderson Q.C. and in the light of the future debate on the
Investigatory Powers Bill this Autumn. There was a consensus on the quality
and thoroughness of the report. Lord Bates from the Home Office
<https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/Home_Office> argued that the report
show how much the intelligence and law enforcement services take into
account the protection of British citizens' privacy.

The main point of debate between the Lords was on the question of the power
to issue warrants. Baroness Manningham-Buller argued that this power must
remain with Secretaries of State, as they have political accountability. On
the opposite side, Lord Strasburger advocated for a judicial issuing of
warrants, on the grounds that judges are the guarantors of individuals'
liberties. Lord Scriven made a long case against mass surveillance, which
he described as opposed to the values that the United Kingdom stands for.

 Legal Developments DRIPA discussed in Court this week

A hearing was held at the Royal Courts of Justice
<https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2015/dripa-challenge-in-court-today>
on Thursday, July 9th, to determine if the challenge to the Data Retention
and Investigatory Powers Act 2014
<https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/Data_Retention_and_Investigatory_Powers_Act_2014>
brought by MPs David Davis
<https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/David_Davis_MP> and Tom Watson
<https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/Tom_Watson_MP> should be brought to
the European Court of Justice. This challenge focuses on whether DRIPA is
compatible with European laws and the European Convention of Human Rights. Open
Rights Group <https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/Open_Rights_Group>
and Privacy
International <https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/Privacy_International>
made submissions at the start of the proceeding, and made the point
<https://www.openrightsgroup.org/ourwork/reports/open-rights-group-and-privacy-internationals-submission-in-dripa-case>
that the European Court of Justice has already set out the requirements
that domestic law must follow in order to comply with European requirements
on the protection of privacy.

Liberty, the NGO representing the two MPs, opposed the government's request
to refer the case to the ECJ, as it would considerably delay the final
judgment, while the so-called “Snoopers' Charter” is expected to be
presented to Parliament this Autumn. The Court rejected the reference
request, and is expected to issue its judgment next week.

 Reports Cryptography experts warn against the danger of weakening
encryption

An influential group of cryptography experts has published a report
<http://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/97690/MIT-CSAIL-TR-2015-026.pdf?sequence=8>
strongly advocating against “backdoor” access to encrypted data to
governments, or any other form of weakening of encryption. Prime Minister David
Cameron <https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/David_Cameron_MP> and U.S.
President Barack Obama have called
<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/15/david-cameron-encryption-anti-terror-laws>
for such measures, although in veiled terms. No concrete legislative
proposals on the subject has been released yet. The experts argue that
“these proposals are unworkable in practice, raise enormous legal and
ethical questions, and would undo progress on security at a time when
Internet vulnerabilities are causing extreme economic harm.”

Ross Anderson, one of the authors of the report, compared in a blog post
<https://www.lightbluetouchpaper.org/2015/07/07/crypto-wars-2-0/> the
current situation with the "crypto wars" of the mid-90s, during which the
Clinton administration required the implementation of a chip in electronic
devices in order to access all communications, but had to back down when it
was proven that this would greatly compromise communications' security.

 International Developments Company selling surveillance software hacked

Hacking Team, a Milan-based company, was hacked
<http://arstechnica.co.uk/security/2015/07/hacking-team-gets-hacked-invoices-show-spyware-sold-to-repressive-govts/>
last weekend, and allegedly, over 400 GB of data from its computers have
been leaked. The company sells spyware to governments, and has been
criticised by civil rights group for selling to countries with poor human
rights records. Reporters Without Borders designated it
<https://surveillance.rsf.org/en/hacking-team/> as an “enemy of the
Internet” for its trade with Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan and Turkey. The
recent leaks add even more countries, such as Sudan and Azerbaijan, to the
list.

In internal e-mails, high-ranking employees bragged about
<http://arstechnica.co.uk/security/2015/07/massive-leak-reveals-hacking-teams-most-private-moments-in-messy-detail/>
“the evilest technology on earth” and explained ways that the company's
softwares could circumvent protection such as the use of TOR for anonymity
or HTTPS against third-party interception.

Dutch MEP Marietje Schaake called for
<http://motherboard.vice.com/read/italy-should-investigate-hacking-team-european-parliament-member-says>
member states to stop using Hacking Team services and demanded the opening
of an investigation into its commercial practices. Selling spyware could
breach European sanctions against states such as Sudan and Russia
 Social media providers could have to refer any “terrorist activity” to US
law enforcement

Last week, the US Senate Intelligence Committee approved legislation
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/08/us_senate_committee_wants_twitter_facebook_to_report_terrorist_posts/>
that appears to require “electronic communication service providers” to
inform the authorities about any extremist content posted on their
platforms. The exact content of the law is not known. It could affect
e-mail services, social media providers and platform, such as YouTube.

Industry officials and civil liberty advocates have expressed their fear
that this might undermine users' privacy. Anonymous industry official told
the Washington Post
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/lawmakers-want-internet-sites-to-flag-terrorist-activity-to-law-enforcement/2015/07/04/534a0bca-20e9-11e5-84d5-eb37ee8eaa61_story.html>
that “asking Internet companies to proactively monitor people’s posts and
messages would be the same thing as asking your telephone company to
monitor and log all your phone calls, text messages, all your Internet
browsing, all the sites you visit”.

 European Union Parliament adopts report on copyright reforms

The report on copyright enforcement in Europe, written by Pirate Party MEP
Julia Reda was adopted
<http://www.euractiv.com/sections/infosociety/copyright-meps-ditch-plans-google-tax-tourist-photo-ban-316177>
by the European Parliament
<https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/European_Parliament> in plenary
session on Thursday, July 9th. More than an evaluation report, this
document states the position of the European Parliament on copyright, while
the Commission is expected to issue a legislative proposal on it this
Autumn. Adopted by a large majority (445 votes in favour, 65 against), the
report didn't include, as its author gladly pointed out
<https://juliareda.eu/2015/07/eu-parliament-defends-freedom-of-panorama-calls-for-copyright-reform/>,
the controversial amendment removing “freedom of panorama”. This proposal,
if implemented, would have prevented citizens from posting pictures taken
in public places on social networks, or Wikipedia to use pictures of recent
buildings. A petition
<https://www.change.org/p/european-parliament-save-the-freedom-of-photography-savefop-europarl-en>
against this amendment had been signed by more than 550,000 supporters. The
amendment on the so-called “Google tax”, which paved the way for ancillary
copyright for press publishers on services such as “Google News”, was not
adopted either.

The report calls for the end of geo-blocking, new exceptions on copyright
for public libraries and scientific research (with data mining), and
greater harmonisation of copyright laws and enforcement in the European
Union.

 Explanatory notes of the regulation on Net Neutrality abates fear of
two-tier Internet

When the trialogue on the Telecoms Single Market Regulation reached an end
last week, after two years of negotiations, it was feared that net
neutrality was under threat. In particular, digital rights activist groups
in Brussels pointed out the vagueness in the wording of the regulation.

The recitals (binding explanatory notes), released this week, have largely
abated
<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/09/net_neutrality_deal_closes_loopholes_promises_level_playing_field_without_scaring_the_horses/>
those concerns. Estelle Massé, from the NGO Access, stated that the
recitals close possible loopholes that would allow a two-tier Internet, and
effectively protects net neutrality, without using this exact phrase. Both
Access and European Digital Rights
<https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/European_Digital_Rights> (EDRi) have
expressed regrets that the law doesn't address the issue of “zero-rating”
<http://www.cio.com/article/2946313/europe-prepares-to-enforce-its-take-on-net-neutrality.html>.
Zero-rating arrangements allow users to access a particular internet
service on their mobile, without it being counted in their data plan. It has
been criticised
<https://www.accessnow.org/blog/2015/04/02/access-submits-comments-on-zero-rating-to-government-of-brazil>
as anti-competitive and a threat to net neutrality.

 Parliament votes position on TTIP negotiations

After an unsuccessful first try a month ago, the European Parliament adopted
a position
<http://www.euractiv.com/sections/global-europe/european-parliament-backs-ttip-rejects-isds-316142>
on the TTIP <https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/TTIP> (Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership) negotiations on Wednesday, July 8th. The
most contentious point in the debate has been the Investor State Dispute
Settlement (ISDS) provision, which allows for the creation of ad hoc
international tribunals to settle disputes between states and companies.
Many MEPsargued that ISDS was a blow to rule of law and sovereignty.
Eventually, a compromise was found with a new system of tribunals with
“publicly appointed, independent professional judges”, where “private
interests cannot undermine public policy objectives”.

The position was voted in with 436 in favour, and 241 against. European
Digital Rights (EDRi) welcomed
<https://edri.org/ttip-resolution-what-did-the-parliament-say-about-digital-rights/>
the call from the Parliament to exclude data protection from the talk, and
its reiteration that mass surveillance programmes should be abandoned.
However, the text does not exclude copyright, trademarks and patents from
the negotiations.

 ORG Media coverage

See ORG Press Coverage
<https://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/ORG_Press_Coverage> for full
details.
2015-07-06 – Vice - British Taxpayers Are Funding the UK's Mass
Surveillance Program
<https://www.vice.com/read/cost-of-uk-government-surveillance-383> Author:
Lauren Razavi Summary: Jim Killock quoted on the cost of mass surveillance
in the UK and how the money could be spent otherwise 2015-06-29 – Bloomberg
- U.K. Politician Theresa May voted “Internet villain of the year”
<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-02/u-k-politician-theresa-may-voted-internet-villain-of-the-year->
Author:
Amy Thomson Summary: Jim Killock quoted on the Snoopers' Charter 2015-07-10
– Inquisitr - Orwellian move? WhatsApp may be banned in UK under new
“Snoopers' Charter' law
<http://www.inquisitr.com/2240682/orwellian-move-whatsapp-may-be-banned-in-uk-under-new-snoopers-charter-law/>]
Author: Anne Sewell Summary: Open Rights Group quoted on the Snoopers'
Charter ORG contact details

Staff page <http://www.openrightsgroup.org/people/staff>

   -

   Jim Killock, Executive Director
   <http://www.openrightsgroup.org/people/staff#jim>
   -

   Javier Ruiz, Policy <http://www.openrightsgroup.org/people/staff#javier>
   -

   Ed Paton-Williams, Campaigns
   <http://www.openrightsgroup.org/people/staff#ed>
   -

   Pam Cowburn, Communications
   <http://www.openrightsgroup.org/people/staff#pam>
   -

   Lee Maguire, Tech <http://www.openrightsgroup.org/people/staff#lee>
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