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Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

...on serious topics that don't fit anywhere else at present.
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Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#101 Post by Alan H » January 8th, 2016, 5:45 pm

Latest post of the previous page:

More opposition to Theresa 'clueless' May's idiotic Bill: Tech giants raise concerns over UK draft surveillance bill
"We reject any proposals that would require companies to deliberately weaken the security of their products via backdoors, forced decryption, or any other means," the companies say.
Alongside the silicon valley firms expressing some anxiety over the draft IP Bill is the UK's own Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

In an 11-page submission to the parliamentary committee, the ICO praises some of the bill's proposals while questioning the reach of others, including the retention of internet connection records (ICRs).
ICRs are the domain names of websites visited by internet users, but not records of specific pages.

"Although these are portrayed as conveying limited information about an individual they can, in reality, go much further and can reveal a great deal about the behaviours and activities of an individual," the ICO says.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#102 Post by Alan H » January 12th, 2016, 3:20 pm

Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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Dave B
Posts: 17809
Joined: May 17th, 2010, 9:15 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#103 Post by Dave B » January 12th, 2016, 3:48 pm

With this government's (lack of) reputation for accepting common sense - I won't hold me beath...
"Look forward; yesterday was a lesson, if you did not learn from it you wasted it."
Me, 2015

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Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#104 Post by Alan H » January 12th, 2016, 4:18 pm

Dave B wrote:With this government's (lack of) reputation for accepting common sense - I won't hold me beath...
What I just don't get it that it is so easy for anyone to get round what Theresa 'clueless' May is suggesting, there is absolutely no point in trying to force this through. Even if criminals/paedophiles/terrorists don't use end-to-end encryption, they can simply avoid May's prying eyes by changing ISP to one that isn't the top four (it only applies to the larger ISPs and I've seen a suggestion that it only applies to the top four). That takes a bit of (online) paperwork and maybe a couple of days (weeks?) and Bob's your uncle and Theresa's not your Big Brother any more...

Unless, of course, that's not the real reason for this Bill...
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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Dave B
Posts: 17809
Joined: May 17th, 2010, 9:15 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#105 Post by Dave B » January 12th, 2016, 4:26 pm

As I suggested, common sense is a stranger to this mob! Same goes for logic, science, evidejce based policy etc. etc. etc...
"Look forward; yesterday was a lesson, if you did not learn from it you wasted it."
Me, 2015

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Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#106 Post by Alan H » January 13th, 2016, 9:03 pm

Theresa 'clueless' May is at it again: Theresa May refuses to say whether UK spies access medical data
Theresa May has refused to say whether Britain's security services are accessing medical records and other potentially sensitive information.

The home secretary said she did not want to "go down the route of giving information about the sort of data sets that are being acquired".

She was speaking to the draft Investigatory Powers Bill committee.

It was revealed last year that GCHQ is downloading large amounts of personal data to aid its investigations.

It could include the personal details of "a large number of individuals, the majority of whom will not be of any interest to the security and intelligence agencies", according the draft bill.
The information from these "bulk personal data sets," which could include everything from the electoral register, supermarket loyalty schemes or bank records, is then analysed to enable investigators to "join the dots".

The practice is covered by old legislation and has never been debated by MPs.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#107 Post by Alan H » January 14th, 2016, 1:53 pm

Even Theresa May doesn't understand the Snooper's Charter. Here's 10 reasons you should be worried
1. It gives the police and spies the power to see what websites you've been looking at without a warrant
2. That's not the same as them looking at your phone bill - it's more like them following you around 24 hours a day
3. Experts say collecting everything is a really stupid idea
4. It'll be really expensive for internet companies, which will probably put your broadband bill up
5. It's not just the police that'll be able to do it
6. Your browsing data could be vulnerable to hackers
7. It won't ban Snapchat or WhatsApp, but it could force them to let authorities snoop on them anyway
8. Theresa May doesn't seem to understand what end-to-end encryption means
9. That means online services will be forced to have rubbish security
10. It will almost certainly be abuse
And adding mine:

11. All anyone has to do to circumvent Theresa 'clueless' May's snooping is sign up with one of the smaller providers to whom this Act won't apply.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#108 Post by Alan H » January 15th, 2016, 6:56 pm

Who knew Theresa 'clueless' May was, erm... clueless? UK Home Sec stumbles while trying to justify blanket cyber-snooping
Crucially, she was unable to explain to the panel exactly why Blighty's intelligence services need the ability to intercept and retain millions of innocent Britons' data in bulk, as well carry out bulk hacking operations, which would be strongly authorised if draft law – the Investigatory Powers Bill (IPB) – is passed.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#109 Post by Alan H » January 16th, 2016, 11:40 am

The French seem a bit more savvy... French say 'Non, merci' to encryption backdoors
The French government has rejected an amendment to its forthcoming Digital Republic law that required backdoors in encryption systems.

Axelle Lemaire, the Euro nation's digital affairs minister, shot down the amendment during the committee stage of the forthcoming omnibus digital bill, saying it would be counterproductive and would leave personal data unprotected.

"Recent events show how the fact of introducing faults deliberately at the request - sometimes even without knowing - the intelligence agencies has an effect that is harming the whole community," she said according to Numerama.

"Even if the intention [to empower the police] is laudable, it also opens the door to the players who have less laudable intentions, not to mention the potential for economic damage to the credibility of companies planning these flaws. You are right to fuel the debate, but this is not the right solution according to the Government's opinion."
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#110 Post by Alan H » January 18th, 2016, 11:47 am

Theresa May's snooping defence remains inherently contradictory
The UK government doesn't want backdoors to encrypted messages. But it wants companies to decrypt messages on demand anyway.

That apparently contradictory policy remains at the heart of the Investigatory Powers Bill, Home Secretary Theresa May has told MPs.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#111 Post by Alan H » January 20th, 2016, 10:36 am

A result of the 2015 Counter-Terrorism and Security Act and Prevent strategy and the Government wanting us to spy on everyone else: Muslim boy, 10, probed for 'terrorist house' spelling error
A 10-year-old Muslim boy who mistakenly wrote that he lived in a "terrorist house" during an English lesson at school has been investigated by police.

The pupil, who attends a primary school in Lancashire, meant to say he lived in a "terraced house".

The boy was interviewed by Lancashire Police at his home the next day and the family laptop was examined.

Teachers have been legally obliged to report any suspected extremist behaviour to police since July.

The boy's family said they were left shocked by the 7 December incident and want both the school and police to apologise.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#112 Post by Alan H » January 21st, 2016, 8:33 pm

Phone crypto scheme “facilitates undetectable mass surveillance”
A security scheme that Britain's spy agency is promoting for encrypting phone calls contains a backdoor that can be accessed by anyone in possession of a master key, according to an analysis published Tuesday by a security expert at University College in London.

The MIKEY-SAKKE protocol is a specification based on the Secure Chorus, an encryption standard for voice and video that was developed by the Communications Electronics Security Group, the information security arm of the UK's Government Communications Headquarters. British governmental officials have indicated that they plan to certify voice encryption products only if they implement MIKEY-SAKKE and Secure Chorus.
Not so much taking the MIKEY as taking the piss.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#113 Post by Alan H » February 29th, 2016, 10:22 pm

Tory government set to fast-track Snoopers’ Charter through parliament
Home Secretary Theresa May looks set to imminently introduce her draft Investigatory Powers Bill to MPs, just weeks after a lukewarm parliamentary report recommended a raft of modifications to the proposed law but—significantly—stopped far short of demanding that the Tory government must rip it up and start again.

Ars understands that the Home Office will reveal more about its plans later on Monday, after it was reported over the weekend that May would attempt to fast-track the bill by laying it before parliament on March 1.

According to the Independent on Sunday, which appeared to have been tipped off by Labour MPs, parliament will have a very short window to debate the IPB—colloquially dubbed a Snoopers' Charter—with a second reading chalked up for March 14, before reaching committee stage on March 22.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#114 Post by Alan H » March 1st, 2016, 4:08 pm

UK spying laws: Government introduces law requiring WhatsApp and iMessage to break their own security
"The continued inclusion of powers for bulk interception and bulk equipment interference - hacking by any other name - leaves the right to privacy dangerously undermined and the security of our infrastructure at risk. Despite this, the Home Office stands by its claim that the Bill represents "world-leading" legislation. It is truly world-leading, for all the wrong reasons."
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#115 Post by Alan H » March 1st, 2016, 10:55 pm

The snooper’s charter shows the government’s total contempt for privacy
The government proposed a fundamental shift in the relationship between citizens, the internet and the state in its 300-page draft investigatory powers bill. Under the law, now christened the snooper’s charter, almost every digital communication and movement would be logged by telecommunications companies, intercepted by intelligence agencies and subject to scrutiny. But when the government introduced the bill into parliament on Tuesday, it demonstrated not only its disregard for privacy but its contempt for that other key pillar of British society: democracy.

The bill contains some of the most intrusive surveillance powers imaginable, including some that are not currently found in any other country in the world. Cyber security is to be sacrificed at the altar of “national security”: government hacking would become legal, bulk datasets collected and mined, and encrypted services subject to state restrictions.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#116 Post by Alan H » March 2nd, 2016, 3:21 pm

“Privacy is Surveillance” – Part 1 of the Investigatory Powers Bill
A search for “privacy” in the Bill, however, reveals that other than in clause 1(3)(a) – in the image above – there are no mentions of “privacy” anywhere else in the Bill, other than in titles.

Of the fourteen mentions of “privacy” overall:
one is the title of Part 1;

one is the title of Part 1 in the contents page;

nine are mentions of the title of Part 1 in the headers;

one is at clause 1(3)(a); and

two are in mentions of the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (S.I. 2003/2426).
So “privacy” is mentioned more often in the headers to pages than in the Bill itself.

It is almost as if some bright spark at the Home Office thought that privacy concerns could be addressed by simply adding “privacy” to the title of Part of the Bill.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#117 Post by Alan H » March 14th, 2016, 9:25 pm

Investigatory powers bill not fit for purpose, say 200 senior lawyers
The investigatory powers bill, which goes before MPs on Tuesday, is not fit for purpose and breaches international standards on surveillance, according to a letter signed by more than 200 senior lawyers.

The legislation acknowledges for the first time the extent of bulk interception and hacking carried out by the government’s monitoring agency, GCHQ, and sets out a legal framework with safeguards.

In a letter to the Guardian, however, the complex and controversial bill is condemned by former judges, QCs, law professors and senior lawyers as being fundamentally flawed because it destroys privacy.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Dave B
Posts: 17809
Joined: May 17th, 2010, 9:15 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#118 Post by Dave B » March 14th, 2016, 10:03 pm

Yeah, but they are only lawyers, what do they know about politics and ideology and the need to keep a firm grip on the throat of the hoi poloi? And all those intellectual types . . .
"Look forward; yesterday was a lesson, if you did not learn from it you wasted it."
Me, 2015

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Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#119 Post by Alan H » November 1st, 2016, 1:52 pm

Everything you need to know about the “terrifying” Investigatory Powers Bill
Okay, but what sort of powers?

Are you sitting comfortably (with your webcam taped over and your location services turned off)? Good, then I’ll begin.

The Bill will:

* Force your Internet Service Provider to keep your Internet Connection Record (ICR) – a list of services and websites you use and when – for 12 months.

* Oblige communications companies to retain your communications, hand them over when served with a notice, and remove encryption when requested.

* Create new rules about who can intercept your communications, ie. who can read your messages.

* Explicitly legalise intelligence agencies, law enforcement and the armed forces interfering with (ie. hacking) electronic equipment – for example, by covertly downloading the contents of your phone or remotely accessing your computer.

* Allow security and intelligence agencies to use these powers in bulk to obtain large numbers of data about a large number of people.

* Create warrants for authorities to examine “Bulk Data Sets” – basically, a lot of people’s personal information – such as medical records and tax histories.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#120 Post by Alan H » November 17th, 2016, 1:16 pm

1984 has finally arrived: Snoopers' Charter 2.0: IP Bill passed by Parliament and will become law within weeks
The law will require internet and phone companies to store comprehensive records of websites visited and phone numbers called for 12 months, and to enable police, security services and multiple other public sector bodies to access those records on demand.

It will also provide the security services with the legal power to bulk collect personal communications data, and give police and security services the explicit power to hack into, and bug, computers and smartphones. These powers will largely require only the approval of the home secretary.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

User avatar
Alan H
Posts: 24067
Joined: July 3rd, 2007, 10:26 pm

Re: Big Brother is definitely watching and listening...

#121 Post by Alan H » November 22nd, 2016, 5:40 pm

UK: New surveillance law sets dangerous global precedent
The UK Parliament has passed the Investigatory Powers Bill, the most extreme surveillance law in our history.

On the adoption of the Investigatory Powers Bill, ARTICLE 19’s Executive Director, Thomas Hughes commented that “The Investigatory Powers Bill passed today by parliament will erode hard-won civil liberties and human rights. Now people in the UK will have some of the most invasive surveillance legislation to enter a statute book. No longer will private communications be private and no longer will journalists’ sources be protected. The UK government should be deeply troubled as it sets this dangerous and worrying precedent worldwide.”

The UK Government has failed to respond to widespread public dismay over secret mass surveillance revealed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013.

The Bill will not only put into statute the capabilities revealed by Snowden but extend surveillance even further.

This is not just of grave concern for UK citizens. The impact of the Bill will be felt around the world. Authoritarian leaders with poor human rights records can now point to the UK when justifying their own surveillance regimes.

The Bill will affect:
  • Our right to privacy: Our communications, Internet use and personal data will be collected, stored and analysed, even if we are not under suspicion of a crime.
  • Our right to freedom of expression: Freedom of expression relies on the freedom to explore and express ideas without the threat of arbitrary, unnecessary, and disproportionate interference. The IP Bill will have a chilling effect on our freedom to share and discuss.
  • Investigative journalism: The Bill lacks sufficient guarantees for the protection of journalists and their sources. It also fails to require authorities to notify journalists before hacking into their devices.
  • The security of the Internet: Bulk hacking powers could undermine the security of the Internet for everyone.
  • Intelligence sharing: The Bill fails to restrain the sharing of data and integration of technology between the UK and USA.
A number of Don’t Spy on Us members are taking legal action against the UK’s mass surveillance powers. The UK’s legal regime for bulk surveillance is being challenged in two separate cases at the ECHR, while the data retention regime is being questioned in the UK and EU courts in the Watson (previously Watson-Davis) challenge. It is expected that both courts will call for safeguards and restraints on the highly permissive UK surveillance regime.

Don’t Spy on Us members will continue to challenge the Investigatory Powers Act and fight against mass surveillance.

Don't Spy on Us is a coalition of the most influential organisations who defend privacy, free expression and digital rights in the UK and in Europe – ARTICLE 19, Big Brother Watch, English PEN, Liberty, Open Rights Group and Privacy International.
Alan Henness

There are three fundamental questions for anyone advocating Brexit:

1. What, precisely, are the significant and tangible benefits of leaving the EU?
2. What damage to the UK and its citizens is an acceptable price to pay for those benefits?
3. Which ruling of the ECJ is most persuasive of the need to leave its jurisdiction?

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