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October 2017

How these librarians are changing how we think about digital privacy

A group of privacy advocates want to help you protect your digital privacy using a public institution built for the analog age: your local public library.

In August, New York University and the Library Freedom Project – an organization that trains librarians on using privacy tools to protect intellectual freedom – received a $250,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency. Its purpose: to train librarians to implement secure protocols on their own web services, and to teach members of the community to evade the prying eyes of governments, corporations, and criminal hackers. According to the Library Freedom Project’s website, the group aims to create what it calls “a privacy-centric paradigm shift in libraries and the communities they serve.” As society’s sole public space dedicated to collecting and sharing information, public libraries have long been a flashpoint for conflicts over censorship, surveillance, and secrecy. The digital age has accelerated these conflicts, placing librarians squarely between the government’s and corporations’ desire to pursue their interests and the public’s desire to learn how to seek information in private.

Op-ed

Network Neutrality and Beyond: The Long Road Ahead

Remarks of Former-FCC Commissioner Michael Copps
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
Ottawa, Canada
October 18, 2017

Attorney General Sessions declines 'blanket' assurance to not jail journalists

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Oct 18 said he could not make a “blanket commitment” to not putting journalists in jail. During testimony in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) asked AG Sessions if he could pledge to not place “reporters in jail for doing their jobs.” “Well, I don’t know that I can make a blanket commitment to that effect. But I will say this, we have not taken any aggressive action against the media at this point,” Sessions replied. “But we have matters that involve the most serious national security issues that put our country at risk and we will utilize the authorities that we have legally and constitutionally if we have to.” “We always try to find an alternative way, as you probably know, Sen. Klobuchar, to directly confronting media persons, but that’s not a total blanket protection,” Sessions said.

President Trump: Mainstream Media Out to 'Bring Down' Administration

President Donald Trump has, if possible, ratcheted up his media attacks, making it crystal clear Oct 18 he thinks the mainstream media are indeed enemies of the people, bent on destroying him and willing to stop at nothing. That came in an e-mail circulating a new "Mainstream Media Accountability Survey" on the news media, one of several the Trump Pence campaign fundraising committee has conducted in concert with the Republican National Committee.

"I’ve said it before and I will say it again: the Mainstream Media is out to bring down my Administration," the President said in the e-mail. "It’s a 24/7 barrage of hit jobs, fake stories, and absolute hatred for everything we stand for as a movement. They don’t care about the truth. They don’t care about what’s right. They only care about propping up the liberal Democrats they worship and destroying anyone who wants to put America First. There is nothing they won’t do to stop us." The new survey focuses on four specific news outlets, CNN, NBC, co-owned MSNBC and Fox News, asking whether each can be trusted to report fairly on his presidency. The President has been highly critical of CNN and NBC News, and generally positive toward Fox.

Sens Klobuchar, Warner Announce Legislation to Prevent Foreign Interference in Future Elections, Improve Transparency of Online Political Ads

In 2016 Russians bought online political ads designed to influence our election and divide Americans. The content and purchaser(s) of those online advertisements are a mystery to the public because of outdated laws that have failed to keep up with evolving technology. The Honest Ads Act would help prevent foreign actors from influencing our elections by ensuring that political ads sold online are covered by the same rules as ads sold on TV, radio, and satellite. On Oct 19, Sens Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mark Waner (D-VA) will announce the introduction of bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by Sen John McCain (R-AZ) to prevent foreign interference in future elections and improve transparency of online political ads.

Facebook admits Russia agents used Messenger to disrupt U.S. presidential election

A top Facebook executive admitted that Russian agents had used the social network’s popular Messenger platform to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Facebook Messenger boss David Marcus disclosed that a “very small” number of the 470 accounts active in the Russian interference campaign were using Messenger to communicate with their users.

Marcus cautioned that the company was still determining, alongside federal investigators, how Russia-linked accounts may have tried to influence the U.S. political discourse in 2016. But he said inquiries “at this stage” showed that these accounts were not prolifically using his product. "My understanding is that it’s a very small number,” Marcus said. “The way that the platform was used is still being investigated right now on the Messenger side of things, but traditionally if you’re a page, for instance, you cannot message people. So people have to message you.” Messenger was reportedly used by some pages with ties to Russian operatives. Marcus, like other Facebook executives, argued that the work done by Facebook around the world was being wrongly “overshadowed” by the Russia “narrative.”

European Union Says Privacy Shield is Working

The European Union has given a thumbs up to the EU-US Privacy Shield in its first annual review of the framework for protecting cross-border data flows. The first annual report concluded the shield works, but could use some bolstering, including by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

"Overall the report shows that the Privacy Shield continues to ensure an adequate level of protection for the personal data transferred from the EU to participating companies in the U.S. The U.S. authorities have put in place the necessary structures and procedures to ensure the correct functioning of the Privacy Shield, such as new redress possibilities for EU individuals," the report concluded. "Complaint-handling and enforcement procedures have been set up, and cooperation with the European Data protection authorities has been stepped up," it said. "The certification process is functioning well - over 2,400 companies have now been certified by the U.S. Department of Commerce. As regards access to personal data by U.S. public authorities for national security purposes, relevant safeguards on the U.S. side remain in place."

The federal lawmakers who regulate Amazon are begging the company to move to their home states

Few things unite a Republican stalwart like Sen Roy Blunt (R-MO) and a Democratic firebrand like Sen Claire McCaskill (D-MO). But the prospect of a political win prompted the two Sens to put aside their differences this week — and practically plead with Amazon to plop its new headquarters in their shared home state of Missouri. In doing so, the duo joined a growing group of federal lawmakers — from Pennsylvania to Texas — who are actively angling for the e-commerce giant’s second corporate outpost, dubbed HQ2.

The new hub could generate 50,000 new jobs and $5 billion in fresh Amazon investment wherever it ultimately lands, at least in the company’s eyes. For members of Congress, though, this sort of race to capture corporate cash and attention always presents an immense contradiction. Enticing new jobs and dollars sometimes means that lawmakers must woo the very businesses that they’re supposed to be regulating with a far more objective eye. And they face a special challenge when it comes to Amazon, a tech behemoth that has long faced criticism for its hyperaggressive tactics as it conquers new industries, from entertainment to cloud computing to smart-home devices.

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