1. Monthly archive
  2. November 2015

November 2015

Police Chiefs and Prosecutors Call on Lawmakers to Address ‘Critical Threat’ of Encryption

New voices within the law enforcement community called on legislators to address what they describe as the “critical threat” that encrypted private communications pose to public safety. Organizations representing police chiefs and the nation’s prosecutors urged lawmakers to take immediate action to bolster their ability to fight crime and combat terrorism. They say that advances in secure communication have erected “insurmountable” barriers to gathering electronic evidence of wrongdoing.

“The inability of law enforcement to overcome these barriers, known as ‘Going Dark’ in the law enforcement community, has already led to numerous instances where investigators were unable to access information that could have allowed them to successfully investigate and apprehend criminals or prevent terrorists from striking,” the groups said in a joint statement. The Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris have renewed the public debate about encryption. That puts pressure on companies such as Apple, Google parent Alphabet and Facebook, which began to offer consumers secure communications tools after documents leaked by former NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the breadth of the US government’s surveillance program.

Google’s Answer to Facebook Instant Articles Gets (Tentative) Launch Date, Ad Partners

Accelerated Mobile Pages, Google’s initiative for mobile news publishing and its open source riposte to similar efforts from Facebook and Apple, is arriving “early 2016,” the company said. Google has already roped in marquee publishers, including* the New York Times, Washington Post and BBC. Some 1,600-plus newspapers and television stations have “voiced their support,” according to Google. On Nov 24, the company also announced it had signed up a slew of analytics and advertising providers for the back end. When Google first announced AMP, it said it wouldn’t be taking a cut of the ads sold from publishers -- that is, unless Google is the one being paid to serve said ad.

Google Has Scrubbed Nearly Half Its ‘Right to Be Forgotten’ Requests -- Mostly From Facebook

Since the European Union ruling in 2014 permitting Europeans to petition Google to remove personal Web content, Google has reviewed more than 1.2 million requests, the search giant reported. It scrubbed 41 percent of them. And the site with the most URLs affected, by far, is Facebook -- a telling but obvious indication that people tend to put most personal information and share news articles on the social media site. Google wiped away 10,220 URLs on Facebook; YouTube and Twitter also ranked in the top 10 sites. Google seems to grant requests from private citizens, yet stand firm on public figures.

Choice between security and liberty a false one

[Commentary] The Paris attacks have resulted in some calling for new laws that would outlaw technology companies from using encryption that cannot be accessed by the government through "backdoor" means. Yet this is an extraordinarily complex issue with multiple privacy and national security implications, and these issues should be thoughtfully and carefully examined -- we do not yet know what methods the ISIS terrorists used to plan the Paris attack. The Obama Administration announced a few weeks ago that it would not seek legislation to compel tech companies to provide the government with keys to encrypted information, citing the complexity of the problem. Instead, it stated that it intends to work with the tech industry toward a voluntary solution. This is a wise strategy that should not be abandoned.

As chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, I greatly appreciate the important contribution surveillance programs make to identifying terrorists and preventing future attacks. But as the 9/11 Commission noted in recommending the creation of the board, the choice between security and liberty is a false one. The Paris attacks were tragic, but we should take a deep breath before making hasty policy decisions and changing our surveillance laws.

[David Medine is chairman of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board]

Can the World’s Beverage King Bring Better Broadband to Brazil?

Several Brazilian organizations, led by the Lemann Foundation, are banding together to boost Internet speeds in the country’s 150,000 K-12 schools. Founded by Brazilian beverage king Jorge Paulo Lemann, the foundation supports a range of digital learning efforts, including incubating edtech startups and bringing tools like Khan Academy to schools. It also organizes study trips and conferences in the United States. It was at a March gathering at Yale where the foundation invited Evan Marwell, founder of EducationSuperHighway, to speak to Brazilian administrators.

Inspired by his work in raising awareness of broadband in US schools, the foundation invited Marwell to Brazil to share his work. Marwell offered advice, research and strategic recommendations on how replicate his work in Brazil. “We shared our know-how and the technology to measure Internet connection in schools,” said the EducationSuperhighway chief executive and founder. Two other organizations have also joined the Lemann Foundation’s efforts: Inspirare, a nonprofit that regularly reports on education technology, primarily through its website, Porvir, and ITS, a think tank that conducts research on Internet access and regulatory policies.

© 1994-2024 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.