Policy

Policy category is the wrapper for all Policy orientated content

News, Policy

Controversial Data Protection Bill pushed through UK House of Commons

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On Wednesday 29 November 2023, the UK Government brought back the “Data Protection and Digital Information Bill” to life by having a second reading in the House of Commons. The first version of the Bill, proposed by Nadine Dories in July 2022, was actually withdrawn on 8 March 2023 after having had only one reading in the House of Commons – a withdrawal explained by one MP as being a consequence of how inappropriate the Bill’s contents were.

But Wednesday, the Government pushed it through for a second reading in the House of Commons, along with hundreds of amendments, and judging from the exchanges it is well understood that the Bill is filled with controversial proposals giving the Government broad powers, together risking turning the UK into a surveillance state, from the ability for the Government to monitor State benefit recipient’s bank accounts, to having access to significant voter data for electoral purposes.… Read more ...

News, Policy

Joint statement of scientists and NGOs on the EU’s proposed eIDAS reform

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On 2 November 2023, the Internet Society UK Chapter has joined 500 cyber security experts, researchers and NGOs to sign an open letter sounding the alarm about the European Union’s proposed eIDAS reform.

After years of legislative process, the near-final text of the eIDAS regulation has been agreed by trialogue negotiators1 representing EU’s key bodies and will be presented to the public and parliament for a rubber stamp before the end of the year. New legislative articles, introduced in recent closed-door meetings and not yet public, envision that all web browsers distributed in Europe will be required to trust the certificate authorities and cryptographic keys selected by EU governments.… Read more ...

News, Policy

Joint ISOC & ISOC-E response to OFCOM UK Consultation on Net Neutrality

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‘Net neutrality’, sometimes referred to as the ‘open internet’, is the principle that users of the internet (both consumers and those making and distributing content) should be in control of what they see and do online – not the broadband or mobile providers that connect people and businesses to the internet (otherwise known as internet service providers or ISPs). The net neutrality rules make sure that the traffic carried across broadband and mobile networks is treated equally and particular content or services are not prioritised or slowed down so that some are favoured over others.… Read more ...

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Blog, News, Policy

Defend the Internet, stop the Splinternet

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The Internet is facing an unprecedented threat. As the war in Ukraine evolves, governments, businesses and other organizations are considering sanctions to thwart Russia’s invasion that would damage the global Internet. In the short term, people will lose access to a critical lifeline for safetyand accurate information. In the long term, actions that undermine the apolitical nature of the network would divide the Internet along geopolitical lines and irreversibly alter the Internet we know today. We cannot let the Internet become a pawn of geopolitics.… Read more ...

News, Policy

Experts challenge Govt’s anti-encryption campaign

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The UK Chapter of the Internet Society has joined more than 50 organisations to challenge the UK Government’s tactics to roll-out an Online Safety Bill that will ultimately lead to the weakening of encryption.

The full Statement and its signatories has been published on the Open Rights Group Web Site.

In addition to endorsing this Statement, the UK Chapter of the Internet Society is also seeking to facilitate dialogue to search for other methods to combat online harms. Several round-tables are currently in the works – more information will be available soon.

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