Monthly Archives: March 2010

Consent: a red herring?

I asked Peter Fleischer, Google’s Global Privacy Counsel, a question about ‘opt-in’ or ‘opt-out’, in a panel session at the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection Conference in Brussels in January, to which he gave an interesting answer, but one that … Continue reading

Posted in consent, data protection, google, Privacy | Leave a comment

Now we’re all at it… especially the good guys…

It’s not just the German government who are using illegally acquired data to root out tax evaders – the latest revelation is that both the French and the UK Government are doing it to. A report from the Sunday Times, … Continue reading

Posted in CCTV, Human Rights, Privacy | 2 Comments

Digital Economy Bill passes the Lords…

Just a brief note – further to last week’s post, the Digital Economy Bill has now passed its third reading in the House of Lords, and is expected to be rushed through the commons before the election (see the BBC … Continue reading

Posted in data retention, Digital Economy Bill, Internet disconnection | Leave a comment

All hail the Internet?

Two stories this week have emphasised the importance of the Internet in today’s world. The most recent, and perhaps the strangest, is the news that the Internet has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, in a campaign mounted by … Continue reading

Posted in Digital Economy Bill, Human Rights, Internet, Nobel Peace Prize | Leave a comment

The good, the bad and the ugly side of privacy in Germany

Privacy advocates in the UK sometimes look across at Germany in wistful admiration – but is the story quite as rosy for privacy in Germany as it sometimes appears? Perhaps not, for though one recent event has shown Germany in … Continue reading

Posted in data retention, Germany, Hacking, Privacy | Leave a comment

Welcome

Welcome to the Symbiotic Web blog… where I will post thoughts and stories relating to privacy, autonomy and the web, and in particular concerning stories related to the idea of the symbiotic web. This will be an occasional blog – … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments