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Category Archives: Digital Rights

Tim Berners-Lee: I invented the web. Here are three things we need to change to save it

theguardian – Sir Tim Berners-Lee – “Today marks 28 years since I submitted my original proposal for the worldwide web. I imagined the web as an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information, access opportunities, and collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries. In many ways, the web has lived up to this… Continue Reading

New on LLRX – Defending the Indefensible: Chairman Pai’s Lifeline Reversal Will Widen the Digital Divide

Via LLRX.com – Defending the Indefensible: Chairman Pai’s Lifeline Reversal Will Widen the Digital Divide – Lifeline is one of four FCC programs intended to ensure that all Americans have access to modern communications. This article by Gigi Sohn, who served as Counselor to the Chairman in the Office of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler until… Continue Reading

2016 – Economic, Social and Cultural rights (ESCRs) and the internet

“The 47 country reports gathered here illustrate the link between the internet and economic, social and cultural rights (ESCRs). Some of the topics will be familiar to information and communications technology for development (ICT4D) activists: the right to health, education and culture; the socioeconomic empowerment of women using the internet; the inclusion of rural and indigenous… Continue Reading

Federal Open Licensing Playbook

“Federal agencies are increasingly using open licensing to expand the impact and reach of their work, enable innovative use of federally-funded materials, and ensure that publicly funded resources are available to the public. We note shared practices and considerations, common to the federal open licensing efforts thus far. This Playbook provides a practitioner’s guide to… Continue Reading

Report – Law Enforcement Use of Cell-Site Simulation Technologies: Privacy Concerns and Recommendations

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform U.S. House of Representatives 114th Congress – Law Enforcement Use of Cell-Site Simulation Technologies: Privacy Concerns and Recommendations. Committee Staff Report. Hon. Jason Chaffetz, Chairman; Hon. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member; Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. December 19, 2016. “…During the course of the investigation, it became clear… Continue Reading

Tech Giants Partner in Effort to Fight Online Terror Content

News release: “Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube are coming together to help curb the spread of terrorist content online. There is no place for content that promotes terrorism on our hosted consumer services. When alerted, we take swift action against this kind of content in accordance with our respective policies. Starting today, we commit to… Continue Reading

TTIP and Digital Rights

TTIP and Digital Rights Published: 08.06.2015 – “The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP – pronounced “tee-tip”) is a draft trade agreement being negotiated between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). This booklet presents the concerns that EDRi and its members have regarding TTIP, such as the lack of transparency in the… Continue Reading

RightsStatements.org – 11 standardized rights statements for online cultural heritage

“RightsStatements.org is a joint initiative of Europeana and the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA). Europeana, the Digital Public Library of America, and many other libraries, archives and other cultural heritage institutions believe that everyone should be able to engage with their cultural heritage online. We can help achieve this by providing cultural heritage institutions… Continue Reading

EU Parliament adopts General Data Protection Regulation

European Parliament News: “New EU data protection rules [EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”)] which aim to give citizens back control of their personal data and create a high, uniform level of data protection across the EU fit for the digital era was given their final approval by MEPs on Thursday. The reform also sets… Continue Reading

Sci-Hub, BookFi and LibGen defy court order and move to Dark Web

Via Torrent Freak: “A few days ago several large online repositories of free books and academic articles were pulled offline. Sci-Hub, BookFi and LibGen had their domain names taken away after Elsevier beat them in court. However, the site’s operators are not planning to cease their activities and are continuing their operations through alternative domains… Continue Reading

Prominent Authors Join Amicus Brief in Google Book Scanning Case

Via FindLaw via WSJ Law Blog – “Several famous authors filed a brief with the Supreme Court, asking it to hear a lawsuit over Google digital book library. Malcolm Gladwell, Margaret Atwood, Yann Martel, Steven Sondheim and others lent their names to the brief, contending Google is guilty of “massive copyright infringement…One of the writers’… Continue Reading

JSTOR Sustainability Beta

“JSTOR Sustainability is a digital library of academic research covering issues of environmental stress and its challenges for human society…We are currently testing the JSTOR Sustainability beta site with researchers and instructors in advance of launching it next year. We invite you to learn more about JSTOR Sustainability and participate in our beta testing to… Continue Reading