From Wikileaks.org: Summary The CIA and other intelligence agencies have long been interested in the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecomminications (sic), or SWIFT. The Society, headquartered in Belgium, is the primary system used for international, and some national, bank transfers. Whoever controls SWIFT has access to the full details of millions of yearly bank…
Category: Non-U.S.
UK: DNA of innocent still to be retained for six years
Tom Whitehead reports that the government will announce a revised plan that would still keep innocent people’s DNA on file for six years. … the revised plans mean no change for the majority of adults, even if only arrested for a minor offence, with their profiles still kept for up to six years. But those…
UK: Government confirms post-election plans to track public comms
Jennifer Scott reports: The government has confirmed plans that will see all phone calls, text messages, emails and visits to websites by members of the public held in a database for one year, but not until after the general election. Dubbed as a “Big Brother” or snooping scheme by critics, the Intercept Modernisation Programme will…
UK: Libel law reform campaigners seek £10,000 damages cap
English PEN, a charity that promotes the human rights of writers and publishers, and Index on Censorship, a body that promotes freedom of expression, spent a year investigating English libel laws. Their joint report, Free Speech Is Not For Sale, was published today. They say that England’s libel law “was designed to serve the rich…