You’ve no doubt heard of 118 800: the directory inquiries service for mobile phones prompted predictable howls of outrage when it was announced last week. The 15 million-strong database was gleaned from buying mailing lists, among other things. We’re going to stick our necks out here and say we’re not bothered. We met with 118…
Category: Non-U.S.
UK: Ministers ‘do not value privacy’
The government does not appreciate the threat posed to privacy by surveillance, peers have warned. In a report, the Lords Constitution Committee says the Information Commissioner does not have enough power to prevent abuse by the private sector. Its chairman Lord Goodlad said ministers did not recognise the “fundamental importance of privacy”. In response, the…
Collecting IP Addresses Illegal in Sweden
The Swedish Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that collecting and storing IP addresses is in violation of the Personal Data Act. But as some celebrate this ruling as the death of the notorious IPRED anti-piracy legislation, the truth is a little more sobering. […] On his blog, Swedish Pirate Party’s Rick Falkvinge writes that a…
BBC gets anonymity order on rape case man overturned
A reporting restriction imposed by the House of Lords which prohibited the identification of a man acquitted of a rape who was now believed to have committed the crime has been lifted after a challenge by the BBC. The House of Lords held that the corporation’s right to freedom of expression under Article 10 of…