The European Commission is to investigate whether or not people have the right to disappear from the ever-more pervasive digital networks that surround them. The Commission has expressed concern about the privacy implications of personally-identifying technologies such as radio frequency identification (RFID) chips. It said that it is important to discuss whether or not people…
Category: Surveillance
PA House passes no-chip bill
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has unanimously passed a bill introduced by Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Phila., that would make it illegal to force or coerce someone into having an identification device implanted on or under his or her skin. An identification device would be defined as anything containing or transmitting personal information, such as name;…
TSA responds to Privacy Coalition’s concerns about Whole Body Imaging
EPIC.org reports that the Transportation Security Administration has replied to the Privacy Coalition statement on whole body imaging systems. The letter, signed by Acting Administrator for TSA, Gale Rossides, identifies all of the protections that WBI has in place. But it really doesn’t address the biggest concerns about the potential for the misuse and the…
China’s Green Dam, technology and human rights
China recently announced a policy that every computer sold must be packaged with specific software that bars it from being used to visit certain Internet sites. This so-called “Green Dam” software ostensibly is aimed at blocking child pornography and other vile sites. In Chinese, “green” and “clean” are interchangeable — here, the idea being that…