Privacy is Not a Crime, Reporting Hidden Facts Is Not a Crime Either

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Sep 25, 2023

THE United Kingdom (UK) has once again surrendered data privacy to the United States [1] and the Online Safety Bill "has been passed in parliament," according to O.R.G. [2]. As the New York Times put it: "The far-reaching bill had set off debates about balancing free speech and privacy rights against efforts to halt the spread of harmful content online." [3]

So what is privacy for now, rapists [4]? The EU [5] and UN [6-8] are failing to regulate technology in the fog of buzzwords because the media speaks of "AI" [9] instead of meaningful things.

This is an ongoing problem. It's probably deliberate, too. Speak of the issues, the underlying matters at stake, not marketing buzzwords and slogans about children.

Surveillance is used to carry out assassinations [10], "privacy" is misused to muzzle/arrest journalists [11], and all those new legislation are being sold to the public as protection of children [12].

In the more distance past we cautioned that one day only the rich and powerful people will claim to be entitled to privacy. Journalism too will be painted as "infringing privacy".

We're entering yet darker times in the history of human civilisation. Be it for social control or seemingly noble causes (like "think about the children!"), the net outcome is, the powerful companies/governments/societies get to know everything about everybody, but if anyone out there discovers or shares dark secrets about those powerful companies/governments/societies, that's a "crime". █

Related/contextual items from the news:

1. US, UK strike data transfer agreement

   The European Commission approved a similar data transfer agreement with the United States in July.

2. ORG warns of threat to privacy and free speech as Online Safety Bill is passed

   Open Rights Group has warned that Online Safety Bill, which has been passed in parliament, will make us less secure by threatening our privacy and undermining our freedom of expression.

3. Britain Passes Sweeping New Online Safety Law

   The far-reaching bill had set off debates about balancing free speech and privacy rights against efforts to halt the spread of harmful content online.

4. Journalists fear ‘secret justice’ over proposed one-reporter limit in sex trials

   Concerns raised over potential "secret justice for rapists".

5. EU lawmakers must regulate the harmful use of tech by law enforcement in the AI Act

   115 civil society organisations are calling on EU lawmakers to to regulate the use of AI technology for harmful and discriminatory surveillance by law enforcement, migration authorities and national security forces in the AI Act.

6. UN report says border surveillance technology and decision algorithms may endanger human rights

   The UN Human Rights Office released a report Monday that assessed the impact of digital border technologies on human rights, finding that border surveillance technology and decision algorithms may violate the human rights of migrants.

7. Privacy International’s Briefing on the Draft Text of the UN Cybercrime Convention

8. Producing real change: key highlights of our results

9. FTC nominees urge Congress to pass federal data privacy law

   Members of Congress also asked nominees for their thoughts on how the FTC should tackle AI.

10. Official: Allegation of India’s link to Sikh’s killing based on human and surveillance intelligence

    A Canadian official says the allegation of India’s involvement in the killing of a Sikh Canadian is based on human and surveillance intelligence, including signals intelligence of Indian diplomats in Canada. The official told The Associated Press on Thursday that the communications involved Indian officials and Indian diplomats in Canada and that some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance — U.S., Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The official did not say which ally provided the intelligence or give any specific details of what was contained in the intelligence. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

11. Fast-track appeal from prosecutor to acquittal of bianet correspondent

    The court acquitted bianet correspondent Ruken Tuncel yesterday in the trial she stood for "violating the privacy of personal life" for sharing a video that a Munzur University faculty member posted on her WhatsApp status, but the prosecutor requested the preservation of the right to appeal right away.

12. Real child protection instead of Big Brother scanning: 5-point plan for the deadlocked EU Council negotiations on child sexual abuse bill (chat control)

    Due to the massive protests against the EU plans for the indiscriminate searching of all private messages using error-prone algorithms (CSAR)...