One of the most over-used (yet true) legal comparisons in Internet regulation studies is to contrast the European and US approaches to freedom of speech when it comes to cyberspace. The United States favours an almost unlimited view of freedom of speech, while Europe has put in place large caveats […]
I remember when I first logged on to the Internet like it was yesterday. I had been hearing rumours about this global communications network, and had met people who told me about electronic messaging systems that would send mail to people in universities around the world. It sounded like science […]
EFF has publicised a report by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) which details a new policy by US border police in which agents ask Muslim Americans returning home for travels abroad for social media handles, but also going as far as asking for access to mobile phones through handles, […]
Back in 2006, Time magazine awarded its person of the year to us. The Internet. Time writer Lev Grossman (of The Magicians fame) wrote the following: “[2006 is] a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It’s about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the […]
I have a rather complicated relationship with democracy. As a Costa Rican, it was ingrained in me from an early age that the only viable way of government is pluralist democracy, and that the balance of power could only be decided at the ballot box. My parents were fairly political, […]
With great power comes great responsibility. Yes, this is a line from a superhero movie, but it is just as relevant as when Uncle Ben said it on screen in 2002 (technically, it dates back to the first Spider-man comic in 1962, but I digress). It is perhaps more important […]
Last month I attended the fantastic re:publica event in Berlin. It would be misleading to call it a conference, it is to a conference what Primavera is to a gig. This is the largest digital rights politics event in the world, thousands of attendees, hundreds of sessions. Art, music, culture, […]
My social media timeline is filled with links to an article on Torrent Freak by Rick Falvinge, the founder of the Swedish Pirate Party. The article is entitled “The Entire Copyright Monopoly Idea is Based on a Lie“. The article sets out to criticise the social contract that gives copyright […]
This has been a bad week for logic and reason. Or a good week for insane rulings, depending on your take on life. Last year we had a series of copyright reforms, including an exception for private copying; but now the British music industry has managed to get the High […]
An open letter to all members of the House of Commons, Dear Parliamentarian, Ensuring the Rule of Law and the democratic process is respected as UK surveillance law is revised Actions Taken Under the Previous Government During the past two years, the United Kingdom’s surveillance laws and policies have come […]