Untimely meditations

One man's thoughts, observations and rants

Category: Privacy

  • How dangerous is the ITU?

    How dangerous is the ITU?

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    by

    Joop Beris
    in ,

    The ITU, the International Telecommunications Union is the UN agency for Information and Communication Technologies. The ITU is “committed to connecting all the world’s people – wherever they live and whatever their means”. Sounds like a very noble commitment, doesn’t it? It’s odd then, that the potentially biggest threat to the free and open Internet…

  • EFF takes up call of Bits of Freedom

    EFF takes up call of Bits of Freedom

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    by

    Joop Beris
    in ,

    I linked to an article by Bits of Freedom last week, calling for international opposition against the latest plan by minister Ivo Opstelten. The plan can be summed up in brief as “Dutch police should be allowed to hack local and foreign computers and destroy data on them”. A very dangerous proposition with lots legal…

  • Dutch police to get access to DNA stored in medical facilities?

    Dutch police to get access to DNA stored in medical facilities?

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    by

    Joop Beris
    in

    For an outgoing cabinet, our current ministers are certainly busy. Busy looking for ways to endanger our privacy, it seems. Just days after two letters from Ivo Opstelten reached the news, Dutch investigative reports for the TV program KRO Reporter have discovered documents that suggest that outgoing minister for Health, Welfare and Sports, Edith Schippers…

  • Bits of Freedom calls for international opposition against Dutch proposal

    Bits of Freedom calls for international opposition against Dutch proposal

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    by

    Joop Beris
    in ,

    Dutch digital rights defenders Bits of Freedom are calling for international opposition against the latest proposal from Ivo Opstelten, wanting to grant police the right to hack into suspects computers, even across borders. In an article on their blog, they outline the cybersecurity risks related to this proposal. I’m also hoping for a lot of…

  • Data snooping only catches ‘incompetent criminals, accidental anarchists’

    Data snooping only catches ‘incompetent criminals, accidental anarchists’

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    by

    Joop Beris
    in ,

    British Information Commissioner Christopher Graham told a committee of MPs and peers last Tuesday that the draft Communications Data Bill as it stands would only put a stop to “the incompetent criminal and the accidental anarchist”. This proposed bill would give British law enforcement and secret service more access to telecoms data.

  • Another letter from Ivo

    Another letter from Ivo

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    by

    Joop Beris
    in ,

    Dutch minister of Justice Ivo Opstelten is certainly being a busy boy. Just a few days have passed since his last letter and now he has written another one, equally worrying or perhaps more so. In short, he is suggesting in an as yet not public letter that the Dutch police should have the right…