Ravelry, a free social networking service dedicated to knitting, crocheting, and other yarn crafts, recently made a strong public stance against white supremacy in the form of a policy banning content in support of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration.
Digital Rights
Surveillance capitalism threatens Canadians’ “ability to think, act and resist”
Meagan Bell argues that surveillance capitalism, the data-driven business model driving Google, Facebook and other Internet companies, weakens Canadians’ ability to defend democracy, human rights and the human future.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg urged to comply with GDPR in all countries by 70 consumer groups
A coalition of consumer and privacy groups from the US, Canada and the European Union is urging Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to ensure that his company adopts the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) “as a baseline standard” for all Facebook users around the world.
Bell-led FairPlay Canada “proposal would weaken Canada’s economy”, says Internet infrastructure coalition
A global coalition of Internet infrastructure companies opposes the Bell Canada-led FairPlay Canada plan to block websites on the ground that the plan, which “lacks accountability and oversight”, would weaken both the Canadian economy and our Internet leadership globally.
The Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal highlights the problem of “surveillance capitalism” in the digital age
Data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica’s scandalous harvesting and use of Facebook user data highlights the urgent need for robust public debate on the emerging problem of “surveillance capitalism” in our increasingly digital society, suggests Jennifer Cobbe, the co-ordinator of Cambridge University’s Trustworthy Technologies strategic research initiative.
Canadians take a stand against Bell Canada’s dangerous website blocking proposal
The latest manifestation of the ongoing attack on digital rights and net neutrality in Canada, led by Bell Canada, proposes the creation of the so-called “Internet Piracy Review Agency” (IPRA), a dictatorship-style Internet policing agency that would facilitate the blocking of Canadians’ access to websites Bell and other leading Canadian Internet service providers dislike.
Edward Snowden creates Haven, a security app for journalists and human rights defenders
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and his team at the Freedom of the Press Foundation have created Haven, a free and open source personal security system for journalists and human rights defenders. The app transforms your cheap second Android phone into a device capable of capturing and reporting intrusions to your physical space and possessions.
Read the statements from the two Democratic FCC members who opposed repealing net neutrality
Democratic Commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel dissented against the US Federal Communications Commission’s 3-2 vote to dismantle net neutrality. Read the the two dissenters’ statements.