Tag: Telcos

Access, an international organization committed to extending and defending the rights of internet users worldwide, is encouraged by recent votes that will help secure an open internet. Yesterday, the European Union voted 534-23 in favor of network neutrality, and just last week the Brazilian Congress also voted to protect the internet as part of a larger “internet bill of rights.”

Today the European Parliament voted on the European Telecoms Single Market proposal, a major legislative achievement protecting net neutrality that will have a crucial impact on how European users experience the internet for generations.

After six months of negotiations, the European Parliament will finally vote on the proposal for a Telecoms Single Market in one week. This proposal was initially designed to deliver the promise of enshrining net neutrality as law across Europe. Yet unless the European Parliament rises to the challenge next week, they may actually end up undermining net neutrality net through unclear and confusing legislation.

Last Friday, the French newspaper Le Monde revealed a previously undisclosed relationship between French telco Orange and the French intelligence services, the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure (DGSE).

In the aftermath of 2013’s disclosures on government mass surveillance, there’s a simple “low-hanging fruit” protecting users. The majority of internet traffic — our emails, searches, chats, website visits, and more — remain unencrypted and vulnerable to prying eyes.

Late Monday night, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Guardian each reported on what will inevitably be new competing efforts to reform the NSA’s bulk telephony metadata surveillance program.

The U.S. government has developed and deployed a surveillance system that records every single telephone call made in an unnamed country outside the U.S. for up to 30 days.

Today the Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee of the European Parliament voted on the European Telecoms Single Market proposal. With its provisions that put net neutrality at risk, this contentious E.U. legislation will have a critical impact on how European users experience the internet since across the continent.

It’s time to expand the public discourse. It’s time to talk about how to properly secure data and defend privacy.