Tag: Telcos

More disappointing news from the Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes is spreading around Brussels. Contrary to previous statements made by the Commissioner, there are no clear network neutrality provisions contained in forthcoming Regulation for the Telecom Single Market, according to a leaked draft recently published by European Digital Rights (EDRi).

The Amash-Conyers amendment, the U.S. Congress’ first attempt to limit the NSA surveillance, may have been unsuccessful. But its narrow loss demonstrates the growing force behind the call to reform these programs. To know where we go from here, its important to look at the potential impact of this amendment.

Access joined a broad coalition in sending a letter to US government officials calling on the government to a) ensure internet, telephone, and web-based service providers be allowed to regularly report specific data regarding intelligence information requests, and to b) establish its own transparency report with specific data on number of requests, statutes, authorities, and affected individuals.

Some of the world’s leading sustainable investment firms have joined the growing chorus of voices speaking out against private sector compliance in the U.S. government’s sweeping violations of human rights through its widely publicized NSA surveillance programs.

Myanmar has chosen the two winners of its new telecoms licenses, Telenor Mobile Communications of Norway and Ooredoo of Qatar. After winning the highly competitive process, they will have their work cut out for them, both operationally and in with regards to human rights.

After almost four years of discussion, Ecuador’s National Assembly passed a new Communications Law, providing a legal framework for the fundamental right to communications considered in the Constitution of 2008. While this new legislation represents a great advance for internet access, along with a more equitable distribution of public spectrum, it also contains some provisions that represent a threat to freedom of expression.

To help telcos address these concerns, Access has developed guidance for telcos and other information and communication technology (ICT) firms in our new paper, Forgotten Pillar: The Telco Remedy Plan. The paper will be officially released at a special event open to the public in Washington, DC, on Monday June 24th.

As secrets about the NSA’s surveillance programs continue to command the world’s attention, some communications companies involved are advocating that the US government allow them to reveal more about their participation in the programs in order to maintain their reputations.

Update: After members of civil society, including Access, submitted a proposal to the governing body of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the ITU Council, calling for more steps to be taken “to meet the goal of an open, transparent, and multistakeholder debate,” the ITU Council has rejected proposals to open up the Council Working Group on Internet Related Public Policy Issues (CWG-Internet) at its most recent session.

Access has partnered with ARTICLE 19, PEN International, and English PEN on a joint submission on Vietnam to the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which focuses on the lack of improvement of human rights, specifically freedom of expression, in Vietnam and highlights the Vietnamese government’s troubling response to the recent increase in cyber attacks against civil society.