Posts by Simon Davies 2

Googlegate: Mapping a scandal of global proportions

PI and Phorm - a statement

"Your work with NoDPI was awesome - so why do you need to get into bed with PI, which in my (and a lot of others') opinion has been discredited by its connections with Phorm and therefore its refusal to condemn same?"

Yeah, funny that isn't it. PI which allegedly "SO" supports Phorm ends up employing Phorm's most ardent and most influential critic and then gives him the resources and the freedom to do and say whatever he wants. Wow, that really must have impressed Phorm no end. Indeed judging by the almost maniacly angry phone call I received from Kent Ertugral (Phorm's CEO) when Alex's appointment was announced I'd say the company had a collective stroke when Alex moved to PI where he has international influence.

NoDPI was a great initiative, but Alex is now representing the issue to every country in the world and every inter-governmental forum. He's making a difference at the global level. If you could unpeel the cheeseburger wrappers from your eyes and climb out of your silo you'd realise that.

Now let me repeat something I've said publicly before:

"I condemtn Phorm, Audience Science and all their ilk as a blight on privacy. Any hope I once had of influencing them for the better was a gross misjudgment. These companies are interested in making money, and the only way they know how to make profit is by monetising the privacy of consumers. Governments need to step in to outlaw opt-out behavioural advertising".

Simon Davies

I don't want to sound defensive but...

I do become irritated about all these comments along the lines of "why doesn't Privacy International address all the other more important issues like...." or "why doesn't Privacy International focus on more pressing stuff like...."

We DO. I suppose you're all busy people and don't have time to read the press reports or even our own sites, but just in the past month we've been engaged heavily on (to name just a few):

- Airport body scanners

- The Internet censorship crisis in Pakistan

- Microsoft Health Vault

- Political manifesto issues in the UK

- Excessive ANPR data and our legal action on that

- Genetic privacy

- The EU Data Protection Directive "reforms"

- Facebook's privacy practices

- Written Directive 29 on extending data retention to search

- New CCTV regulations for the UK

- The Identity Documents Bill and repeal of the ID Cards Act

- Establishing a Privacy Rights Centre in the UK

I could go on, but you get the picture I'm sure. Yes it IS a big world out there, but please stop asserting that PI isn't engaging with it as best we can.

SD

Pakistani lawyer petitions for death of Mark Zuckerberg

Extradition

Pakistan does have an extradition treaty with the US, but as is usually the case the US will not extradite their own citizens.

One problem may arise when Zuckerberg travels to other coutries with an extradition agreement with Pakistan. And of course therwe's always the extraordinary rendition option, not that either of these outcomes is likely.

Don't underestimate the strength of feeling in Pakistan about this matter. And don't underestimate the determination of the government to shut down the Internet, with or without Zuckerberg.