No ID Checks for Web Access
Take action! What’s the problem? The Government has proposed amendments to the Children Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which would give Ministers the power to restrict access to "internet services". This is supposed to give the Government the power to ban under 16s from social media but “internet services" is a very broad definition, which means any online platform can be included. The wording of the amendment means they could do this without even having to prove that these sites are harmful for children.
Tell the Government: Protect VPN use in the UK
Take action! Protect VPN use in the UK VPNs help people to stay private and safe online. Young people use them to avoid harassment, or protect location data. Companies use them to make sure remote log-in to their networks are secure. Journalists, campaigners and whistle blowers use them to protect their work and themselves. But the Government wants to force people to verify their age when they buy a VPN. This will deter people from using VPNs to stay safe and secure online. Why are the government proposing restrictions to accessing VPNs?
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Chat monitoring sneaked into Online Safety Bill through back door measure
For immediate release The Open Rights Group’s policy manager on Freedom of Expression, Dr. Monica Horten said: “Over 40 million people use these services in the UK. This is a massive expansion in surveillance capacity hidden inside a bill designed to protect children from harmful content”. “Children deserve to grow up in a free society. […]
Who’s checking on your chats in private online spaces?
A policy brief on the inclusion of private communications in scope of the Online Safety Bill and the impact on end-to-end encryption
Chat monitoring of private messaging services has sneaked into the Online Safety Bill with very little public debate or Parliamentary Scrutiny.
Proposed changes to Online Safety Bill will not protect free speech
Responding to the news that PM Rishi Sunak has ordered the Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan to ditch the “legal but harmful” clause and bring back the controversial Online Safety Bill back to the House of Commons before Christmas, [1] the Executive Director of the Open Rights Group, Jim Killock, said: “This proposed change will not protect free […]
ICO fails to protect World Cup fans
Last week, several news outlets reported that Qatar’s World Cup apps pose serious privacy and security risks. Visitors to Qatar are required to download two apps: Ehteraz, a COVID-19 tracking application, and Hayya, which allows fans entry into the football stadiums and access to transportation services. In particular, Ehteraz can read and write to a […]
Global encryption coalition warns of Online Safety Bill dangers
70 organizations, cyber security experts, and elected officials sign open letter expressing dangers of Online Safety Bill
On 24 November, seventy civil society organizations, companies, elected officials, and cybersecurity experts, including Global Encryption Coalition members, published an open letter to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak highlighting their concerns with the threat that the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Bill poses to end-to-end encryption.
Twitter Crisis – What we need to do
The Twitter crisis threatens people in many diverse ways. We could lose access to audiences, networks, and communities valuable for socialising, business,campaigning and support. We may lose touch with friends and colleagues. Twitter may itself inflict terrible damage on itself. Whatever emerges from Twitter, we should not be passive. There is an enormous popular movement […]
Digital Trade and the EU – Post Brexit
On Friday, 21 October, the Wales Cross Party Group on Digital Rights, of which Open Rights Group (ORG) is the secretariat, held an online event discussing the EU and digital trade post-Brexit and in the wake of new legislation.
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Andii אַנדִֽי
Tim (Wadhwa-)Brown 
Open Rights Group