Hitting Milestones: Weekly News Update from OpenMedia.ca

Hello!

Here's Lindsey with your update:

The pro-Internet community has a lot to be proud of this week—from hitting a milestone on the StopTheTrap.net campaign, to a victory in the U.S. against American online spying bill CISPA. But Big Telecom's still fighting hard, using all of its lobbyist might to gain more and more control.

For the Internet, 

- The OpenMedia.ca Team

Recent News

An incredible milestone in the push against the TPP's Internet trap

Thanks to all of you who have added your name to the petition at http://StopTheTrap.net/, and those who have taken the crucial step of spreading the word, the global pro-Internet movement hit a milestone today: 100,000-strong against the TPP's Internet trap.

The TPP is secretive, extreme, and it could criminalize daily use of the Internet. But people around the world are making their voices heard, and those voices are getting louder and louder. Let's keep going. Read more »

U.S. spying bill CISPA defeated on the Senate floor

After a long battle, the global pro-Internet community saw a victory today as U.S. online spying bill CISPA was defeated on the Senate floor. Like Canada's online spying bill C-30, CISPA would give the U.S. government access to residents' personal data with few restrictions or privacy safeguards.

Though in April, the U.S. House of Representatives rushed through a vote on CISPA and passed it, the massive outcry around the bill allowed the Senate version to be stopped.

We at OpenMedia.ca are incredibly proud to have helped the Canadian pro-Internet community been a part of this—from participating in Stop Cyber Spying Week to making it clear that CISPA would have implications in Canada. Read more »

Postmedia: Rogers seeks court approval to lie to Canadians

Today Rogers is butting heads with the Competition Bureau in the Ontario Superior Court. This big telecom company is seeking court approval to lie to Canadians in their advertising. This after Rogers was called out for making false claims in their ads.

Pro-Internet community member Brian Kno—who shared this on our Facebook Wall—boils it down well: "If they win then every single conman could claim the same bull!"

Article by Sarah Schmidt for Postmedia News:

A company’s right to free expression is up against Canada’s truth-in-advertising rules as Rogers Communications and the Competition Bureau begin to duke it out in court Tuesday over the constitutionality of the Competition Act. Read more »

Ars Technica: Privacy protections must keep pace to protect against digital dragnets

If we don't stand together now, we're looking at a future where corporations and governments could access the private information of any citizen at any time. We don't want this for Canada. But there are two strong threats to our Internet freedom on the horizon: the secretive and extreme TPP agreement, and warrantless online spying bill C-30.

Article by Mark Stanley and Jake Laperruque for Ars Technica:

Will government surveillance finally become a political issue for middle-class Americans?

Until recently, average Americans could convince themselves they were safe from government snooping. Yes, the government engaged in warrantless wiretaps, but those were directed at terrorists. Yes, movies and TV shows featured impressive technology, with someone’s location highlighted in real time on a computer screen, but such capabilities were used only to track drug dealers and kidnappers. Read more »

The 2012 BC Information Summit: This Time, It’s Personal

We at OpenMedia.ca are getting excited about the 2012 bi-annual BC Information Summit: This Time, It’s Personal: Freedom of Information and Privacy Under Government 2.0. The Summit will be held on September 19 and will focus on the BC Government’s sweeping “Citizens @ The Center: Government 2.0” initiative, which aims to to improve communication between government bodies and service providers in order to create “citizen-centred services.”

The Summit is being organized by the Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA), a coalition member from our StopSpying.ca campaign. Like FIPA, we believe that new technologies can be remarkable tools for openness, accountability, and participation, but they can also become the keys to surveillance and control when in the hands of powerful interests. Read more »