Forensic insights from
the world's most experienced
privacy advocate.
By Simon Davies As readers will know all too well, a fiercely complex tension has existed for decades at the core of the privacy realm. It involves a constantly changing equation that determines the relationship between public interest and privacy rights. Put simplistically, it’s the line between my right to own or control my information, …
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By Simon Davies As loathsome as Donald Trump’s policies (rabid prejudices) may appear to be, it would be wrong to sanctify Hilary Clinton by default. The bottom line is that both leading candidates have a terrible track record on privacy. This should come as no surprise. Anyone who has lived through the inaugurations …
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By Simon Davies Astute readers will have noted – probably with dismay – the rise of a new genre of online news headline. It’s a style that has the potential to become even more infuriating than the syntactic ambiguity of the “red top” tabloids (e.g. “Headless Body in Topless Bar“). These emergent headlines are maddening …
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By Simon Davies I spent nearly twenty years as a university lecturer unsuccessfully trying to figure a way to make authentication a fun and popular topic, and only now have I cracked the problem. It’s all about “pull” and “push” and making people in call centres read out hilariously stupid words from their screen. I …
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With huge thanks to our friend and Privacy Surgeon collaborator Gemma Galdon Clavell for this translation Los 20 principios sobre la privacidad que no te enseñarán en la escuela Por Simon Davies PRINCIPIOS GENERALES 1. Las organizaciones responsables describen la privacidad como un ‘derecho’, las que no se enteran hablan de ella como un ‘valor’ …
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By Simon Davies GENERAL PRINCIPLES 1. Responsible organisations describe privacy as a “right”, unaware ones talk of it as a “value” and bad players lambast it as an “interest”. 2. Most people in power only support privacy rights when they’re about to get dumped into a scandal. 3. Claims of a conflict between privacy and …
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By Simon Davies A controversy has been slipping increasingly into the privacy realm over the past couple of years. It concerns the question of whether intrusive surveillance can be justified through its results. That’s to say, if surveillance can be shown to – even marginally – benefit public safety, should we accept it? It’s the …
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By Simon Davies There’s no elegant way to express the following idea, but here goes anyway. To put it bluntly, I’ve stopped worrying about whether the public cares about privacy – and I believe privacy advocates should stop worrying about it too. I’ll go even further. Unless human rights activists and their philanthropic backers abandon …
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The Privacy Surgeon’s Simon Davies recalls his brushes with terrorist attacks across the world, the friends he has lost – and explains why he believes the fight for individual liberties is more important now than ever. Like many of my fellow Londoners, I remember, with vivid clarity the morning of 7th July 2005. More than …
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By Simon Davies I’m starting to believe the so-called “migration crisis” facing Europe is little more than a tragic confidence trick. Worryingly, however, it involves dangerous consequences for the rights of every EU resident. I’m not being heartless. Yes, thousands of refugees have lost their lives in the struggle to reach EU borders. Many more …
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