Forensic insights from
the world's most experienced
privacy advocate.
By Simon Davies I received a troubling email this week from a straight-shooting Privacy Surgeon reader. He asked why I’m “so angry about everything”. This subversive poke needs to be shared for comment. Over nearly thirty years as a privacy advocate I’ve been accused of being everything from a propagandist for the hard-left, to a …
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By Simon Davies If anyone wants proof of the relevance of privacy, they need only reflect on the fact that over the past three years, almost every government and corporation on earth has been repeatedly forced to address the issue. Wherever you turn – the WTO, WEF, IMF, the UN, the ILO or even Bilderberg …
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By Simon Davies In one of the most important online privacy developments of recent years, the Italian data protection regulator has issued a ruling that requires Google not only to explicitly inform users of the extent of commercial processing of their data, but to also secure customer consent before that data can be used. It …
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By Simon Davies Just for a moment, let’s imagine the unimaginable. Imagine that national security agencies were forced to undergo the same competition and internal market tests that apply, increasingly, to other government agencies. It’s a wild thought, but a tantalizing one. What would happen if national security agencies had to present an actual case …
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By Simon Davies The largest global study conducted to-date on public attitudes to communications surveillance in the post-Snowden era has revealed widespread opposition to US spying across all continents. The Pew Research Center’s “Global Attitudes Project” conducted extensive interviews with participants in 44 countries and identified heightened public concern over surveillance of citizens by the …
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By Simon Davies The UK government has introduced emergency legislation called the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Bill. It is a thoroughly confusing piece of law, highly dangerous to privacy and a blatant abuse of democratic process. To help explain what it’s all about here’s a conversation between David Cameron and the ambulance service. We’re …
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By Simon Davies In a rare moment of political unity, reminiscent of the days that followed the 9/11 attacks on the US, all three major UK parties have signed onto “emergency” legislation that will force Internet and phone companies to store data on the activities of all their customers. Borrowing from the techniques of some …
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By Simon Davies British Airways this week announced sweeping new security measures that will permit the airline to turn away passengers who are carrying a mobile phone that isn’t fully charged. In the past any suspect device could be confiscated. Under the new rules the passenger’s seat is confiscated. Media organisations have been struggling to …
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By Simon Davies In his column this week for Britain’s Observer newspaper, the enormously entertaining David Mitchell reflected on a recent shock decision by Google to sever its search links to a blog post authored by the respected UK business journalist Robert Peston. The decision stems – ostensibly – from a recent judgement by the …
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EXCLUSIVE to the Privacy Surgeon My dear colonists, On the occasion of your loud celebration of independence from Britain, I have decided to break precedent by offering this royal salutation from across the pond. I need to begin by acknowledging the elephant in the room. You might not know this, but your stroppy tantrum …
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