Forensic insights from
the world's most experienced
privacy advocate.
By Simon Davies I died a few months ago. Literally died. Body functions ceased, heart stopped, lungs paralysed. Cast deep into a coma, I swung precariously between life and death for a month. Yes, I know being brought back from clinical death is no big deal in the larger scheme of things. It happens to …
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By Simon Davies Following a complaint to the Icelandic Prime Minister over surveillance activities by Christmas trolls, the Privacy Surgeon has escalated its campaign against intrusive Christmas entities by writing to Russian president Vladamir Putin to formally complain about mass surveillance being routinely conducted by Santa Claus. The complaint is set out below. 20th December 2016 …
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In the second part of a two-part series, Simon Davies examines the ongoing controversy over arrangements for exchange of information and judicial process between nations. Last week, the European Parliament approved a new Umbrella Agreement to protect personal information that is passed between the law enforcement authorities in the EU and the US. It’s a …
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Over the past two years, the US and UK governments have been aggressively moving to further undermine privacy protection for access to data in the Cloud. In the first of a two-part series, Simon Davies reports on a landmark US case being contested by Microsoft and a secret trans-Atlantic law enforcement access deal. In the …
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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 …
Read More...The PrivacySurgeon is owned and operated by Simon Davies - Initial design by Scarab Designs Ltd - Implementation, coding and maintenance by Jim & Pete.
