- nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

consultazione on line sulla domanda di open data a partire dall'8 marzo
by Mauro Alovisio March 8, 2017

March 8, 2017

Gent.mi/me segnalo consultazione on line sugli Open data promossa dal Ministero dello sviluppo economico Dall’ 8 marzo e per 30 giorni il Ministero lancia una consultazione pubblica on line <http://questionari.mise.gov.it/index.php/464811/lang-it> in cui gli utenti possono indicare i dati di maggiore interesse. Grazie a questa consultazione il Ministero potrà recepire gli interessi specifici dei propri utenti e costruire nuovi dataset per migliorare il servizio Open data già online sul sito. http://www.mise.gov.it/index.php/it/per-i-media/notizie/2036125-saa-2017-se… Cordiali saluti Mauro Alovisio

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The CIA Campaign to Steal Apple’s Secrets
by Alberto Cammozzo March 8, 2017

March 8, 2017

<https://theintercept.com/2015/03/10/ispy-cia-campaign-steal-apples-secrets/> RESEARCHERS WORKING with the Central Intelligence Agency have conducted a multi-year, sustained effort to break the security of Apple’s iPhones and iPads, according to top-secret documents obtained by The Intercept. The security researchers presented their latest tactics and achievements at a secret annual gathering, called the “Jamboree,” where attendees discussed strategies for exploiting security flaws in household and commercial electronics. The conferences have spanned nearly a decade, with the first CIA-sponsored meeting taking place a year before the first iPhone was released. By targeting essential security keys used to encrypt data stored on Apple’s devices, the researchers have sought to thwart the company’s attempts to provide mobile security to hundreds of millions of Apple customers across the globe. Studying both “physical” and “non-invasive” techniques, U.S. government-sponsored research has been aimed at discovering ways to decrypt and ultimately penetrate Apple’s encrypted firmware. This could enable spies to plant malicious code on Apple devices and seek out potential vulnerabilities in other parts of the iPhone and iPad currently masked by encryption. The CIA declined to comment for this story. The security researchers also claimed they had created a modified version of Apple’s proprietary software development tool, Xcode, which could sneak surveillance backdoors into any apps or programs created using the tool. Xcode, which is distributed by Apple to hundreds of thousands of developers, is used to create apps that are sold through Apple’s App Store. The modified version of Xcode, the researchers claimed, could enable spies to steal passwords and grab messages on infected devices. Researchers also claimed the modified Xcode could “force all iOS applications to send embedded data to a listening post.” It remains unclear how intelligence agencies would get developers to use the poisoned version of Xcode. Researchers also claimed they had successfully modified the OS X updater, a program used to deliver updates to laptop and desktop computers, to install a “keylogger.” Other presentations at the CIA conference have focused on the products of Apple’s competitors, including Microsoft’s BitLocker encryption system, which is used widely on laptop and desktop computers running premium editions of Windows. [...] The Apple research is consistent with a much broader secret U.S. government program to analyze “secure communications products, both foreign and domestic” in order to “develop exploitation capabilities against the authentication and encryption schemes,” according to the 2013 Congressional Budget Justification. Known widely as the “Black Budget,” the top-secret CBJ was provided to /The Intercept/ by Snowden and gives a sprawling overview of the U.S. intelligence community’s spending and architecture. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. As of 2013, according to the classified budget, U.S. intelligence agencies were creating new capabilities against dozens of commercially produced security products, including those made by American companies, to seek out vulnerabilities. [..]

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Google Can’t Avoid Privacy Suit Over Biometric Face Prints
by Alberto Cammozzo March 8, 2017

March 8, 2017

Via libera anche contro Google secondo il Biometric Information Privacy Act <https://bol.bna.com/google-cant-avoid-privacy-suit-over-biometric-face-prin…> Google users who say the company’s facial recognition technology flouts their privacy rights won the first round of a court fight. A federal judge in Chicago ruled Monday that the world’s largest search engine must face claims that it violated the privacy of millions of users by gathering and storing biometric data without their consent. Facebook Inc. is fighting similar claims in San Francisco federal court. U.S. District Judge Edmond E. Chang’s decision to let the class-action case proceed might leave Google on the hook under a unique Illinois law for fines of $1,000 to $5,000 each time a person’s image is used without permission. A court victory for consumers could lead to restrictions similar to those in Europe and Canada on Google’s use of biometrics in the U.S. Courts have struggled over what qualifies as an injury to pursue a privacy case in lawsuits accusing Facebook and Google of siphoning users’ personal information from e-mails and monitoring their web-browsing habits. Suits over selling the data to advertisers have often failed. Alphabet Inc.’s Google contended the images at issue are excluded from Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act because they are derived from photographs. The digital face prints wouldn’t qualify as “biometric identifiers” under the law unless they were obtained from in-person scans, the company said in a court filing. Chang rejected that argument. “A photograph is just that — a photograph, not a scan of face geometry, which is a set of biology-based measurements,” he wrote. “If Google simply captured and stored the photographs and did not measure and generate scans of face geometry, then there would be no violation of the act,” the judge said. Google spokesman William Fitzgerald didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday’s ruling after regular business hours. The judge also dismissed Google’s argument that the Illinois law violates interstate commerce protections in the U.S. Constitution by regulating conduct beyond the state’s boundaries. The company said it can’t always know whether a photo was taken in Illinois, or has some connection to the state.” Lawyers for the users said that to comply with the Illinois law, the company must stop using its scanning software to catalog the facial geometry of individuals in photographs that are uploaded within the state to the company’s cloud-based Google Photos. /The cases are Rivera v. Google, 16-cv-02714, and Weiss v. Google Inc., 16-cv-02870, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago)./

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detect travellers with hostile intentions
by Alberto Cammozzo March 7, 2017

March 7, 2017

L'aeroporto è sempre più il laboratorio autoritario biometrico-digitale: questo robot-macchina della verità è stato testato in UE, in due aeroporti romeni. Rileva iride, impronta vocale, traccia lo sguardo, fa riconoscimento facciale, pressione dei piedi sul pavimento per rilevare viaggiatori malintenzionati in base alla manifestazione di emozioni. Robot per fabbricare robot... <http://www.airport-technology.com/features/featurerobotic-detection-a-new-a…> Robotic detection: a new approach for airport security? A San Diego State University professor has developed a robotic kiosk that could help detect travellers with hostile intentions. Could this be the next wave of airport security? The only thing that’s long and cumbersome about the AVATAR system is its name: Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real-Time. As a physical form, it’s similar to an airport check-in or shop self-checkout kiosk. The difference comes in the technology. AVATAR is all about understanding behaviour and, crucially, detecting potential security risks. It is currently being tested by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA). “What are the strategies people use when trying to manage the impression that other people have of them?” asks San Diego State University management information systems professor, Aaron Elkins, part of the team behind the invention. “It [AVATAR] is based on our understanding of the subtleties of behaviour.” Passengers are required to stand in front of the kiosk – which has a ‘face’ on the screen – to be asked questions, such as: ‘are you engaged in smuggling?’ An array of sensors judges the reply, and responds accordingly. If it believes something warrants further investigation, the individual is flagged for further questioning by a human border official or security personnel. Here, Elkins delves deeper into the development of the technology, his hopes for its future use in airports, and why AVATAR should be seen as evolutionary, not revolutionary. [...]

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US government asks High Court to refuse Facebook case referral
by Alberto Cammozzo March 6, 2017

March 6, 2017

I toni si alzano nella causa Facebook Irlanda: il governo US entra nel gioco senza troppa diplomazia. <http://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/us-government-asks-high-court…> The US government has urged the High Court <http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_organisation=High%20C…> to refuse the Data Protection Commissioner’s bid to have the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) decide issues with potentially enormous consequences for EU-US data transfers. Eileen Barrington SC, for the US, said the commissioner’s “unique”, “unusual” and “unprecedented” application for a reference to the CJEU was based on the commissioner’s “fatally flawed” draft finding concerning adequacy of remedies available in the US for breach of data privacy rights of EU citizens. This application was of “critical significance” to the US for legal and commercial reasons and should be dismissed for reasons including that it had been “entirely overtaken by events”, particularly the 2016 agreement between the European Commission <http://www.irishtimes.com/topics/european-commission> and US on the Privacy Shield framework for EU-US data transfers. Ms Barrington was also instructed it was “inconceivable” to suggest measures governing activities of the US intelligence community could just “disappear” or be “surreptitiously revoked” by orders or measures of the US executive. She was making submissions in the continuing action by commissioner Helen Dixon <http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Helen%20Dixon&…>, brought after she reached a draft finding in May 2016 that Austrian lawyer Max Schrems <http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Max%20Schrems&…> had “well-founded” objections concerning transfer of his personal data by Facebook <http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_company=Facebook&arti…> Ireland to its US parent, Facebook Inc. [...] ciao, Alberto

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Call for papers "Post-verità e odio online: verso un nuovo paradigma di responsabilità delle piattaforme digitali?"
by Bassini, Marco March 6, 2017

March 6, 2017

Cari Tutti, mi pregio di segnalarvi la prima call for paper sul tema in oggetto di MediaLaws, di cui trovate tutti i dettagli nel flyer allegato. Cari saluti, Marco -- Marco Bassini Dipartimento di Studi Giuridici "Angelo Sraffa" Università Commerciale "L. Bocconi" Via Roentgen, 1 20136 Milano Stanza 1-C1-07 Direct +39.02.5836.5611 Mobile (ITA) +39.329.2478832 Mobile (US) +1(518)965.9671 View my SSRN page View my Academia.edu page

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95° Mercoledì di Nexa - 8 marzo 2017
by Francesco Ruggiero March 6, 2017

March 6, 2017

*REMINDER*: vi ricordiamo che mercoledì 8 marzo 2017, dalle ore 18 alle ore 20, si svolgerà il 95° Mercoledì di Nexa, con un incontro dal titolo: *"La pubblica amministrazione digitale e aperta. Evoluzione in atto".* Ospite dell'incontro *Fernanda Faini* (Presidente del Circolo dei Giuristi Telematici). Ingresso libero, webcast live all'indirizzo: http://nexa.polito.it/upcoming-events. Maggiori informazioni sono disponibili all'indirizzo: *https://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi-95 <https://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi-95>* Cordiali saluti, Francesco Il giorno 27 febbraio 2017 11:52, Francesco Ruggiero < francesco.ruggiero(a)polito.it> ha scritto: > Se non visualizzi correttamente questo messaggio clicca qui > <http://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi-95> > [image: NEXA] > > 95° Mercoledì di Nexa > Mercoledì 8 marzo 2017, ore 18.00 - 20.00 > > Politecnico di Torino > > http://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi-95 > La pubblica amministrazione digitale e aperta. Evoluzione in atto > > Speaker > Fernanda Faini (Presidente del Circolo dei Giuristi Telematici) > > This event will be webcast live: http://nexa.polito.it/upcoming-events > > Dal 2005 sono stati numerosi e incessanti gli interventi di modifica e > integrazione del* Codice dell’amministrazione digitale (CAD - d.lgs. > 82/2005)*, principale atto normativo di riferimento dell’e-government e > open government in Italia. L’ultima riforma recata dal d.lgs. 179/2016 è > particolarmente incisiva e deriva dalla delega di cui all’art. 1 della > legge 124/2015, rubricato significativamente “Carta della cittadinanza > digitale”. Infatti, alla luce della riconosciuta centralità delle > tecnologie digitali nei rapporti tra cittadini, imprese e pubbliche > amministrazioni quale strumento per un processo di reingegnerizzazione e > innovazione dell’amministrazione, l’ottica si sposta dalla digitalizzazione > delle amministrazioni pubbliche alla *cittadinanza digitale *e ai diritti > di cittadini e imprese. In specifico, nella riforma si intende fortificare > e rendere effettivi i diritti digitali dei cittadini nei confronti delle > amministrazioni; nel farlo si intende garantire a cittadini e imprese il > diritto di accedere a tutti i dati, i documenti e i servizi di loro > interesse in modalità digitale e assicurare la semplificazione nell’accesso > ai servizi. > > Al fine di realizzare questi obiettivi, *la riforma incide in modo > profondo sulle diverse dimensioni che caratterizzano l’agere pubblico > afferenti alle competenze, alla governance, all’organizzazione e ai > procedimenti delle amministrazioni pubbliche*, dimensioni che emergono > dai principi e criteri direttivi della legge delega 124/2015 e dalle > modifiche e integrazioni introdotte nel CAD dal d.lgs. 179/2016. La riforma > è pervasa dall’ulteriore dimensione trasversale, che consiste > nell’obiettivo di garantire effettività alle misure proposte, e dal > principio generale di garantire al Codice “piena esplicazione”, adeguando > la normativa italiana alle disposizioni europee, garantendo la coerenza > giuridica, logica e sistematica delle disposizioni presenti > nell’ordinamento giuridico e coordinando le discipline speciali con i > principi del Codice. L’intervento esaminerà le dimensioni in cui si > articola l’evoluzione dell’amministrazione digitale, *analizzando le > novità più significative e delineando il nuovo volto delle amministrazioni > pubbliche*. > > BIOGRAFIE - e informazioni supplementari > > [image: [FAINI]] > > *Fernanda Faini <http://fernandafaini.it>* è responsabile dell’assistenza > giuridica e normativa in materia di amministrazione digitale, innovazione e > open government presso Regione Toscana. Collabora come docente > nell’insegnamento di Informatica giuridica presso la Scuola di > Giurisprudenza dell’Università degli Studi di Firenze, dove si è laureata > con lode ed è cultore della materia. Ha conseguito il Master in Management > Pubblico ed E-Government presso l’Università del Salento. Dottoranda in > Scienze giuridiche presso l’Università di Bologna - CIRSFID > <https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/fernanda.faini>nel curriculum Diritto e > nuove tecnologie. Componente del Comitato di redazione della Rivista > scientifica internazionale “Ciberpazio e Diritto” e della Rivista “Il > Documento Digitale” <http://www.ildocumentodigitale.com/>. Autrice di > pubblicazioni scientifiche, docente in Master universitari e relatrice in > convegni e conferenze nazionali e internazionali. Responsabile National > eGov Law - Area ricerca del Laboratorio eGov dell’Università del Salento. > Membro del Big Data Committee di ISTAT. Membro del Consiglio scientifico e > docente del Master in Gestione dell’Amministrazione Digitale > dell’Università di Pisa. Membro del Program Committee delle Conferenze > scientifiche internazionali ECDG-2017 > <http://www.academic-conferences.org/conferences/ecdg/> (European > Conference on Digital Government) e ICDS-2017 > <https://www.iaria.org/conferences2017/ICDS17.html> (International > Conference on Digital Society and eGovernments). Coordinatrice e membro di > gruppi di lavoro nazionali sulle riforme in materia. Presidente > dell’Associazione nazionale Circolo dei Giuristi Telematici > <http://www.giuristitelematici.it/>(CGT) e componente delle associazioni > nazionali SIFD, ANDIG, SIIG. > > *Letture consigliate e link utili:* > > - Cardarelli F., *Amministrazione digitale, trasparenza e principio di > legalità*, in "Il diritto dell’informazione e dell’informatica" > <https://shop.giuffre.it/catalog/product/view/id/75894/s/il-diritto-dell-inf…>, > fasc. 2, 2015. > - Carloni E., *Tendenze recenti e nuovi principi della > digitalizzazione pubblica*, in "Giornale dir. amm." > <http://shop.wki.it/Ipsoa/Periodici/Giornale_di_Diritto_Amministrativo_s1306…>, > n. 2, 2015. > - Carotti B., *La riforma della pubblica amministrazione – > L’amministrazione digitale e la trasparenza amministrativa* (commento > alla normativa), in "Giornale dir. amm." > <http://shop.wki.it/Ipsoa/Periodici/Giornale_di_Diritto_Amministrativo_s1306…>, > n. 5, 2015. > - Faini F., *L’evoluzione del modello di amministrazione digitale: > dall’e-government all’open government*, in "Rivista elettronica di > Diritto, Economia, Management" > <https://www.clioedu.it/elenco-completo-no/item/rivista-elettronica-di-dirit…>, > n. 1, 2014. > - Trojani F., *Il nuovo codice dell'Amministrazione digitale* > <http://www.maggiolieditore.it/il-nuovo-codice-dell-amministrazione-digitale…>, > Maggioli, 2016. > > > > > Che cosa sono il Centro Nexa e i cicli di incontri “Mercoledì di Nexa” e > “Nexa Lunch Seminar” > > Il Centro Nexa su Internet & Società del Politecnico di Torino > (Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica) è un centro di ricerca > indipendente e interdisciplinare che studia Internet e il suo effetto sulla > società. Maggiori informazioni all'indirizzo: http://nexa.polito.it/about. > > Durante i “*Mercoledì di Nexa*”, che si tengono *ogni 2° mercoledì del > mese* alle *ore 18 in punto*, il Centro Nexa su Internet e Società apre > le sue porte non solo agli esperti e a tutti coloro i quali lavorano con > Internet, ma anche a semplici appassionati e cittadini. Il ciclo di > incontri intende approfondire, con un linguaggio preciso ma divulgativo, i > temi legati alla Rete: motori di ricerca, Creative Commons, social > networks, open source/software libero, neutralità della rete, libertà di > espressione, privacy, file sharing, big e open data, smart cities e molto > altro. > > Al centro di quasi tutti gli incontri un ospite pronto a dialogare con i > direttori del Centro Nexa, il Prof. Juan Carlos De Martin del Politecnico > di Torino e il Prof. Marco Ricolfi dell'Università di Torino, nonché lo > staff e i Fellows del Centro Nexa. > > Maggiori informazioni sui Mercoledì di Nexa, incluso un elenco di tutti i > “Mercoledì” passati, sono disponibili all'indirizzo: > http://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi. > > Si segnala inoltre che dal maggio 2012 *ogni 4° mercoledì* del mese *dalle > ore 13 alle ore 14* il Centro Nexa organizza anche i "*Nexa Lunch Seminar*". > Una lista di tutti i “Lunch Seminar” passati è disponibile all'indirizzo: > http://nexa.polito.it/lunch-seminars. > > See our events calendar <http://nexa.polito.it/events> if you're curious > about future luncheons, discussions, lectures, and conferences not listed > in this email. Our events are free and open to the public, unless otherwise > noted. > > Maggiori informazioni sui Mercoledì di Nexa e i Nexa Lunch Seminar, sono > disponibili all'indirizzo: http://nexa.polito.it/events. Weekly Events > Newsletter. Sign up <http://nexa.polito.it/mailing-lists> to receive this > newsletter if this email was forwarded to you. To manage your subscription > preferences, please click here > <https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa>. > > Connect & get involved: Jobs, internships, and more > <http://nexa.polito.it/get-involved> > > > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa > > -- Francesco Ruggiero Communication Manager Nexa Center for Internet & Society Politecnico di Torino - DAUIN Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24 - 10129 Torino web: http://nexa.polito.it mail: francesco.ruggiero(a)polito.it tel: 011 090 7219

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NYT: "How Uber Used Secret Greyball Tool to Deceive Authorities Worldwide"
by J.C. DE MARTIN March 3, 2017

March 3, 2017

Notare che è successo, a quanto pare, anche in Italia. juan carlos *How Uber Used Secret Greyball Tool to Deceive Authorities Worldwide* SAN FRANCISCO — Uber has for years engaged in a worldwide program to deceive the authorities in markets where its low-cost ride-hailing service was being resisted by law enforcement or, in some instances, had been outright banned. The program, involving a tool called Greyball, uses data collected from the Uber app and other techniques to identify and circumvent officials. Uber used these methods to evade the authorities in cities such as Boston <http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2014/05/29/how-many-boston-uberx-drivers-have…>, Paris and Las Vegas, and in countries like Australia, China, Italy and South Korea. […] Continua qui: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/technology/uber-greyball-program-evade-a…

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Open letter to EU policy-makers on sustaining Community Networks
by Melanie Dulong de Rosnay March 3, 2017

March 3, 2017

// Apologies for cross-posting - Read online: http://netcommons.eu/?q=content/letter-eu-policy- makers-making-regulation-work-community-networks // Dear all, After many discussions with many European Community Networks (CNs), researchers from the netCommons <http://netcommons.eu/> project on network infrastucture as a commons are happy to present a draft open letter on "policy recommendations for sustaining Community Networks". The letter is targeted at European policy-makers, who recently started working on an overhaul of the telecom regulatory framework. https://lqdn.co-ment.com/text/Rl42W44XAc6/view/ This letter, drafted in collaboration with several European CNs and advocacy groups, is meant to offer a collective voice to this growing movement. *Until March 8th*, we would like to collect signatures from as many European CNs as possible, as well as other supporting organizations (from Europe and beyond, be they advocacy groups, research projects, non-profits, SMEs, local authorities, etc.). After this consultation period and the collection of signatures, we would like to send the letter to members of EU Parliament, national delegations at the Council of the EU, as well as to key officials from the EU Commission. Several outcomes can be expected, including: - The publication of a joint press release by all signatories to disseminate the open letter as widely as possible (by the end of March). - Proposals for amendments reflecting the recommendations of this open letter, to be sent to key members of the EU Parliament before the first crucial vote on the Telecoms Package in late April. - A policy workshop to be organized later this year in Brussels. Of course, all of these potential outcomes will depend upon the involvement of signatory organizations, and in particular of the willingness of CNs to work together. But first, we are sharing the draft to a wider circle of CNs and other people interested in their activities for consultation and potential amendments to the text. Until March 8th, you can read and comment on the draft letter, offer corrections and suggest changes or additions by using co-ment, an online tool for collaborative writing: Please read and comment on the open letter. If and when you agree to sign the letter, *please send the name of your organization, the country where it is based and its high-resolution logo at: advocacy(a)netcommons.eu* (note that if your signature is dependent on the response brought to a specific comment you have made, please be sure to tag comment as "blocking"). Thanks, Melanie Dulong de Rosnay Institute of Communication Sciences (CNRS - Paris Sorbonne University) http://www.iscc.cnrs.fr/spip.php?article1558 Partner of netCommons project on network infrastructure as a commons http://netcommons.eu/ ========Text of the open letter========== OPEN LETTER TO EU POLICY-MAKERS: POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUSTAINING COMMUNITY NETWORKS PREAMBLE We represent European Community Networks, a growing movement of organizations that operate local communication infrastructures, sometimes federated at the regional or national levels. These networks, most of which also provide access to the global Internet, are operated as a commons. That is, rather than being driven by for-profit motives, our key focus is on providing connectivity while striving for democratic governance, social inclusion, education, and human rights with respect to communication technologies. Our organizations vary considerably in terms of sizes, types of network infrastructures and political cultures. Yet, despite this diversity, we are united by the common objective to build networks that meet the communication needs of humans (rather than those of objects and machines), through networks that are built and run by our communities, for our communities, focused on local empowerment, affordability and resiliency. Today, we collectively provide broadband connectivity not only to tens of thousands of individual European citizens and residents, but also to organizations including small and medium sized companies, schools, healthcare centers, social projects and many more. In many cases, we have out-competed mainstream operators, by providing cheaper and faster Internet connectivity than incumbent players. Thanks to our infrastructure and through our various activities, we foster scientific and engineering experiments, we help local hosting and service providers come together to mutualise investments and share costs, we support digital literacy and data sovereignty through workshops and other educational activities. Yet, despite our achievements, policy-makers at the national and European levels have so far mostly neglected our existence and specific regulatory needs. Worse, regulation is often hampering our initiatives, making the work of our participants and volunteers harder than it should be. This is why, as you start working on a European code of electronic communications, we decided to contact you and voice our ideas and recommendations regarding the future of the legal and policy framework regulating our activities. 1. Lifting unnecessary regulatory and financial burdens We first ask you to review the regulatory framework and get rid of unnecessary regulatory burdens, such as fees or red-tape that are unnecessary or illegitimate when imposed on small non-profit entities. In Belgium for instance, the registration fee that telecom operators must pay to the NRA is at 676€ for the first registration, plus 557€ every following year (for those whose revenues are below 1M€, which is the case for many community networks). Even such small fees can hinder the growth of small networks that efficiently serve tens of households. In France, Spain and Germany, it is free, which might explain why the community network movement is much more dynamic in these countries. The proposed code for electronic communications aims to harmonize procedures for declaration fees (first registration) as well as administrative charges (annual fees). EU lawmakers must ensure that the fees and charges imposed by national NRAs are null or negligible for non-profit ISPs and micro and small businesses. Likewise, taxes designed for large corporate firms in the telecom sectors should not apply to smaller, non-profit operators. 2. Getting rid of third-party liability when sharing Internet access Several laws seek to prevent the sharing of Internet connections amongst several users by making people responsible (and potentially liable) for all communication made through their Wi-Fi connection, and create legal risks for people sharing their connection. In Germany, rights-holders have used a "secondary liability" doctrine to chill the growth of the community networks movement. In France too, copyright law imposes a secondary liability regime that creates significant legal uncertainty for people sharing their network connections with other users. The so-called "mere conduit", inscribed in EU law since 2000 in the directive on the information society, needs to be guaranteed and expanded to small-area wireless access points. In the same spirit, contract clauses that forbid subscribers to share their connections with others should be prohibited. Promoting a right to share Internet connections is all the more vital considering the economic and ecological crises, as well as the rapid increase of populations that cannot afford access to the Internet. In this context, connection sharing can play a critical role in fostering a more equitable and sustainable use of telecommunications infrastructure. 3. Expanding the spectrum commons It is not just Internet wireless access points that can be shared, but also the intangible infrastructure on which radio signals travel. Wi-Fi, as an unlicensed portion of the spectrum and therefore a commons, is a key asset for community networks willing to set up affordable and flexible last-mile infrastructure. However, these Wi-Fi frequency bands are currently very limited. Not only are they getting increasingly subject to congestion in densely populated areas, they are also exposed to new technical standards that use the so-called ISM frequency band (like LTE-U) that hamper the reliability of Wi-Fi communications. Last but not least, existing frequency bands for Wi-Fi (5,6 Ghz and 2,4 Ghz) have physical constraints that prevent them for being used for longer radio links. In the face of such challenges, a new approach to spectrum policy is needed. Policy-makers should expand unlicensed Wi-Fi bands. Two other types of frequencies should also be made available either on an unlicensed (preferred scenario) or, if not possible, based on affordable and flexible authorization schemes: so-called white spaces in lower frequencies (which allow for cheap and resilient long-distance links) and the 12Ghz and the 60Ghz bands (for which radio equipment is affordable and which can help us build high-bandwidth point-to-point radio links). Once made accessible to community networks, these frequency bands will help these networks roll-out and expand cheap and resilient wireless infrastructures. 4. Updating open-access rules in telecom infrastructures Networks built with taxpayers money should also be treated as a commons and, as such, remain free from corporate capture. Today, their management and exploitation is often delegated by public authorities to corporate network operators. These entities usually adopt aggressive pricing schemes designed for incumbent players that make it extremely costly for small access providers to interconnect with these networks. Access to these publicly-funded networks for non-profit entities like community networks as well as small businesses should be guaranteed, at a reasonable and proportionate cost. Similarly, community networks often cannot have access to the private local infrastructures of incumbent players, despite the fact that these are the only way to connect willing subscribers. Indeed, in many European markets, the deployment of optical fiber networks is (re)creating monopolistic conditions on local loops through pricing schemes which preclude small actors from accessing these private networks. Policy-makers and regulators should ensure that every area is covered by at least one telecom operator with a so-called "bitstream" offer affordable for smaller players. 5. Protecting free software and user freedom in radio equipment In 2014, the European Union adopted Directive 2014/53 on radio equipment. Although the Directive pursues sound policy goals, it might actually impair the development of community networks. Indeed, community networks usually need to replace the software included by the manufacturer in radio hardware with free and open source software especially designed to suit their needs, a collective process that improves security and encourages the recycling of hardware, among other benefits. Article 3.3 of the said Directive creates legal pressure for manufacturers of radio devices to ensure the compliance of the software loaded on these devices with the European regulatory framework. As a result, there is a strong incentive for manufacturers to lock down their devices and prevent third-party modifications of the hardware. We therefore ask policy-makers to provide a general exception for all free software installed on radio devices by third-parties (the latter being liable if their software lead to violations of the regulatory framework), so that users' rights are safeguarded. 6. Abrogating blanket data retention obligations Community networks strive to safeguard human rights in communication networks, and in particular the right to privacy and the confidentiality of communication. While we welcome recent rulings by the Court of Justice of the European Union holding that indiscriminate retention of metadata violates the Charter of Fundamental Rights, we are concerned about several member states' willingness to circumvent these rulings to protect capabilities for indiscriminate surveillance. As EU lawmakers start discussing the overhaul of the ePrivacy Directive, we call on them to oppose any blanket data retention obligations and close existing loopholes in EU law to ensure that only targeted and limited retention obligations can be imposed on hosting and access providers. 7. Bringing direct and targeted public support Countless other policy initiatives can help support community networks and the associated significant benefits they bring, such as small grants, crowd-funding and subsidies to help our groups buy servers and radio equipment, communicate around their initiative, giving them access to public infrastructures (for instance, the roof of a public building to install an antenna), but also to support their research on radio transmission, routing methods, software or encryption. As many local authorities have found, supporting community networks is a sound policy option. As EU lawmakers move forward on the WiFi4EU initiative, we would like to remind you that we have pioneered various models for the provision of free public access points. We believe that public money invested in this initiative should primarily go to groups pursuing a bottom-up logic, seeding local groups that can foster the empowerment and cohesion of local communities, nurture competition, and meet the same policy-objectives at a fraction of the cost that would be charged by mainstream telecom operators. 8. Opening the policy-making process to Community Networks Although we have often partnered with municipalities and local public authorities, we ask that national and European regulators pay more attention to our activities when drafting regulation. Community networks have both the expertise and legitimacy to take an integral part in technical and legal debates over broadband policy in which traditional, commercial ISPs are over-represented. Community networks can bring an informed view to these debates, allowing for a policy-making process more attuned to the public interest. We thank you for your attention and very much look forward to engaging with you on these important issues, First signatories (EU-based community networks) Aquilenet (France) Franciliens.net (France) Freifunk Hamburg (Germany) (Incoming) Supporting organizations (advocacy groups, research projects, public authorities, SMEs, etc.) La Quadrature du Net (Incoming) For any inquiry regarding this open letter, write to: advocacy(a)netcommons.eu http://netcommons.eu/?q=content/letter-eu-policy-makers-making-regulation-w…

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'Big Data from the South/desde el Sur' deadline extension and special issue
by Milan, Stefania March 2, 2017

March 2, 2017

Ciao a tutti/e The deadline for ‘Big Data from the South/desde el Sur’ has been extended to March 15th. Please submit in either English or Spain to iamcr2017(a)data-activism.net. Please note that we have been invited to submit a special issue proposal for a peer-reviewed, international and indexed journal based on papers from the event :-) We look forward to your papers! We are happy to consider as many "Souths" as you imagine, perceive and study them! Best, Stefania and Emiliano [Español abajo] Deadline for abstract: March 15 Big Data from the South: From media to mediations, from datafication to data activism Organizers: Stefania Milan (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands & University of Oslo, Norway) & Emiliano Treré (Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy). Critical scholarship has exposed how big data brings along new and opaque regimes of population management, control, and discrimination. Building on this scholarship, this pre-conference engages in a dialogue with traditions that critique the dominance of Western approaches to datafication that do not recognize the diversity of the Global South. Moving from datafication to data activism, this event will examine the diverse ways through which citizens and the organized civil society in the Global South engage in bottom-up data practices for social change as well as resistance to “dark” uses of big data that increase oppression and inequality. Location: Cartagena, Colombia Date and Time: July 15, 2017, 10am-6pm http://cartagena2017.iamcr.org/big-data-from-the-south-from-media-to-mediat… ------- Big Data desde el sur: de los medios a las mediaciones, de la dataficación al activismo de datos http://cartagena2017.iamcr.org/big-data-from-the-south-from-media-to-mediat… Organizadores: Stefania Milan (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands & University of Oslo, Norway), Emiliano Treré (Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy). Fecha y Hora: Julio 15, 2017 de 10am – 6pm Descripción de la conferencia: La crítica académica ha hecho evidente cómo el big data implica nuevos y opacos regímenes de gestión demográfica, control y discriminación. Con base en estas elaboraciones, la pre-conferencia se involucra en un diálogo con las tradiciones críticas al dominio de las perspectivas occidentales sobre la dataficación, que no reconocen la diversidad del Sur Global. Trasladándose de la dataficación al activismo de datos, este evento examinará las maneras diversas en que los ciudadanos y la sociedad civil organizada en el Sur Global se involucran en prácticas de datos horizontales en pro del cambio social, así como en resistencias frente a usos “oscuros” de los big data que aumentan la opresión y la desigualdad. ---------------------- Stefania Milan, PhD University of Amsterdam || mediastudies.nl || Principal Investigator, DATACTIVE || data-activism.net Councilor, Generic Names Supporting Organization, ICANN mobile: [31] 62 7875 425 (NL) || [1] 647 - 973 - 6533 (CA) || [+39] 333 - 2309945 (I) stefaniamilan.net || @annliffey fingerprint: 7606 4526 3D24 20B2 C850 EA42 A497 CB70 04B5 A3B The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination, distribution, forwarding, or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited without the express permission of the sender. If you received this communication in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer.

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