4 ms·

Caspar Bowden, UK privacy pioneer, mourned by tech industry

44 points by escapologybb 11y ago

walterbell 11y ago
2014 Bowden video from CCC, https://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2014/31c3_-_6195_-_en_-_saal_g_-_201412272145_-_the_cloud_conspiracy_2008-2014_-_caspar_bowden.html#video https://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2014/31c3_-_6195_-_en_-..., "In 2011 I started trying to warn EU institutions about what we now call PRISM, after working it out from open sources. Civil society, privacy regulators, and the Commission all did nothing. This is the story of exactly how they did nothing, and why, and what is happening now." 2013 EU report by Bowden, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/libe/dv/briefingnote_/briefingnote_en.pdf http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/l..., "In light of the recent PRISM-related revelations, this briefing note analyzes the impact of US surveillance programmes on European citizens’ rights. The note explores the scope of surveillance that can be carried out under the US FISA Amendments Act 2008 and related practices .." 2012 EU report by Bowden, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/studiesdownload.html?languageDocument=EN&file=79050 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/studiesdownload...., ".. the challenges raised by the growing reliance on cloud computing ... the legal aspects in relation to the right to data protection, the issues of jurisdiction, responsibility and regulation of data transfers to third countries ... strong implications on EU data sovereignty and the protection of citizens’ rights." Going forward, data sovereignty is being negotiated in TiSA and public input is needed. From http://www.euractiv.com/sections/infosociety/dont-forget-big-data-ttip-and-tisa-314487 http://www.euractiv.com/sections/infosociety/dont-forget-big..., "Europe can have its own infrastructure without hindering cross border or, as it were, Transatlantic communications. For instance, in Germany, France and Finland companies are establishing e-mail and cloud services that respect European rules for data protection. That should not be negotiated away in TTIP. It may not be too late to succeed in reducing the potential dangers threatening Europe's economic and technological sovereignty." From, http://www.innovationaus.com/tisa-threatens-data-sovereignty http://www.innovationaus.com/tisa-threatens-data-sovereignty, "TiSA may very well be a good thing. But we need to know its details, we need debate about its proposals, and we need to ensure that the beneficiaries are the people who elect the governments that are negotiating on their behalf, rather than the corporations whose first allegiance is to their shareholders rather than the public as a whole."
throwaway7767 11y ago
I never met the man, but conversed with him a few times on mailing lists for opensource projects. He seemed to be a very smart man with a keen eye for seeing societal changes in their infancy. He was a great advocate for projects like Tor and the Qubes OS project, and he put these tools into the hands of people outside the tech circles who really needed them. RIP Caspar Bowden, we've lost an important voice against the creeping surveillance state we all live in.
innguest 11y ago
Why are people whose last names end in -owden so attuned to privacy issues and fairness? The sample size is 2 so I'm being facetious, but it's interesting that "ouden" is (ancient) Greek for "nobody" which if I remember correctly is what the Cyclops says their name is, in order not to identify himself. (I botched that story but someone more knowledgeable might fill in the gaps).
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
  Would you consider increasing the sample size to 3 because of the fictional Snowden in Catch-22 by Joseph Heller? (He's the one I think of when I see a headline about Snowden's secret)

44 points by escapologybb 11y ago

2014 Bowden video from CCC, https://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2014/31c3_-_6195_-_en_-_saal_g_-_201412272145_-_the_cloud_conspiracy_2008-2014_-_caspar_bowden.html#video https://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2014/31c3_-_6195_-_en_-..., "In 2011 I started trying to warn EU institutions about what we now call PRISM, after working it out from open sources. Civil society, privacy regulators, and the Commission all did nothing. This is the story of exactly how they did nothing, and why, and what is happening now." 2013 EU report by Bowden, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/libe/dv/briefingnote_/briefingnote_en.pdf http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/l..., "In light of the recent PRISM-related revelations, this briefing note analyzes the impact of US surveillance programmes on European citizens’ rights. The note explores the scope of surveillance that can be carried out under the US FISA Amendments Act 2008 and related practices .." 2012 EU report by Bowden, http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/studiesdownload.html?languageDocument=EN&file=79050 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/en/studiesdownload...., ".. the challenges raised by the growing reliance on cloud computing ... the legal aspects in relation to the right to data protection, the issues of jurisdiction, responsibility and regulation of data transfers to third countries ... strong implications on EU data sovereignty and the protection of citizens’ rights." Going forward, data sovereignty is being negotiated in TiSA and public input is needed. From http://www.euractiv.com/sections/infosociety/dont-forget-big-data-ttip-and-tisa-314487 http://www.euractiv.com/sections/infosociety/dont-forget-big..., "Europe can have its own infrastructure without hindering cross border or, as it were, Transatlantic communications. For instance, in Germany, France and Finland companies are establishing e-mail and cloud services that respect European rules for data protection. That should not be negotiated away in TTIP. It may not be too late to succeed in reducing the potential dangers threatening Europe's economic and technological sovereignty." From, http://www.innovationaus.com/tisa-threatens-data-sovereignty http://www.innovationaus.com/tisa-threatens-data-sovereignty, "TiSA may very well be a good thing. But we need to know its details, we need debate about its proposals, and we need to ensure that the beneficiaries are the people who elect the governments that are negotiating on their behalf, rather than the corporations whose first allegiance is to their shareholders rather than the public as a whole."

throwaway7767 11y ago

I never met the man, but conversed with him a few times on mailing lists for opensource projects. He seemed to be a very smart man with a keen eye for seeing societal changes in their infancy. He was a great advocate for projects like Tor and the Qubes OS project, and he put these tools into the hands of people outside the tech circles who really needed them. RIP Caspar Bowden, we've lost an important voice against the creeping surveillance state we all live in.

innguest 11y ago

Why are people whose last names end in -owden so attuned to privacy issues and fairness? The sample size is 2 so I'm being facetious, but it's interesting that "ouden" is (ancient) Greek for "nobody" which if I remember correctly is what the Cyclops says their name is, in order not to identify himself. (I botched that story but someone more knowledgeable might fill in the gaps).

0xdeadbeefbabe 11y ago
Would you consider increasing the sample size to 3 because of the fictional Snowden in Catch-22 by Joseph Heller? (He's the one I think of when I see a headline about Snowden's secret)