Blog
19 Nov 2007 By Becky Hogge
Open Rights Group: Our first two years
Today I’m proud to be able to publish a review of the Open Rights Group’s first two years of activity, including our first year’s accounts.
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Digital Privacy
15 Nov 2007 By Becky Hogge
Electoral Commission: “e-voting not a mature technology”
Many thanks to Glyn for watching, and transcribing the most interesting bits of, the Scottish Affairs Committee public evidence session in the House of Commons earlier this week.
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13 Nov 2007 By Jordan
Open Source Summit Review
The resounding message of the Olswang’s and Greenberg Traurig’s Friday Open Source Summit (PDF) was that software patents are bad for business.
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Digital Privacy
13 Nov 2007 By Becky Hogge
Open Rights Group dismayed by Ministry of Justice response on e-voting
In the May 2007 local elections Open Rights Group observers, accredited by the Electoral Commission, took part in the monitoring of pilot electronic voting and electronic counting schemes.
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09 Nov 2007 By Becky Hogge
iPlayer: Open Rights Group on Groklaw
My interview with Sean Daly at Groklaw went online this morning:
Q: Now, let’s talk about DRM for a moment.
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01 Nov 2007 By William Heath
ORG appoints new directors
We’re delighted to announce three new appointments to the Open Rights board of directors.
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31 Oct 2007 By Michael Holloway
Supporters Update – October 2007
Here – for your enjoyment – is this month’s Supporters Update.
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30 Oct 2007 By Becky Hogge
Parents (and everyone else too): have your say in the Byron Review
The Byron Review is an independent review of the risks to children from exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in video games.
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29 Oct 2007 By Michael Holloway
Government wants to be open
The results of the Freedom of Information (FoI) consultation are now public.
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Digital Privacy
24 Oct 2007 By Jason Kitcat
Gould Review on Scottish Elections Published
The Electoral Commission and the separate review by Ron Gould that the Commission instituted have published their reports on the Scottish elections of May 2007
The Gould Review in particular identifies a number of important issues, many of which ORG addressed in our own report on the elections published this June.
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24 Oct 2007 By Glyn Wintle
Microsoft accepts EC competition ruling on interoperability info: analysis
It’s taken a while to pick apart Neelie Kross’s announcement that Microsoft have accepted the conditions of the European Commission’s 2004 ruling on abuse of market position.
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22 Oct 2007 By Becky Hogge
TV-links.co.uk – the story so far…
Today, and following this report in the Guardian, the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) reported the arrest of the proprietor of tv-links.
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22 Oct 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
Creative Business in the Digital Era
The Open Rights Group, in collaboration with 01zero-one and funded by the London Development Agency, is beginning an exciting new research project, examining how the internet enables creative entrepreneurs to develop innovative business practices by being more open with their intellectual property.
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17 Oct 2007 By Michael Holloway
Support ORG (and look good doing it)
With Open Rights Group slowly but surely becoming a cultural icon, marked most recently by our logo’s appearance on Channel 4’s ‘The IT Crowd’, now is the perfect time to donate to digital liberties.
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16 Oct 2007 By Becky Hogge
BBC U-turn: Full iPlayer service may never be available to Mac and Linux Users
Yesterday, the BBC announced that a cross-platform “streamed” version of its on-demand service the iPlayer would be available by the end of the year.
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11 Oct 2007 By Becky Hogge
UK Government accused of breaching state aid rules in software procurement
On Tuesday, John Pugh MP led an adjournment debate on IT software procurement, where he accused the UK government of excluding Linux and Mac Users from government services such as the Department of Work and Pensions online benefits system.
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09 Oct 2007 By Becky Hogge
Today: Westminster Hall debate on government software procurement
John Pugh MP will today lead a Westminster Hall debate on government software procurement.
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04 Oct 2007 By Michael Holloway
ORG @ Conservatives conference 2007
Our e-Voting campaign tour reached its triumphant climax this week in Blackpool.
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28 Sep 2007 By Michael Holloway
ORG @ Labour Party conference 2007
The “should we trust electronic elections” bandwagon rolled onwards through Bournemouth and the Labour conference this week.
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28 Sep 2007 By Michael Holloway
Supporters Update – September 2007
Here’s this month’s update, including tales from ‘Conference’ and much more besides.
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28 Sep 2007 By Michael Holloway
Supporter meetup in Blackpool this Monday, 1 October
If you live local to Blackpool, please come along for a drink and meet the ORG team this Monday evening.
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25 Sep 2007 By Michael Holloway
Supporter meetup in Bournemouth this Thursday
If you live local to Bournemouth, please come along for a drink and meet the ORG staff this Thursday night.
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20 Sep 2007 By Michael Holloway
GikII 2 – law, laughs and geekery
Instigated at Edinburgh AHRC in 2006, this year’s GikII – a one day workshop on the intersections between law, technology and popular culture – took place yesterday at University College, London.
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18 Sep 2007 By Michael Holloway
Towards proper regulation of the DNA database
Today, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics launched their report on the regulation of the National DNA Database.
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17 Sep 2007 By Becky Hogge
ORG @ Liberal Democrat party conference 2007
Conference season got off to a fine start this weekend, as ORG set off around the country to raise awareness among grassroots party activists of the issues e-voting and e-counting pose for our democracy.
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17 Sep 2007 By Glyn Wintle
Microsoft loses appeal
This morning, the European Court of First Instance announced that it would uphold the European Commission’s decision that Microsoft has abused its dominant market position.
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11 Sep 2007 By Becky Hogge
Supporter meetup in Brighton this weekend
If you’re in or around Brighton this weekend, be sure to come and have a drink with ORG.
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06 Sep 2007 By Becky Hogge
Number 10 responds to iPlayer petition…
…And it’s pretty lacklustre.
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05 Sep 2007 By Becky Hogge
DNA-UK?
This morning, the news media are reporting a startling recommendation by one of the UK’s most senior judges: that the Police National DNA Database (NDNAD) should cover every citizen in the UK, and every person who visits the UK.
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03 Sep 2007 By Ian Brown
Digital rights go continental
ORG is just back from a weekend in Berlin planning digital rights campaigns with groups from across Europe.
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Digital Privacy
03 Sep 2007 By Becky Hogge
Gordon Brown at the NCVO: e-Voting off the agenda?
In a speech to the National Council of Voluntary Organisations this morning, Gordon Brown announced he would be convening a Speaker’s conference on voting reform:
Today I am proposing to the Speaker that he calls a conference to consider, against the backdrop of a decline in turnout, a number of important issues, such as electoral registration, weekend voting, and the representation of women and ethnic minorities in the House of Commons.
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31 Aug 2007 By Michael Holloway
Supporters Update – August 2007
Here’s this month’s Supporters Update, including good news from the Electoral Commission and two new tools we need your help developing.
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Digital Privacy
29 Aug 2007 By Michael Holloway
Should we trust electronic elections?
Update: Supporter meetup venues and dates now confirmed – see you there!
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14 Aug 2007 By Becky Hogge
Defective by Design protest against BBC iPlayer
DRM protesters Defective by Design braved the drizzle today to make their feelings known about the BBC iPlayer.
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10 Aug 2007 By Becky Hogge
Lords report promotes security online
The House of Lords Science and Technology Committee have published their fifth report today, which makes a variety of recommendations to legislators, the police, businesses and citizens to improve personal security on the internet.
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Digital Privacy
02 Aug 2007 By Becky Hogge
ORG welcomes Electoral Commission recommendation to halt pilots
The Electoral Commission released its official evaluation of the 3 May electoral pilots in England this morning.
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31 Jul 2007 By Michael Holloway
Supporters Update – July 2007
Here’s this month’s supporters update for your enjoyment.
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25 Jul 2007 By Becky Hogge
BBC Trust: iPlayer must be cross platform
Update: Digital Lifestyles interviewed the OSC as they emerged from meeting the BBC Trust.
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24 Jul 2007 By Becky Hogge
UK Government says no to term extension
Back in May, we reported on the House of Commons Culture Committee’s misguided decision to recommend that the term of copyright in sound recordings be extended.
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24 Jul 2007 By Becky Hogge
After the flood…
As you may have noticed, the ORG website has been down over the last couple of days.
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18 Jul 2007 By Becky Hogge
Automatic Numberplate Recognition – function creep begins?
Yesterday, Home Office minister Jacqui Smith announced that she had signed a certificate to exempt Transport for London and the Metropolitan Police from certain provisions of the Data Protection Act.
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11 Jul 2007 By Glyn Wintle
Information Commissioner Horrified
The Information Commissioner’s Annual Report is launched today.
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09 Jul 2007 By Becky Hogge
ORG at Lugradio Live 2007
So I’ve just returned from Lugradio Live 2007, where there seemed to be a lot of enthusiasm for the work ORG has been doing over the last year.
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29 Jun 2007 By Michael Holloway
Supporters Update – June 2007
Much for you to pore over in the June 2007 Supporter Update
If you’re not receiving these updates by email but wish to then please let me know, either by email or in the comments section below.
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Digital Privacy
29 Jun 2007 By Becky Hogge
Watch launch of ORG’s e-voting report
Last week, at the official launch of ORG’s report into e-voting and e-counting in the May 2007 elections, we invited MPs, civil servants and other stakeholders to come and listen to the findings of our observation mission.
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Digital Privacy
20 Jun 2007 By Jason Kitcat
ORG Election Report highlights problems with voting technology used
Today ORG releases its report into the May 2007 elections in Scotland and England.
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19 Jun 2007 By Becky Hogge
ORG launch report into 3 May e-elections tomorrow night
Since our 3 May mission to observe e-voting and e-counting in the English and Scottish elections, the ORG e-voting team have been hard at work.
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14 Jun 2007 By Glyn Wintle
Help us protect podcasting, again
Less than one year ago WIPO promised to re-draft its Broadcasting treaty.
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07 Jun 2007 By Becky Hogge
Independent review calls for better access to public sector information
This morning sees the release of The Power of Information, an independent review, commissioned by Hilary Armstrong MP at the Cabinet Office, into “state- and citizen-generated information”.
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01 Jun 2007 By Michael Holloway
Supporter Updates – April and May 2007
Links to our Supporter Updates from the last two months.
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22 May 2007 By Louisiana
ORG is looking for new Board members
Update: deadline for applications is Friday June 22nd
It’s hard to believe, but the Open Rights Group is nearly two years old!
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21 May 2007 By Michael Holloway
MPs vote themselves above Freedom of Information
The House of Commons voted last Friday for legislation “designed to protect MPs, not their constituents” by exempting themselves from the Freedom of Information Act.
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16 May 2007 By Becky Hogge
House of Commons culture committee rules in favour of copyright term extension on sound recordings
The House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport has today released its Fifth Report – an investigation into New Media.
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14 May 2007 By Michael Holloway
Copyright extension: Seems our MPs haven’t been doing their homework
Update 2: Nick Pollard says Stephen Williams MP has responded to his letter by agreeing to take his name off the EDM.
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11 May 2007 By Michael Holloway
Are you on ORG’s mailing lists?
If you want to keep informed of our events, discuss digital rights issues, or actively help us out – there’s a list for you.
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Digital Privacy
08 May 2007 By Jason Kitcat
A big ORG thank you to our Election Observers
A huge thank you to our entire team of Election Observers who went way beyond the call of duty in their work monitoring last week’s elections.
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27 Apr 2007 By Becky Hogge
ORG ElectionWatch 2007 ready to go
Most of the thirty ORG election observers who have volunteered to devote a day to democracy on 3 May have now received their official accreditation from the Electoral Commission.
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26 Apr 2007 By Michael Holloway
Are you receiving ORG’s supporter updates?
We email out a Supporters Update on the last day of each month.
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20 Apr 2007 By Michael Holloway
Home Office’s ‘Data Retention’ consultation
The Home Office is holding a consultation into the initial transposition of the EC ‘Data Retention’ Directive on the retention of communications data’.
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18 Apr 2007 By Becky Hogge
Take action: European Parliament votes on IPRED2 next week
It’s time to get in touch with your MEP again.
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12 Apr 2007 By Becky Hogge
SO!(aP) a success – raffle winners announced
Last night’s inaugural Support ORG!
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Digital Privacy
04 Apr 2007 By Becky Hogge
ElectionWatch 2007 – ORG goes north of the border
Breaking news from the Scottish Electoral Commission – ORG can observe the election in Scotland!
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30 Mar 2007 By Becky Hogge
Less than two weeks ’til SO!(aP)
It’s less than two weeks until Support ORG!
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26 Mar 2007 By Glyn Wintle
Dilemmas of Privacy and Surveillance
The Royal Academy of Engineering has just released a report entitled Dilemmas of Privacy and Surveillance Challenges of Technological Change.
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Digital Privacy
23 Mar 2007 By Becky Hogge
Footage from February e-voting events now online
We’ve finally got video footage from two of our February e-voting events online.
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Digital Privacy
23 Mar 2007 By Becky Hogge
ORG Election Watch 2007: Registration Pack now online
Our guide to registering to become part of ORG’s volunteer Election Watch 2007 team is now online.
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20 Mar 2007 By Michael Holloway
Patent Office want evidence to justify new copyright exceptions for artists
The Patent Office needs to hear from artists and creators.
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14 Mar 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
links for 2007-03-14
Patent Office consults on… patents
Consultation launched on “modernisation and consolidation” of UK patent rules.
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09 Mar 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
links for 2007-03-09
House of Lords debate: DNA Database
A short debate on the DNA Database in the Lords from yesterday.
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Digital Privacy
07 Mar 2007 By Becky Hogge
Election Watch 2007 – Devote your day to democracy!
Doing anything exciting on election day?
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06 Mar 2007 By Becky Hogge
System Failure: Private Eye report into NHS IT
The current issue of Private Eye has an eight-page special report into the NHS Programme for IT and Connecting for Health.
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28 Feb 2007 By Jason Kitcat
Committee on Standards of Public Life call for halt of May e-voting pilots
Yesterday, Sir Alistair Graham, chair of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, called for the 2007 electoral pilots in the UK to be halted, in a speech to the Association of Electoral Administrators conference.
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22 Feb 2007 By Michael Holloway
Renew for Freedom: March 26th deadline to escape database state
Act now, protect yourself later – renew for freedom!
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20 Feb 2007 By Becky Hogge
ORG at BarCampLondon2
Over the weekend approximately 150 technophiles gathered for BarCampLondon2, an über-geeky conference on all things related to the web and an ideal opportunity to spread the word about ORG.
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14 Feb 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
links for 2007-02-14
ars technica – Study: P2P effect on legal music sales “not statistically distinguishable from zero”
Glyn: “A new study in the Journal of Political Economy by Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf has found that illegal music downloads have had no noticeable effects on the sale of music, contrary to the claims of the recording industry.
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13 Feb 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
links for 2007-02-13
Boing Boing – Blu-Ray and HD-DVD DRM completely cracked
Glyn:The “processing key” has been successfully extracted.
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12 Feb 2007 By Michael Holloway
Gowers critiqued
Thanks to Jordan Hatcher for reporting an AHRC Research Centre for Studies in IP open forum, which discussed The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property.
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11 Feb 2007 By Becky Hogge
Write to your MEP: JURI to vote on IPRED2 at the end of this month
IPRED2, the European Union’s second intellectual property enforcement directive, is going to the vote at the end of this month.
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Digital Privacy
07 Feb 2007 By Becky Hogge
South Warwickshire clinicians sharing smart cards
Last week, news emerged that the board of South Warwickshire General Hospitals NHS Trust is allowing clinicians in their Accident and Emergency department to share smart cards.
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07 Feb 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
links for 2007-02-07
eGov monitor | Freedom of Information follow up
Suw: “The Constitutional Affairs Committee will hold a one-off evidence session on Freedom of Information on Tuesday 6 March.
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07 Feb 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
New Del.icio.us account
As you might have spotted, we have now set up a Del.
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06 Feb 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
links for 2007-02-06
Inside IT: A picture paints a thousand invoices | Guardian Unlimited Technology
Suw: “Moves by big picture agencies to enforce their copyright can have expensive implications for careless web developers”
(tags: copyright UK photgraphy licensing)
BioMed Central | Open Aaccess Colloquium: How Can We Achieve Quality and Quantity?
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02 Feb 2007 By Michael Holloway
Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ consultation – ‘Forensic use of bioinformation: ethical issues’
Our submission to this consultation is available here.
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Digital Privacy
29 Jan 2007 By Jason Kitcat
May 2007 e-Voting Pilots Announced
Finally, two months behind schedule, the Government has announced which local authorities will be running e-voting pilots.
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29 Jan 2007 By Glyn Wintle
Biometric data collection in schools
Greg Mulholland MP has tabled an Early Day Motion.
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22 Jan 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
It’s that time of year again
Can you believe it’s been a year since we started accepting donations?
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Digital Privacy
16 Jan 2007 By Michael Holloway
Taking the lid off e-voting
While the Department for Constitutional Affairs have left us in the dark with no news at all about the e-voting pilots due for May 2007, The Open Rights Group and FIPR have been hard at work.
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15 Jan 2007 By Suw Charman Anderson
Welcome to Becky Hogge!
It doesn’t seem like a month since we appointed Becky Hogge to the position of Executive Director, but time has flown by and today Becky begins to take over the reins from me.
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14 Dec 2006 By Suw Charman Anderson
Becky Hogge to be new ORG Executive Director
I’m delighted to announce that Becky Hogge is going to be taking over from me as ORG’s new full-time Executive Director on 15 January 2007.
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12 Dec 2006 By Suw Charman Anderson
I see dead people
On the 7th December, the day after the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property was released, the PPL took out a full page ad in the Financial Times which included 4,500 names of musicians who have “banded together” to “demand” term extension on sound recordings.
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06 Dec 2006 By Glyn Wintle
Gowers Review
The Gowers Review, commissioned by the government to look at intellectual property law in the United Kingdom, published its final report today.
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28 Nov 2006 By Glyn Wintle
Open Source Motion Filed in House of Commons
John Pugh MP has tabled an Early Day Motion number 179 in the House of Commons entitled Software in Education.
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17 Nov 2006 By Suw Charman Anderson
Number 10 Petitions site launches
Back when I was in Brussels for EuroOSCON, the open source conference, Tom Steinberg asked me to think of a petition that I would like to see on a new petition site that mySociety was building for 10 Downing Street.
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17 Nov 2006 By Suw Charman Anderson
New hi-tech passports cracked
Great piece in The Guardian about how Adam Laurie and No2ID‘s Phil Booth cracked the new hi-tech passport RIFD chips.
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15 Nov 2006 By Michael Holloway
Release the Music – audio recording now available
Thanks to everyone who made it along on Monday night.
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14 Nov 2006 By Suw Charman Anderson
Release The Music: Off to a flying start!
Well, I think that the Release The Music event last night went superbly, getting our campaign off to a flying start.
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13 Nov 2006 By Suw Charman Anderson
Release The Music: Today’s the day!
Our Release The Music campaign is starting to get underway.
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