Category Archives: Government

Gliph Opposes CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act

At Gliph, we take a conservative view toward user privacy. Gliph’s privacy policy is clear: a Gliph user’s Facet information belongs to them and remains under their control. Gliph offers specific features that give users privacy in their personal communications.

Like many internet companies, Gliph is based in the United States and is governed by the laws of this country. Gliph respects the United States’ need to maintain national security. However, Gliph opposes CISPA as proposed because the legislation conflates cybersecurity with surveillance and information sharing. CISPA significantly erodes the privacy of internet users.

What is CISPA?
At the time of this writing, CISPA is H.R. 624, (web, pdf), the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. CISPA is just a bill, which is a proposed piece of legislation that has the potential to become a federal law in the United States.

CISPA’s purpose is to help the United States investigate cyber threats and ensure the security of networks against cyber attacks. The bill aims to add legal framework for the sharing of information between private companies and the United States government.

Why Oppose CISPA?
Gliph appreciates the pressing global context around cybersecurity, yet is adamant about the preservation of civil liberty and personal privacy. We are joining the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Internet Defense League in our opposition to this bill. You can learn about the below bulleted issues and more in the EFF’s page about the bill.

Here are some of the key issues with CISPA Gliph is concerned about: Continue reading

What Are You Sharing? Marking International Data Privacy Day with Gliph

We’d like to wish everyone a very happy 5th annual Data Privacy Day. For the fifth year in a row, the US, Canada and 27 other countries have marked January 28th as a day to “raise awareness of and generate discussion about data privacy rights and practices.”

A variety of companies and publications have released new articles or information to mark the day. Microsoft released results of a new survey of 1,000 US adults that shows privacy is becoming more important to people, yet a sense of powerlessness pervades.

In the key findings of the report, 45% of people feel they have little or no control over personal information gathered by companies about them. Below is a graphic that shows how much control people feel they have over personal information shared online: Continue reading

Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights: Notes on the NTIA’s Privacy Multi-stakeholder Meetings in 2012

NTIA multi stakeholder mobile application transparency privacyThe National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has been holding regular meetings around mobile app privacy this year that could help shape how personal data is handled in mobile applications in the United States.

John Verdi (@johnverdi) is the Director of Privacy Initiatives at the NTIA and has been blogging about activities at the meetings. In his August 1st, 2012 post, he describes the July multi-stakeholder meeting as a step toward implementing the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

This Bill of Rights is something to keep your eyes on. It was first proposed by the Obama Administration as part of a paper with the lengthy title “Consumer Data Privacy In a Networked World: A Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy.” Gliph is hosting a copy you can download here [.pdf].

In the introduction, Barack Obama quotes Justice Louis Brandeis’ dissenting opinion in Olmstead v. United States which is Americans’ “right to be let alone.” Though he counters, “…privacy is about much more than just solitude or secrecy.”

The rights advanced in the paper cover the following (bulleted paragraphs are quoted from the paper): Continue reading