New Spanish Security Law Imperils Spanish Freedom of Expression

A controversial new law the Spanish senate had voted has caused a global uproar about the status of freedom of expression in the country. Today, Spanish public security laws crack down on protests by implementing stricter guidelines about when and where gatherings and protests could commence and fining officers with illegal protests.

The legislation includes fines of €600 if they fail to notify authorities about their demonstrations in public areas. The fines could reach up to €30,000 that could cause “serious disturbances of public safety” near parliament or Spanish government buildings. It could also reach €600,000 if it disrupts nuclear power plants, refineries and telecommunications operations.

Greenpeace, charged with an illegal protest in a nuclear power plant in Valencia, spoke out against the legislation.

“It’s our right to express our opinion, to march to parliament, to go to nuclear power plants to say that they are dangerous or unfurl a banner on a building or street,” said Miguel Ángel Soto of the group.

According to The Platform in Defence of Freedom of Expression Virginia Perez, the legislation is unnecessary.

“This is one of the worst attacks on liberties that we’ve seen in Spain since the times of Franco,” she said.

Revenge Porn Is Now Illegal in England and Wales

Following atrocious cases of women “virtually raped” and harassed by explicit photographs of themselves with their ex-lovers, the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill will receive Royal Assent and become law. Offenders will face up to two years in jail.

Images and videos sent through social networks including Facebook and Twitter, and even those sent through MMS or SMS are also considered.

Scotland and Northern Ireland are considering to implement similar laws. The Scottish Government also announced its plans to consult on making revenge porn a offense with a category of its own.

In the UK alone, there are 30 revenge porn websites publishing thousands of individuals’ explicit photographs without their consent. Meanwhile, successfully removing one’s media from one revenge porn website isn’t enough as the media makes its way to other websites.

According to England and Wales Police Forces, 149 allegations of revenge porn had been made from January 2012 to July 2014. Six of these cases were met with police action.

According to Former Culture Secretary Maria Miller:

"By putting this in place the government has given young women the opportunity to protect themselves from their lives being blighted.

"When you speak to the victims of these crimes, many say that it feels as if you've been virtually raped.

"You can't underestimate the impact of having an image distributed to many people around the world."

Obama Proposes Stricter Privacy Laws For US

US President Barack Obama on Monday proposed that the country strengthen its laws against identity theft and hacking. He argues that with tech advances come privacy risks for many citizens.

He said that tech services should issue a notification when consumer information is hacked and efforts must be realised to protect student’s private data.

Obama said that the recent hack on Sony Pictures Entertainment is an example of a tech problem that costs billions of dollars. With virtually many personal information in the country available online, lives could turn upside down in an instant.

He argued that the age of digital technology innovation had created vast amounts of vulnerabilities for US citizens. 

"This is a direct threat to the economic security of American families and we've got to stop it," Obama said in a speech at the Federal Trade Commission. "If we're going to be connected, we need to be protected."

Just as Obama finished speaking, the Twitter and YouTube accounts for U.S. Central Command were taken over by hackers who claimed to be working on behalf of Islamic State militants.

Meanwhile new tech laws have already been implemented by the start of this year. Check them in this list.

Google’s Case in the United Kingdom Could Clarify Country’s Privacy Laws

The Information Commissioner’s Office had intervened between Google and a group of UK Internet users because of its interests to clarify the jurisdiction of the country’s privacy laws.

The UK Internet users allege that Google used cookies to track their browsing activity using Apple’s Safari browser in 2011 and 2012 against their wishes. The case has been ongoing since 2013. This follows an earlier failed lawsuit against Google in the United States where the allegations could not be proved because the victims do not have evidence they were harmed.

However, the US FTC had fined google with $22.5 million for secretly bypassing Safari settings to 

collect information from unwilling users.

The UK High Court initially rejected the argument of the UK web users, which prompted the group to move their case into the United States. At this point, Google went to the Court of Appeal to try to overturn the ruling. This is when UK’s ICO intervened by submitting written evidence to the court.

According to an ICO Spokesman, it is interested in the case because it clarifies the issues about the jurisdiction of the law to serving civil claims against foreign companies. The ICO submitted written evidence to provide classes of personal data under the UK Data Protection act and when personal data processing is taking place.

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Church of England Calls to End Indefinite Detention of Detainees

The Church of England is calling on the UK government to end the indefinite detention of detainees in immigration removal centres. According to the Church of England, it places “considerable stress on detainees and their families.”

The Church will be contending with UK politicians, whom many in the seniority had considered the issue a “political football.”

Bishop of Croydon Jonathan Clark said “The main political parties have taken a judgment that they cannot say anything on this issue because they feel it will lose them votes by the million, so it has been left to those who don’t seek re-election to speak out.” 

They also said that the HM Inspectorate of Prisons no longer carries out a “safety survey” among its inmates. The inspectorate said that detainees had felt unsafe following the use of indefinite detention.

The Church made a comparison between asylum and prison detention. The official statement said “We normally think of safety in detention as a matter of not fearing assault, intimidation, discrimination, However, what detainees consistently reported as most likely to make them feel unsafe was the lack of certainty about their case.”

According to a Home Office spokesperson, “Detention is used as a last resort when people are found not to have a right to be in the UK and will not leave voluntarily, or when there is a serious risk they will abscond from bail. When we do detain people, it is for the minimum time possible, and the majority of detainees are held for less than two months. Detainees’ welfare is extremely important and we are committed to treating all those in our care with dignity and respect.”

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