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Law prohibiting election misinformation struck down

By Elizabeth Thompson CBC Politics A key section of Canada's elections law designed to curb misinformation during elections has been struck down and declared unconstitutional. In a 15-page decision, Ontario Superior Court Justice Breese Davies ruled that the section is an unjustifiable restriction on Canadians' right to free speech. While the federal government had asked the court to suspend the ruling for 12 months, Davies ruled that it takes effect immediately. "I recognize that if I decline to suspend the declaration of invalidity, there is a risk that a federal election might be called before Parliament can enact a replacement to s. 91 of the CEA (Canada Election Act), should it wish to do so," Davies wrote in the judgment dated Feb. 19.

Crowdfunded Librem Phone Now Shipping

BY KYLE RANKIN - CSO PURISM Purism, a Social Purpose Company (SPC) focusing on security and privacy with its hardware and software, has begun shipping its mass-produced Librem 5 phone to customers. The Librem 5 is a one-of-a-kind general-purpose computer in a phone form-factor that Purism has designed and built from scratch following a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised over $2.2 million. Both the hardware and software design is focused on respecting the end user’s freedom and giving them control over their privacy and security. The Librem 5 doesn’t run Android nor iOS but instead runs the same PureOS operating system as Purism’s laptops and mini PC. The Librem 5 has unique hardware features including a user-removable cellular modem, WiFi card, and battery.

Seven ‘no log’ VPN providers leak 1.2TB of user logs

BY SHAUN NICHOLS THE REGISTER A string of "zero logging" VPN providers have some explaining to do after more than a terabyte of user logs were found on their servers unprotected and facing the public internet. This data, we are told, included in at least some cases clear-text passwords, personal information, and lists of websites visited, all for anyone to stumble upon. It all came to light this week after Comparitech's Bob Diachenko spotted 894GB of records in an unsecured Elasticsearch cluster that belonged to UFO VPN. The silo contained streams of log entries as netizens connected to UFO's service: this information included what appeared to be account passwords in plain text, VPN session secrets and tokens, IP addresses of users' devices and the VPN servers they connected to, connection timestamps, location information, device characteristics and OS versions, and web domains from which ads were injected into the browsers of UFO's free-tier users. UFO stated in bold in its privacy policy: "We do not track user activities outside of our site, nor do we track the website browsing or connection activities of users who are using our Services."

How to Set Up a Cheap Burner Phone

BY MICAH LEE THE INTERCEPT If you’re taking to the streets to demand justice for the victims of police brutality and homicide, you may want to leave your phone at home. No matter how peaceful your behavior, you are at risk of getting arrested or assaulted by police. Cops might confiscate your phone and search it regardless of whether or not they’re legally allowed to, or they might try to break it, especially if it contains photos or video of their violent or illegal actions. At the same time, it’s a good idea to bring a phone to a protest so you can record what’s happening and get the message out on social media. Filming police is completely legal and within your rights, and it’s one of the few tools citizens have against police brutality.

Jitsi Meet, an open source Zoom alternative

BY JACK MORSE MASHABLE So you're sick of Zoom. Maybe it's the privacy issues, the security issues, or just the whole misrepresenting its encryption thing. Regardless of the specific reason, you know that there has to be a better video-conferencing tool out there, and you're determined to find it. Enter Jitsi Meet. Much like Zoom, the free and open-source video-chat tool is easy to use and requires little-to-no onboarding. It's also encrypted, and doesn't sell your data. As an added bonus, you don't need an account and you don't need to download anything to start or join a meeting.

The Growing Threat to Free Speech Online

BY DAVID FRENCH TIME MAGAZINE There are times when vitally important stories lurk behind the headlines. Yes, impeachment is historic and worth significant coverage, but it’s not the only important story. The recent threat of war with Iran merited every second of intense world interest. But what if I told you that as we lurch from crisis to crisis there is a slow-building, bipartisan movement to engage in one of most significant acts of censorship in modern American history? What if I told you that our contemporary hostility against Big Tech may cause our nation to blunder into changing the nature of the internet to enhance the power of the elite at the expense of ordinary Americans?

Apple Has A Vladimir Putin Problem

BY JOSH NADEAU FAST COMPANY In November 2019, Russian parliament passed what’s become known as the “law against Apple.” The legislation will require all smartphone devices to preload a host of applications that may provide the Russian government with a glut of information about its citizens, including their location, finances, and private communications. Apple typically forbids the preloading of third-party apps onto its system’s hardware. But come July 2020, when the law goes into effect, Apple will be forced to quit the country and a market estimated at $3 billion unless it complies. This piece of legislation, along with a controversial law aimed at the construction of a “sovereign internet,” is the latest step in Vladimir Putin’s ongoing encroachment into digital space—and has brought Apple into direct conflict with the autocratic Russian president. Apple declined to comment on what it plans to do.

Apple Takes a (Cautious) Stand Against Opening a Killer’s iPhones

BY JACK NICAS / KATIE BENNER THE NEW YORK TIMES Apple is privately preparing for a legal fight with the Justice Department to defend encryption on its iPhones while publicly trying to defuse the dispute, as the technology giant navigates an increasingly tricky line between its customers and the Trump administration. Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, has marshaled a handful of top advisers, while Attorney General William P. Barr has taken aim at the company and asked it to help penetrate two phones used by a gunman in a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla. Executives at Apple have been surprised by the case’s quick escalation, said people familiar with the company who were not authorized to speak publicly. And there is frustration and skepticism among some on the Apple team working on the issue that the Justice Department hasn’t spent enough time trying to get into the iPhones with third-party tools, said one person with knowledge of the matter. The situation has become a sudden crisis at Apple that pits Mr. Cook’s longstanding commitment to protecting people’s privacy against accusations from the United States government that it is putting the public at risk.

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In Case You Missed It

Motherboard & VICE Are Building a Community Internet Network

BY JASON KOEBLER MOTHERBOARD The net neutrality battle has been exhausting; it has come at enormous cost in time, energy, attention, and money. Fundamentally, the net neutrality fight is one where the best possible outcome is preserving the status quo: an internet landscape and connection infrastructure that is dominated by big telecom monopolies. Simply put, the internet is too important to rely on politicians and massive corporations to protect it. In order to preserve net neutrality and the free and open internet, we must end our reliance on monopolistic corporations and build something fundamentally different: internet infrastructure that is locally owned and operated and is dedicated to serving the people who connect to it. The good news is a better internet infrastructure is possible: Small communities, nonprofits, and startup companies around the United States have built networks that rival those built by big companies. Because these networks are built to serve their communities rather than their owners, they are privacy-focused and respect net neutrality ideals.

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