This is why governments can NOT be trusted to decide what’s “misinformation” and censor it.

Today they accused us of publishing “entirely false” information about spying powers because we criticised them… even though the info is a) entirely factual b) admitted in their own docs

📢💥Excited to announce publication of Trades Union Congress AI Bill in collaboration with AI: Equality, Data Protection and Human Rights Cloisters Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy! Drafted with multi-stakeholder advisory committee:
tuc.org.uk/research-analy…

A fantastic team & important work!

📢Meta’s pay-or-consent choice these past months is a smokescreen. Behind it lies massive, illegal data processing. 8 consumer groups from the BEUC network are today filing complaints to stop Meta and better protect your data. 📢
#MetaSmokescreen
➡️ beuc.eu/enforcement/me…

That is exactly what’s happening.

We are being crybullied into a police state by our rulers who are posing as victims because they’re being held to account for supporting mass murder.

I am old enough to remember when the UK Government was 'closely monitoring' the Hong Kong Government for introducing an emergency law banning masks in response to massive pro-democracy protests

(Hansard, 7 Oct 2019; UK six monthly report on Hong Kong, July 2021)

There's a lot of valuable AI policy development going on in the UK gov that sits behind today's consultation - but without a clear commitment on legislation, it's difficult to see how developers, deployers and regulators will be incentivised to live the framework's principles

Mia Leslie (Mia Leslie) of Public Law Project is back with Ravi Naik of AWO & @ShaunaConcannon of @Durham_Uni talking us through effective use of #FreedomOfInformation Act requests, engaging with the ICO - Information Commissioner's Office & using technology to gather evidence & test results.

Here’s more detail on further action needed in this scandal: courts need to explain why they credulously accepted what Council were telling them & Sheffield City Council needs to waive privilege & release all legal docs related to tree scandal, so we can better understand what went wrong.

Today's event with All-Party Parliamentary Group on Data Analytics and Policy Connect sparked questions like:

➡️ Are “hackathons” for algorithms that test asylum claims appropriate?

➡️ Should the ICO have a firmer approach to public sector AI?

➡️ What does consent mean if we don't know how the Gov't uses our data?

Lots of questions arise including how many of the bad faith attacks on our work are secretly paid for by Topham Guerin or other Tory attack agencies. And why, if Palantir's operations are above board, it demands secrecy from those it pays.

This latest data grab should worry us all: expanding state surveillance doesn’t keep us safe, it makes it harder for us to go about our daily lives in private and helps the government clamp down on dissent

I wrote for The Telegraph about plans to use our driving licences to create a vast facial recognition database. ⬇️

It is hard to overstate how much power this will grant police officers to track and identify us. It signals a new era of British policing.

telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/12/2…

Delighted to be collaborating with AWO and UCL Faculty of Laws for this topical seminar:

The ICO - Information Commissioner's Office should reconsider its decision and think again about the regulatory benefit of extending the six-week period beyond which complaints are seen as unduly delayed. FOI users seeking evidence their request have been improperly handled should be given the time to do so.

Excited for our event with Brick Court Chambers and UCL Faculty of Laws (via Michael Veale @[email protected]) on 18 Jan 2024. We will explore how automated systems will be dealt with by courts. Keynote from Sir Richard Aikens, followed by a panel discussion. Details & RSVP here: ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/20…

So what’s the consequence for Baroness Mone of sending libel lawyers to threaten journalists for reporting what, she now admits, she knew was the truth?

The answer is: nothing.

Why did they lie to us?

Despite assurances from the Government that 77th Brigade never conducted actions against British citizens, we have obtained documents that prove otherwise.

Soldiers monitored Caroline Lucas & took notes on BBC Question Time.

Many docs we have relate to the pandemic. Focus areas were public health, public order(…) & the “UK’s reputation” 🙄

They show 77 Brigade did things like take notes on Green MP Caroline Lucas & even BBC Question Time (!)

We’ve been working with the Mail on Sunday to report it

🤦Scoop from us: the Commissioner who was supposed to oversee facial recognition tech in the UK has now left and joined controversial firm Facewatch, which he approved.

And we believe he was negotiating the position whilst still in his taxpayer role😧

theguardian.com/technology/202…