Katitza Rodriguez
EFF
Ottawa, ON, Canada
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Past articles by Katitza:
UN Committee To Begin Negotiating New Cybercrime Treaty Amid Disagreement Among States Over Its Scope
As a UN-convened committee of government experts from around the world gets ready to begin negotiations to draft a Cybercrime Treaty, there's a pronounced lack of consensus among UN member states about what constitutes a "cybercrime" and how expansive the treaty will be. After years of discussion,... → Read More
YouTube and TikTok Put Human Rights In Jeopardy in Turkey
Democracy in Turkey is in a deep crisis. Its ruling party, led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, systematically silences marginalized voices, shuts down dissident TV channels, sentences journalists, and disregards the European Court of Human Rights decisions. As we wrote in November, in this oppressive... → Read More
Defending Your Rights in Every Reality: Year in Review 2020
Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies (VR/AR) are rapidly maturing and becoming more prevalent to a wider audience, especially as the pandemic drives more people to virtual activities. This technology provides the promise to entertain and educate, to connect and enhance our lives, and... → Read More
Augmented Reality Must Have Augmented Privacy
Imagine walking down the street, looking for a good cup of coffee. In the distance, a storefront glows in green through your smart glasses, indicating a well-reviewed cafe with a sterling public health score. You follow the holographic arrows to the crosswalk, as your wearables silently signal the... → Read More
Workers' Health Data Collected for COVID Safety Poses Risk to Labor Rights
Many of these technologies pose severe threats to workers' privacy and other fundamental rights. → Read More
If Privacy Dies in VR, It Dies in Real Life
If you aren’t an enthusiast, chances are you haven’t used a Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR) headset. The hype around this technology, however, is nearly inescapable. We’re not just talking about dancing with lightsabers; there’s been a lot of talk about how VR/AR will revolutionize... → Read More
5 Serious Flaws in the New Brazilian “Fake News” Bill that Will Undermine Human Rights
The Brazilian Senate is scheduled to make its vote this week on the most recent version of “PLS 2630/2020” the so-called “Fake News” bill. This new version, supposedly aimed at safety and curbing “malicious coordinated actions'' by users of social networks and private messaging apps, will allow the... → Read More
5 Serious Flaws in the New Brazilian “Fake News” Bill that Will Undermine Human Rights
The Brazilian Senate is scheduled to make its vote this week on the most recent version of “PLS 2630/2020” the so-called “Fake News” bill. This new version, supposedly aimed at safety and curbing “malicious coordinated actions'' by users of social networks and private messaging apps, will allow the... → Read More
Bracelets, Beacons, Barcodes: Wearables in the Global Response to COVID-19
In their efforts to contain the spread of the pandemic, governments around the world are rolling out body-worn devices (“wearables”) to assist in fighting the virus. Some governments want a technological silver bullet to solve the public health crisis. But many of the tools aimed at solving... → Read More
Dear Canada: Accessing Publicly Available Information on the Internet Is Not a Crime
Canadian authorities should drop charges against a 19-year-old Canadian accused of “unauthorized use of a computer service” for downloading thousands of public records hosted and available to all on a government website. The whole episode is an embarrassing overreach that chills the right of access... → Read More
“Fake News” Offers Latin American Consolidated Powers An Opportunity to Censor Opponents
Today’s headlines are dominated by the role of misinformation campaigns or “fake news” in undermining democracy in the West. From ongoing accusations of Russian meddling in Trump’s election to Russian efforts to sway the Brexit and French Presidential election votes, these countries are confronting... → Read More
The Cybercrime Convention's New Protocol Needs to Uphold Human Rights
As part of an ongoing attempt to help law enforcement obtain data across international borders, the Council of Europe’s Cybercrime Convention— finalized in the weeks following 9/11, and ratified by the United States and over 50 countries around the world—is back on the global lawmaking agenda. This... → Read More
Civil Society Condemns Malware Attacks Against Mexican Public Health Advocates
A group of Mexican nutrition policy makers and public health workers have been the latest targets of government malware attacks. According to the New York Times, several public health advocates were targeted by spyware developed by NSO Group, a surveillance software company that sells its products exclusively to governments. The targets were all vocal proponents of Mexico’s 2014 soda tax—a… → Read More
Surveillance in Latin America: 2016 in Review
Throughout 2016, EFF and our civil society partners have been closely following digital rights developments throughout Latin America. You can see some of the results in Unblinking Eyes, our exhaustive survey of surveillance law and practice across the Americas, as well as multiple countries’ localized versions of Who Has Your Back (Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil), our guide to how companies… → Read More
Second Annual Report Rates Mexican Telecoms on how well they Protect User Privacy
Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales (R3D)—the leading Mexican digital rights organization—has released the 2016 ¿Quién defiende mis datos? report, which evaluates how well Mexican telecommunications companies protect their customers’ privacy. R3D’s second annual report examines publicly-available policies from eight of the biggest telecommunications companies: AT&T, Axtel, Izzi, Megacable,… → Read More
Who Has Your Back in Colombia? A New Report Shows Telecom Privacy Slowly Improving
Fundacion Karisma—the leading Colombian digital rights organization—has published the 2016 ¿Dónde están mis datos? report, which evaluates how well Colombian telecommunications companies protect their customers’ privacy. → Read More
Unblinking Eyes: The State of Communications Surveillance in Latin America
New Reports Show How Vague Laws Can Pave the Way for Human Rights Violations → Read More
New Report Shows Which Brazilian ISPs Stand With Their Users
We entrust our most sensitive, private, and personal information to the companies which provide us access to the Internet. Collectively, these companies are privy to the online conversations, behavior, and even the location of almost every Internet user. As this reality increasingly penetrates the Brazilian public consciousness, Brazilian Internet users are justifiably concerned about which… → Read More
Keep the Pressure On: Brazilian Online Surveillance Bills Threaten Digital Rights and Innovation
The Brazilian Chamber of Deputies is about to vote on seven bills that were introduced as part of a report by the Brazilian Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry on Cybercrimes (CPICIBER). Collectively, these bills would be disastrous for privacy and freedom of expression in Brazil. That's why EFF is joining a coalition of Brazilian civil society groups in opposing the bills. As the vote takes… → Read More
Leaked Documents Confirm Ecuador’s Internet Censorship Machine
According to a leaked internal memo of the multinational ISP Telefónica in Ecuador, the Association of Internet Providers of Ecuador (AEPROVI) collaborated with the Ecuadorian government to block their users' access to websites. → Read More