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UK Privacy Advocate Caspar Bowden Dies

Posted by samzenpus on from the rest-in-peace dept.

wendyg writes: Many outlets are reporting that UK privacy advocate Caspar Bowden has died. For ten years or so, Caspar was one of Microsoft's leading privacy officers, but he is most significantly known as a tireless campaigner against back-doored encryption and key escrow. As a founder of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, he spent countless hours studying the legislation that became the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and was instrumental in keeping some of the worst proposals out of the eventual law. Campaigners from Privacy International, Big Brother Watch, Open Rights Group, and No2ID all speak of how important his advice and insight were in their work.

6 of 16 comments (clear)

  1. Fuck cancer. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Fuck cancer.

    1. Re:Fuck cancer. by Black+LED · · Score: 1

      You got that right. An long time friend of mine died from cancer this year.

      I can't help but be optimistic that a breakthrough in cancer treatment is on the horizon.

    2. Re:Fuck cancer. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      Fuck cancer.

      do you get angry at your car for being wrecked or do you get angry at the person who wrecked it?

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  2. Rest in peace. by Burz · · Score: 2

    I know that Caspar was active in the Qubes OS community and he is credited with introducing Qubes to the European Parliament before they recommended it as a mitigation against mass surveillance. He also served as a Director for the Tor Project.

    Computing UK has posted an obituary here.

  3. Sadly he failed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    With GCHQ and NSA effectively going ahead with mass surveillance anyway, the police via the MET anti terror squad getting access to that data, and the Home Secretary getting briefings from this mountain of data he failed.

    Even now we get hints that there is some other database that government agencies have free access to that has no basis in any law passed by Parliament.

    Every leader, politician, journalist, campaigner, is now subject to surveillance by an authority that they are supposed to regulate. And now that body has its own propaganda and psychops unit:

    http://off-guardian.org/2015/07/05/controversial-gchq-unit-engaged-in-domestic-law-enforcement-online-propaganda-psychology-research/comment-page-1/

    UK privacy right is a disgrace, and you can't elect a leader to tackle these Stasi because every potential leader is monitored by them and can/is smeared by them.

  4. Re:I love the irony. by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

    You wouldn't know irony if it came up from behind you and bit you on the keyster. Please don't use words you don't understand.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.