EU court ruling could derail the UK’s new surveillance law

The Investigatory Powers Act became the UK government’s new digital surveillance law less than a month ago, but it appears it’s already been deemed unfit for purpose. The EU Court of Justice today delivered its verdict on a long-running case concerning the legality of surveillance measures. It ruled that while the targeted retention of data for the purpose of combating serious crime is permissible, “indiscriminate” data collection is incompatible with EU human rights law. “Such national legislation therefore exceeds the limits of what is strictly necessary and cannot be considered to be justified within a democratic society,” the court said.

This doesn’t bode well for a controversial new power in the IP Act that allows the government to force internet service providers and mobile carriers to store data on the online activity of all customers for a period of 12 months. Your internet browsing history (or rather, just the top-level domains you accessed, such as wikipedia.org) and data around messaging and other online services you use fall under the definition of ICRs. This is far from a targeted measure, though, and thus would appear to be at odds with the EU Court of Justice’s decision.

Furthermore, the court states that governments should not be able to access any personal data without prior authorisation from a judge or independent body. Under the IP Act, ICRs can be accessed without a warrant, and by a number of government organisations unlikely to be involved in the investigation of serious crimes (though the definition of “serious” is unclear, as is unfortunately often the case with legalese). Still, the retention of ICRs goes against basically every precedent laid down by the EU court today.

The government’s use of so-called bulk powers also appears to be drawn into question by the ruling. Bulk powers, in one form, are the equivalent of mass surveillance, whereby data and communications related a large group of people or a large area are monitored. Often, this includes the surveillance of innocent people in order to identify certain suspects or unlawful activity (read: relatively indiscriminate). While these intrusive powers are subject to prior approval — except in urgent cases, where it’s granted after the fact — they can be employed for a number of reasons, including the threat to injury of a person’s mental health. Whether all these potential use cases can be considered “serious” enough to justify these powers is now up for argument.

If our story ends with the Investigatory Powers Act, it starts with the Data Retention Directive. This EU-wide directive was issued in 2006, and compelled telecommunications service providers to store various user data — like IP addresses, the time text messages were sent and received, among other things — for a minimum of six months. The idea being it could then be made available to law enforcement agencies for the purpose of investigating serious crimes.

In a landmark case, the EU Court of Justice threw out the directive in 2014, after a legal challenge from Digital Rights Ireland. While the reasons for issuing the directive were sound, the court said, the data retention requirements were unnecessarily broad, and there weren’t any defined limitations on who could access the data and for what purpose. Basically, it wasn’t comprehensive enough to ensure there was no risk of abuse, therefore it was incompatible with EU privacy and data protection rights.

This posed a serious problem for the UK government, as by this point the directive had trickled down into various national laws and regulations. With these now deemed unfit for purpose, the government rushed to keep its surveillance regime intact by way of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIPA). The emergency legislation, which was hastily adapted from existing law, came into force mere days after it was first published, albeit with a self-destruct mechanism built in that means it expires at the end of this year.

A few months later, a cross-party pairing of MPs launched a legal challenge against DRIPA, and this time last year the UK’s High Court deemed it unlawful on the basis it, too, was incompatible with human rights laws (namely the fundamental right to privacy). As expected, the government appealed the High Court’s ruling, leading the Court of Appeal to seek advice from the EU Court of Justice before making its own decision.

The most important question asked of the EU court was whether its criticisms of the Data Retention Direction in the Digital Rights Ireland case (the one back in 2014) sets a precedent for future surveillance laws. “Yes” comes the answer from the court today.

While the UK Court of Appeals is focused on the DRIPA case, whatever decision it arrives at will have a direct impact on the Investigatory Powers Act — seen as a fresh start for Britain’s surveillance activities, as the bill consolidates several relevant laws in one tidy package. Based on the advice of the EU Court of Justice, the broad failings identified in DRIPA should also apply to the IP Act, and it should amount to a major reworking of the new laws. Until we leave the EU, that is, and the justice court’s ruling effectively becomes ignorable.

Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson, one of the MPs that brought the legal challenge against DRIPA, commented today: “This ruling shows it’s counterproductive to rush new laws through Parliament without proper scrutiny… I’m pleased the court has upheld the earlier decision of the UK courts.”

Several other MPs have voiced similar views, reiterating their disapproval of the IP Act and applauding the EU court’s decision. Martha Spurrier, director of privacy group Liberty — one of several organisations that argued from the outset the government was ignoring human rights concerns — said of the ruling: “Today’s judgment upholds the rights of ordinary British people not to have their personal lives spied on without good reason or an independent warrant. The Government must now make urgent changes to the Investigatory Powers Act to comply with this.”

[Inline image credits: Getty (server room) / Yves Herman for Reuters (Theresa May)]

Source: EU Court of Justice (PDF)

Super Mario Run Sets Downloads Record as Nintendo Pushes Out New Game Mode [Updated]

Popular iOS game Super Mario Run set a new download record yesterday, following its release last week on Thursday, December 15. According to app analyst Sensor Tower, the game hit 25 million downloads in just four days, which is faster than Pokémon Go, which took 11 days to reach the same number, although that game’s initial launch was limited in terms of available territories.

SensorTower’s current estimate puts paid users at approximately 2.1 million worldwide. By comparison, the paid game Lara Croft Go, launched in August 2015, has been downloaded approximately 280,000 times worldwide on the App Store since release.

Image via SensorTower
“It can’t be understated, however, that the vast majority of early Super Mario Run downloaders clearly find the full game pricing prohibitive, and we can only image how much better the conversion rate could be at $2.99 or even $4.99,” said SensorTower in a blog post.

Nintendo investors have so far expressed disappointment with Super Mario Run, causing share prices in the company to lose 11 percent since its release. The declines stem from negative user reviews of the game on the iOS App Store, where it is currently rated 2.5 stars out of 5 based on 4,919 reviews. This has led to concerns over the game’s one-time payment model, which eschews the typical model of paying various small amounts for select in-game features.

“Mario is arguably the most popular gaming franchise in the world, yet we see only about 8 percent of those who try the game actually purchasing it,” Sensor Tower analyst Spencer Gabriel told Reuters.

“I don’t think this is a statement on the game’s quality … but rather the perceived value when compared to free-to-play games that offer much more content with optional microtransactions that enable players to experience it sooner.”

In spite of reports that Nintendo won’t be adding extra features to Super Mario Run, the company today rolled out an update to its first iOS title that adds a new gameplay mode allowing users to compete with friends without paying any Rally Tickets.

Dubbed “Friendly Run”, the new mode can be played up to three times daily for gamers who paid $10 for the full content and have cleared World 1, while those who have cleared World 2 get five Friendly Runs per day. Players of the trial version can also get in on the action as long as they have some friends added in the game, but the mode can only be played once a day until the in-app purchase is made.

As noted by MacRumors sister site TouchArcade, with no coins being earned and no Toads or enemy level-ups up for grabs, the new mode is essentially just a practice mode, but it does offer a new way to compete with friends, which should add longevity to the game.

Super Mario Run is available to download for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [Direct Link]

Update: Nintendo has since released official download figures for Super Mario Run and claims that 40 million people have downloaded the free version of the game in just four days.

Tag: Super Mario Run
Discuss this article in our forums

New U.K. Surveillance Powers Are ‘Illegal’, Rules E.U.’s Highest Court

The European Union’s highest court has ruled that the “general and indiscriminate retention” of electronic communications by governments is illegal, in a direct challenge to the U.K.’s recently passed Investigatory Powers Act, the so-called “Snooper’s Charter” (via The Guardian).

The U.K. bill requires that internet service providers retain a record of all websites visited by citizens for 12 months at a time, but today’s decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg ruled that the collection of data in such a manner puts citizens under “constant surveillance” and enables governments to draw “very precise conclusions” about their private lives.

The European Court of Justice.

The interference by national legislation that provides for the retention of traffic data and location data with that right must therefore be considered to be particularly serious. The fact that the data is retained without the users of electronic communications services being informed of the fact is likely to cause the persons concerned to feel that their private lives are the subject of constant surveillance. Consequently, only the objective of fighting serious crime is capable of justifying such interference.

It’s unclear at this point whether the ruling can be used to overturn the United Kingdom’s surveillance laws. The U.K.’s Home Office has said it will appeal the ruling, which could eventually prove academic once the country has withdrawn from the E.U. and the ECJ loses judicial authority over the U.K.

Martha Spurrier, director of the human rights group Liberty, said the ruling “upholds the rights of ordinary British people not to have their personal lives spied on without good reason or an independent warrant.”

The government must now make urgent changes to the Investigatory Powers Act to comply with this. This is the first serious post-referendum test for our government’s commitment to protecting human rights and the rule of law. The UK may have voted to leave the EU – but we didn’t vote to abandon our rights and freedoms.”

Apple has long opposed the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers bill, which originally required companies to build anti-encryption backdoors into their software, before an amendment to the wording meant that companies aren’t required to do so when a government agency requests it, unless taking such an action “is technically feasible and not unduly expensive”. The exact definition of those terms are set to be left to the decision-making of a British judge on a case-by-case basis.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

Tags: European Union, United Kingdom, privacy
Discuss this article in our forums

Sky broadband ads now show the speeds you’ll actually get

Sky’s got not one, not two, but three tidbits of broadband-related news to share today, just before knocking off for Christmas. The first is the launch of the “UK’s lowest fibre broadband and line rental offer” at £20 per month, with a one-off £20 setup fee. It’s exclusive to new and existing Sky TV customers, and similar discounts can be found on the provider’s other fibre options. Next up, Sky’s got a new customer support team dedicated solely to fixing broadband issues, which we’ll call the on/off squad. Most interesting, though, is from today Sky will begin advertising the average download speeds of its broadband packages alongside the standard “up to” metric.

Sky says that average speeds will be prominent and will appear in most ads (wherever there’s space to include them, basically). But Sky may well be preempting an industry-wide shift, and a forceful one at that. You see, in November the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) concluded it was about time for a change to the way broadband speeds are communicated to customers. Currently, the guidelines state that “up to” speeds need to represent what is achievable by at least 10 percent of subscribers.

But — surprise, surprise — research shows that most people believe they’re going to receive those kinds of top-end speeds, when the reality is they probably won’t. Given this confusion around “up to” speeds, the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) — the body that sets the rules the ASA then enforce — is now reviewing the guidance on broadband speed claims, with its report due out next spring. Considering the advice of the ASA, it’s probable the CAP will revise the rules, and it would make sense to introduce average speeds as a new ad requirement. If that scenario plays out in the way we imagine, then Sky is simply jumping the gun here, including average speeds before its competitors are forced to follow suit.

The probe into broadband speed claims follows a similar review of confusing internet package pricing this year. Research conducted by the ASA and Ofcom found that due to introductory offers, installation costs, different contract lengths and other variables, 81 percent of study participants were unable to accurately calculate the total cost of their broadband tariff. To make contract pricing more transparent, a new rule came into force at the end of October obligating ISPs to make everything clearer for customers, namely by including the cost of telephone line rental in the overall monthly broadband package price.

Source: Sky

Man Turns to Body Modification to Keep AirPods Held in Place

The majority of user reports suggest Apple’s AirPods fare pretty well at sitting securely in the average lug hole, but at least one owner has had issues with them falling out of his ears. Fortunately he found an effective, albeit unusual, solution.

Figured out how I’m gonna keep these AirPods from falling out of my ears pic.twitter.com/5AKmzVIX5b

— Andrew Cornett 🌚🏡⏳ (@amotion) December 21, 2016

Andrew Cornett recruited a pair of stretched ear piercings to accommodate the stems, allowing his modified lobes to act as little holders that ensure his AirPods always stay in place.

As with individual pain thresholds, prices vary at piercing studios for opening holes in flesh, but all Apple Stores across the U.S. charge a consistent $69 to replace a lost AirPod, regardless of whether or not they’re still under warranty.

Tag: AirPods
Discuss this article in our forums

LG CES 2017 plans revealed: Smart Home appliances to get smarter with deep learning

LG is set to unveil a range of smart home appliances during CES 2017 that adopt deep learning technology to make them smarter than ever before.

During the January consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, the company will debut a new robot vacuum cleaner, refrigerator, air conditioner and washing machine – much like it did with the Signature range at the 2016 event. Each will have deep learning features to help them understand your life and therefore make things a little easier for you.

The robot cleaner will use deep learning to recognise objects around a room and react to them accordingly. It will capture surface images of its surroundings and learn to avoid them over time. It will also recognise different objects, such as electrical wires and slippers, and even tell the difference between a person and a chair in order to ask the human obstacle to kindly shift out of the way.

• CES 2017: What is it and what to expect

The fridge analyses usage and eating patterns in order to predict what tasks should be undertaken and when. For example, it will only make ice at the times of day it is most needed, or change sterilisation system patterns on its own when it detects a higher temperature outside.

LG’s new air conditioner also analyses the behaviour of home owners. It will learn which parts of the home are most occupied during the day and adjust temperatures to suit.

Finally, the new washing machine detects the quality of water used and adjusts programmes automatically, such as the temperature and amount of water used in a hard water area with excessive calcium carbonate.

“Deep learning technology is the next phase in the evolution of smart appliances,” said Song Dae-hyun, president of LG Electronics.

Pocket-lint will be at CES 2017 from 3 January to the end of the show in order to bring you all of the news, hands-ons and other announcements as they happen.

Huge leak seemingly confirms three iPhones for 2017

We’re still just under a year away from Apple unveiling its 2017 iPhones but the rumour mill is churning away at full speed. The latest leak is of alleged manufacturing documents from Apple’s East Asian supply chain, posted to Weibo and picked up by Apple Insider, that seemingly confirm there will indeed be three iPhone models in 2017.

• Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus: What’s the story so far?

It’s not the first time we’ve heard there will be three phones next year, but this new leak has more concrete evidence to back it up. It mentions three models: D20, D21 and D22. D20 and D21 are said to be the standard upgraded models over the current iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, but D22 will be a high-end model, currently codenamed ‘Ferrari’. Interestingly, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were known internally as D19 and D20 according to cnBeta.

It’s unlikely the high-end model will sport a red paint finish and do 0-60mph in under 4 seconds, but it’s said to be the model that will feature a bezel-less OLED screen, embedded home button and wireless charging.

Apple Insider goes on to say the ‘Ferrari’ model will receive a complete internal overhaul that will split the logic board into two pieces. One will play host to the new A11 processor chip and flash storage, while the second will house the Wi-Fi and communications components.

• Apple iPhone 8 might include two 5.5-inch models with dual cameras
• The 2017 iPhone 8 may be called iPhone 7S after all
• All iPhone 8 models will have curved OLED screens made by Samsung, says report

One thing the leak doesn’t talk about is naming of the new models. Some rumours suggest we’ll get the iPhone 7S and iPhone 7S Plus while others allude to an iPhone 8 because 2017 will mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone. As for the high-end model, we’re still none the wiser.

Propel X-Wing battle drone: The ultimate toy for Star Wars fans

Drones are the hot tech gadget at the moment. They come in all shapes and sizes, whether it be the high-powered, high-tech DJI Mavic Pro quadcopter with foldable arms, or the mammoth fixed-wing Parrot Disco drone which looks more like a mini aeroplane.  

For Star Wars fans however, there’s only one manufacturer worth looking at. Propel has created three new interactive Star Wars drones, and we got our hands on the X-Wing model. If for whatever reason you’re not an X-Wing fan, there’s also a TIE Advanced X1 fighter and a 74-Z Speeder Bike. 

X-Wing Drone preview: What comes in the box? 

The packaging, contents and presentation are probably the most interesting part of the drone. That’s not to downplay the fun of flying the X-Wing drone, but rather highlight how well presented it is. 

As soon as the lid is lifted from the box, the plinth holding the drone lights up and immediately starts playing Star Wars themes and a scene from the original trilogy movies. You’ll be whisked back to the first attack on the Death Star with all the Red fighters confirming their standby status. It’s pretty impressive. 

 

Undoubtedly the coolest unboxing. Ever. #starwars #drone #xwing

A video posted by Cam Bunton (@cambunton) on Dec 20, 2016 at 2:20am PST

Once you remove this display case you get to the rest of the contents, all of which are packaged neatly in their own grey card boxes. 

There’s the large remote control pad, which looks similar in design and size to the big white control used by DJI, except the power button is a large Rebel Alliance logo. 

The power adapter comes with interchangeable UK and EU electrical plugs, and plugs in to both the battery charging dock and the display case.

Pocket-lint

There are two batteries which come shipped in X-Wing cockpits. These were perhaps one of the biggest highlights of the experience. Having a battery port that was naturally part of the ship’s design, and that slots in and out so easily is great. 

• Best drones to buy in 2016, whatever your budget

Other parts that ship with the drone include the propellers, including eight spares, a propeller removal tool, spare screws and the protection cage which stops the propellers from being damaged and/or taking someone’s eye out. 

X-Wing Drone preview: Do the wings fold open?

In the Star Wars movies, the X-Wing fighter gets its name from the fact that it can open its wings in to a wide “X” shape. Its name pretty much tells you that. Sadly, the wings on the drone are fixed in position, so they can’t open. That was more than likely a necessity to make such a small drone possible. 

Pocket-lint

The entire drone feels mostly hollow, and made from plastic, then painted to make it look like one of the original T65 X-Wing fighters. In fact, it’s even got a finish that makes it appear slightly battle-worn. 

Perhaps the only part that doesn’t look authentic is the pair of arms sticking out from near the front of the cockpit. Of course, these are needed for the front propellers, but do look very strange on an X-Wing. 

In an effort to keep the rest of it as X-wing like as possible, Propel – the manufacturer – used completely transparent propellers, and placed the rear pair directly below the wings. This ensures that from above you can’t really see the blades at all. 

Pocket-lint

As with most drones, there are lights placed at the front and back. The red lights at the back are appropriately built in to the rear burners. The white front lights are built in to the front of the wings, and flash when the drone isn’t connected to the remote, then switch to a solid white when connected. 

X-Wing Drone preview: How do you fly it? 

You fly the drone using the included, massive controller pad. The drone itself powers on as soon as the battery unit is slotted in to the unit, so you never have to worry about finding an on/off switch.

Before powering on the controller, you need to find four AA batteries, and place them inside the base of the control pad. To get to the battery silos, you first need to pull out the tiny screwdriver which is stealthily placed inside its own slot in the side of the controller. 

It must be said, having a micro USB port and lithium ion batteries for easy recharge-ability would be much more convenient. This is a fiddly and cumbersome method of keeping the controller working. 

Pocket-lint

Once the batteries are in, you press the large round button emblazoned with a big red Rebel Alliance logo and hold it for a couple of seconds. The control pad powers up, then you move the left joystick up, then down and it’ll pair with the drone. 

Like so many other drone controllers, the left joystick adjusts the altitude and spins the drone around, while the right joystick moves it forwards, backwards, left and right. Four curved buttons on the inside of the joysticks have specific functions, like auto take off and landing, calibrating the gyroscopic sensor or skipping through music tracks. 

On the front of the controller there’s a selection of secondary trigger buttons which are used to change flight speed, fire infra-red weapons and perform special moves.

Pocket-lint

The controller also happens to play sound effects, theme songs and character quotes from the movies, just to make the experience that bit more Star Wars-y. 

X-Wing Drone preview: What else can it do? 

The fun really begins when you have two of these Battle drones in the same area. They have IR transmitters and receivers, so that you can take part in aerial duels. If your drone is hit three times by an enemy ship – like the TIE fighter version – your ship crashes (read auto-lands) and you lose. 

X-Wing Drone preview: How much is it and where can I get one?

The X-Wing drone is available now for £199, and an be purchased from a number of high street and online retailers, including Maplin, eBay, Amazon, the Disney Store and Argos. 

First Impressions

“Red Leader, standing by” is exactly what you’ll be shouting to yourself while flying this toy around your living room this holiday season. Incidentally, it’s also what you’ll hear the moment you lift the lid off the X-Wing battle drone for the first time. It’s £200, and is about as much fun as you’ll get from a drone if you’re a Star Wars fan.