back to article NGO to crowdfund legal challenge against Investigatory Powers Act

Civil liberties advocacy group Liberty is seeking to crowdfund a judicial review of the Investigatory Powers Act. Liberty is launching the legal challenge following a landmark EU ruling in December which found that data retention had to be targeted and not practiced on a population-scale to be lawful. This is not the case …

  1. Chewi
    Thumb Up

    Done!

    We're running out of opportunities to kill this thing. Let's not miss this one.

    1. Pen-y-gors

      Re: Done!

      Pledged. At the rate this is going, ElReg commentards could fund this by ourselves!

      (But what happens to El Reg when we're all in gaol?)

      [One weakness on the Liberty sign-up page - they ask us to share on FB and Twitter, but that would like the real me, and my credit card, to my definitely unreal FB and Twitter accounts]

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Done!

        "[...] [link] the real me, and my credit card, to my definitely unreal FB and Twitter accounts"

        Yes - that did seem to require a warning label given the current context.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Big Brother

    Count me in, here's £10.

    Normally I think crowd funding is at best very risky and at worst an outright con but this is one risk worth taking. The risk here is the Gov will round up all the donors after using said spying laws and intern them as enemies of the state however no freedoms were ever earned by just bending over and taking it like a chump.

    1. Chewi

      If the government objects to my stance on this then I'll quite gladly take it up with them in person.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Crowd Justice is the first site I've ever seen that has a sensible input field for a credit card number. It automatically displays as groups of four digits - just like they appear on the card. Not sure if it also accepts a space from the user too.

    No requirement to "join" the site before donating - unlike Just Giving. Sensible tick boxes that allow email anonymity even from Liberty.

    Donations are only charged once the target is reached.

    The donation can be Gift Aided too - although you have to click on the option's text before the tick box appears.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      It automatically displays as groups of four digits - just like they appear on the card.

      So they don't take AmEx, then?

      The donation can be Gift Aided too

      Curious, is Liberty a recognized charity?

      1. sysconfig

        So they don't take AmEx, then?

        Yes they do, and the input field splits the groups of digits correctly as you type. I can confirm, you may go ahead and pledge with your Amex, too.

  4. Michael H.F. Wilkinson Silver badge

    Just chipped in. This is certainly worth contributing to

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Chipped in and gift aided

    Let's kill it.

    1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

      Re: Chipped in and gift aided

      While there is still time.

      In any case, even if we kill it will be reinstated in 2019. Britain uber alles.

      1. deadfamous

        Re: Chipped in and gift aided

        EU Law <> European Court on Human Rights

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A friend recently moved house and was displeased to find her MP is now Amanda Rudd (Home Secretary). Will send my friend the link for a donation.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      > her MP is now Amanda Rudd (Home Secretary).

      Amanda Rudd is probably a decent human being. It's Amber Rudd who is the radicalised wingnut

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "Amanda Rudd is probably a decent human being."

        Oops! My name checking suffered from confirmation bias.. Amber Rudd it is.

  7. 8Ace

    Don't forget Gift Aid !!

    There is a certain karma in claiming the tax back !

    Anyway the whole saga goes to prove that more than anything, governments fear their own people.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Don't forget Gift Aid !!

      "[...] governments fear their own people."

      those who are obsessed with holding the levers of power in governments fear their own people.

      FTFY

  8. Tachikoma

    Herr May will just word it like "think of all the paedos we will catch" or "think of all the illegal immigrants we can identify and deport" and people will lap it up...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      A pity it is designed to avoid catching any corrupt MPs.

  9. Syntax Error

    Its Ben Wallace the Intelligence services man and May who have pushed this through. Labour did not oppose it.

    1. John G Imrie

      What have the Lib Dems done for us?

      The Lib Dems opposed this all the way through the Coalition.

  10. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Gimp

    The bill has to pass because HMG have been doing what it legalizes for decades.

    Something which would still be just a tinfoil hat wearers claim before Edward Snowden.

    However hopefully some of it's clauses can be moderated and maybe the Supreme Court can review it's view that "Oh it's alright, it's not "collected" till a human actually listens/views the surveillance"

    Let's never forget the real inspiration of this process. As the Cardinal put it 400 yrs ago.

    "Give me 6 lines from an honest man and I will find something with which to hang him."

    1. tr1ck5t3r
      Trollface

      Re: The bill has to pass because HMG have been doing what it legalizes for decades.

      Re legalising what its been doing for ages, exactly right. My uncle, Keith Rose of HMP Parkhurst breakout infamy used to sell GCHQ computer equipment and helped set up the Prestel messaging system for the Govt which was also used by the Royal Family. Due to my interest & abilities in computers I've been targeted since I was at school, getting grades marked down despite having a couple companies running my software whilst doing GCSE's and enjoying the school receptionist taking messages for me as this was pre-mobile phone days. But the govt/secret services actions don't just stop at hacking and placing dodgy stuff on your computer, they will also drug your food, getting local butchers to comply by sending uniform's in with letters (all official looking) on the pretence of said target not taking their GP prescribed med's for one technique. Its amazing what you can hide in your beef mince!

      Of course trying to get another agency like the Food Standards Agency to test said food then turns up nothing, so it pays to educate oneself in a variety of subjects where possible to test yourself.

      In the mean time, badBios, badUSB, Stuxnet, Duqu & Flame are all the same evolving suite of malware.

      It works on computers built in 2004 and possibly even earlier (but not tested), it rewrites the firmware of some Hard drive manufacturers, CD/DVD drives, 8051 controllers typically found in USB devices like mem sticks & multi card readers, and seems to be adept at altering the Arm controller on (micro)SD cards that carryout the wear levelling, whilst also targeting the USB bus on both Windows & Linux. Not tested Apple.

      If you look at the MS links regarding how the USB works, you can see how firmware is downloaded from a USB device when its connected.

      https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/ff537061(v=vs.85).aspx

      "Because firmware is downloaded every time the device starts"

      or check out https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/drivers/bringup/system-and-device-firmware-updates-via-a-firmware-driver-package

      https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/drivers/bringup/boot-and-uefi

      AV companies do not have access to device manufacturers firmware for independent verification which is a weakness in the industry standards, just like your ISP supplied router lets all traffic out without hindrance, when really all firewalls should block everything going in and out by default and then allow traffic in and out according to the users requirements. With people like the BBC advocating Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to the workplace, and their love of that oh so buggy Flash for media content delivery, is it any wonder systems get compromised so easily? BBC employers can be negatively and positively tested for roles required by the secret services.

      Another problem is hardware manufacturers don't provide the tools for end users to verify their firmware has not been altered, and considering some chip's can be reprogrammed, they have space for firmware malware to hide within.

      It only takes a few lines of assembler to jump to another area sometimes not even on the same device to inject some additional code. Exploit the standards & rules like Bradley Wiggins the smoker did when winning the Tour de France and Olympics.

      You only have to look at jmicron and how their cert's were stolen to help facilitate this for Stuxnet or Flame. jmicron are one manufacturer who have discovered they have had IP stolen, other manufacturers don't know due to not having secure processes & procedures in place, just look at Yahoo owning up about being hacked some years after the event, and companies are not legally obliged to report to users/customers the fact they have been hacked as its bad for business.

      So by using psychological techniques to predict a users actions, early adopters (FanBois) are easily manipulated and good to target just like other novelty seeking individuals, you can have plenty of unwitting individuals carrying out your dirty deeds, and that's before you get into the art of hypnosis to further cover up any traces. Derren Brown knows a trick or two when it comes to social compliance aka peer pressure. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/derren-brown-pushed-to-the-edge

      Welcome to the dark arts of the secret services......

  11. B0rg
    Thumb Up

    Wow - In a couple of hours the CrowdJustice total went from about £1k up to currently: £8,370

    Good work El Reg and my fellow commentards.

    Viva la resistance :)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Tuesday 2017/1/10 14:15 £13k.

      They have passed the threshold target and are now going for a "Stretched Target" of GBP21k

      The average donation is GBP25 - which seems more than the usual fivers and tenners.

      Da da da - Dah

  12. Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse

    £50 pledged.

    Go kids go!!!!!

  13. CheeseTriangles
    Thumb Up

    Pledged...

    ... a mere tenner, but I suppose it all counts.

    It was worth pledging just so I could tick the Gift Aid box.

    Where are you now, Theresa May?

    Total pledged now up to £14,805 when I last checked.

    1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

      Re: Pledged...

      Any spare cash you have could be spent on a decent overseas VPN! Some related site that might help:

      https://www.bestvpn.com/

      https://vpn-services.bestreviews.net/

      https://torrentfreak.com/vpn-anonymous-review-160220/

      First two are sort of advertorial, but have some useful guides and comparisons. Last is focused on BitTorrent file-sharing so anonymity to avoid the likes of ACS:Law from chasing you matters, or the draconian penalties being proposed in the Digital Economy Act where you can get more jail-time than, for example, glassing someone in an unprovoked pub fight.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    GCHQ employee?

    I see the lone downvoter who haunts these threads is at it again.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    No liberty

    Not giving anything to Liberty after that bloody Chakrabarti woman jumped straight in to bed with Corbyn.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: No liberty

      "that bloody Chakrabarti woman"

      Would that be the same one who stood down nearly a year ago?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: No liberty

      "[...] that bloody Chakrabarti woman jumped straight in to bed with Corbyn."

      It did appear rather injudicious of her - and she went down in my estimation too.

      However she left Liberty in March 2016 - so it is no reason to cut off your nose to spite your face.

  16. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Nearly there

      Tuesday 10 January 2016 20:08

      GBP21,165 from 841 donations

      Average donation still circa GBP25

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Stretched target passed

        Tuesday 10 January 2016 20:22

        GBP21,630 from 860 donations

        Average donation circa GBP25

        ...and new donations are still being added every few minutes.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: New Target GBP40k

          Tuesday 10 January 2016 20:41

          GBP21,920 from 871 donations - New Stretch Target of GBP40k

          Average donation circa GBP25

          ...and new donations are still being added every few minutes.

          1. billse10

            Re: New Target GBP40k

            It's at £32k now ... talk about "engaging people in politics" ....

            1. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: New Target GBP40k Passed

              Wednesday 11 January 2017 18:58

              GBP40,077 from 1379 donations

              Average donation nearly GBP30

              The average donation jumped from 25 to 30 early today suggesting some quite large ones.

              Pity there is no chart to show the dynamics.

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