Category: Human Rights

Discussion and debate on human rights and access to justice issues and topics.

China gains more internet control after passing cyber security law

July 14, 2015 Christy Leos Leave a comment Government, Human Rights, Justice, News, Privacy, Security

China has censored the internet again after adopting a new national cyber security law that seeks to make data, IT infrastructure and systems, and the internet  in certain areas “secure and controllable,” according to the National People’s Congress website.

Reporters were told by Zheng Shuna, of the NPC’s Legislative Affairs Commission, that cyberspace sovereignty is “the embodiment and extension of national sovereignty” and an important part of national infrastructure (according to Xinhua, a state-owned news agency).

Article via Above The Law, 10 July 2015

Photo:China Flag via Bryan Jones [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

How to start a crowdfunding campaign for social good

July 6, 2015 Christy Leos Leave a comment Finance, Human Rights, Justice, News, Social Media

Crowdfunding can be an incredible campaigning tool, especially for a good cause. Finances can be a problem when starting a nonprofit, but crowdfunding has the ability to reach millions of people who would back your cause through donations, via the Internet.

A crowdfunding platform for nonprofits and social good projects, CauseVox explains how to make crowdfunding work for your cause in the infographic below.

social-good-crowdfunding-causevox

 

Article via Mashable, 22 June 2015

Photo: Interactief seminar Crowdsourcing door Gijsbert Koren van Douw&Koren via Mediawijzer.net [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

Uber driver not considered a contractor; could set precedent

June 19, 2015 Christy Leos Leave a comment Business, Court, Economy, Finance, Human Rights, News

California’s labor commission has decided that one of Uber’s drivers is an employee and not an independent contractor. Uber, a ride-hailing service and popular app, may have to change its business model in the state. While the ruling was made in March, it has now become public due to Uber filing an appeal.

Classifying the drivers as contractors has allowed Uber to avoid paying for Social Security tax, paid sick days, health insurance, car maintenance and gas along with other expenses. Uber will be obligated to pay for these expenses if their drivers are defined as employees, and the effects could be felt by customers as well as set a precedent for future lawsuits.

Article via CNET, 17 June 2015

Photo: GREAT experience with @Uber via Anne Ruthmann  [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

CrowdJustice: Combining public interest litigation and crowdfunding

May 27, 2015 Christy Leos Leave a comment Court, Finance, Human Rights, Justice, News

A London-based startup, CrowdJustice, has emerged and hopes to help communities fund legal action. The startup, founded by ex-UN lawyer Julia Salasky, is a crowdfunding platform for public interest litigation. The group’s goal is to provide access to justice for poorly-funded legal cases through the Kickstarter model. According to Salasky, CrowdJustice let’s communities come together to access the court system and protect their shared values and assets. The types of cases CrowdJustice features could vary from local to nationally-based issues. Until recently, there really wasn’t a means for communities to take advantage of the finances and energy of the community as a whole; typical public interest cases relied on the financial sacrifice of a few individuals.

Article via TechCrunch, 22 May 2015

Photo: 104:365 – a little justice via orangesparrow [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]