#IMWeekly: December 16, 2013

North Korea The North Korean government began an effort to remove all Internet content and references on state-run sites related to Jang Song Thaek, the former top government and party official who was recently executed. Jang, who was the uncle of supreme leader Kim Jong Un, was one of the most powerful men in the country. Since his death, the state has effectively tried to erase him from the country’s official history.

United Kingdom Amnesty International filed a legal claim against the UK government based on concerns that “the organization’s communications have been unlawfully accessed by the UK intelligence services.” Amnesty’s concerns first arose following the release of documents by Edward Snowden in June 2013 that revealed how UK authorities had access to information obtained by the US NSA’s previously secret PRISM program—the concerns were amplified when it was revealed the UK’s GCHQ had its own program, Tempora, that may have subjected people to blanket surveillance.  Amnesty’s claim is one in a series of recent legal challenges to spying that have emerged in the UK.

United States Documents released by Edward Snowden revealed that American and British intelligence agencies have infiltrated globally popular online games, such as World of Warcraft and Second Life, in order to conduct surveillance and gather data on game users. The documents suggest that the spy agencies were concerned that terrorists might use the online games to communicate, exchange funds, and/or plot attacks.

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