When was the last time you bothered to read a privacy policy? It turns out that if you actually bothered to read all of the privacy policies you encounter on a daily basis it would take you about 30 working days! This article points out that this is only privacy policies – not even the terms of service or end user license agreements.

A new collection of rendition data brings together records of over 1100 Victims and shows how 45 countries were involved. The Rendition Project is a collaborative research project  which is "developing a database of all known victims of rendition and secret detention in the ‘War on Terror’ and its aftermath, as well as the facilities in which they have been held."

The Qatar Foundation’s Computing Research Institute have launched a new tool called Rayesna that Al Jazeera are using to track the Egyptian Presidential Candidates. Read more by @PatrickMeier here and check out the tool.

In response to a rising wave of threats made against the LGBT community by the government and religious organisations, a demonstration on the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia was cancelled.

"When the world’s largest online company Google Inc. changed its privacy policy in March making personal information more vulnerable, it immediately came under the scrutiny of both the US and the UK governments. But India has no teeth to handle such a situation; the changes by Google do not fall within the purview of the country’s Information Technology Act".

A provocative post from Don Tapscott argues that while there are benefits to increased openness and personal transparency online, we need to take personal responsibility for the amount of information we reveal:"...each of us also needs a personal privacy strategy governing what information we release and to whom"

Geert Lovink has long been a voice worth listening to on 'tactical media' and his latest work 'Networks Without a Cause' is no exception, calling on media practitioners and theorists to "collectively unleash our critical capacities to influence technology design and workspaces, otherwise we will disappear into the cloud". Check out more information about the book and listen to Geert talking about these issues.

An art exhibition "Printemps des Arts" in Tunisia was attacked by a group of Salafis, who follow a strictly conservative interpretation of Islam. A court official was sentenced to two months in prison on charges of inciting these riots.

The newly launched 'Google Now' is part of the company's Android mobile phone operating system. Its designed by Google to give you 'just the right information at just the right time'. What's new about Google Now is that it brings together data that Google collects about you – anything from your shopping habits, to your text messages – in one place.