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Czech BBA: Facebook and iROBOT the worst privacy intruders of 2018
The 14th Czech Big Brother Awards – anti-awards for those who have done the most to threaten personal privacy in 2018 – were announced on 14 February 2019. A jury of nine technology experts, lawyers and journalists chose the worst privacy intruders based on suggestions made by the general public. The Awards in four different […]
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Light at the end of the cyber tunnel: New IoT consumer standard
In February 2019, positive advancements were made regarding security standards in consumer Internet of Things (IoT) devices: The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) published a standard numbered TS 103 645, more appealingly named “Cyber Security for Consumer Internet of Things”. Under this new standard, compliant products will be expected to have unique passwords, a vulnerability […]
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You cannot post “a bag of bones” on Facebook
However shocking our reality may be, sometimes you have to face it. By censoring a news article about the horrific war in Yemen, Facebook completely disqualifies itself as a platform for public debate. This story should be heard “Chest heaving and eyes fluttering, the 3-year-old boy lay silently on a hospital bed in the highland […]
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Safeguarding fundamental rights in the new Cybercrime Protocol
On 20 February, European Digital Rights (EDRi), along with ten civil society organisations from across the globe, responded to a public consultation on the Council of Europe’s Second Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime (also known as the Budapest Convention). The draft Protocol aims to establish international rules for cross-border access to personal data by […]
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Google and IAB: Knowingly enabling intrusive profiling
On 28 January, EDRi member Panoptykon joined a complaint against Google and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in Poland, after it had become clear that the advertising categories provided by these entities are enabling the processing of extremely sensitive data of European citizens. On 20 February, new evidence was published proving that the IAB was […]
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Upload filters: history and next steps
The proposal for a new copyright Directive was originally aimed at modernising the copyright framework. However, it has fallen short of the initial expectations. Instead, the current proposal for the Directive text forces the implementation of upload filters and brings only minor improvements in other areas. In effect, the proposal could lead to unlawful restrictions […]
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FRA and EDPS: Terrorist Content Regulation requires improvement for fundamental rights
On 12 February 2019, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published an Opinion regarding the Regulation on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online. In the same day, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) submitted its comments on the topic to the responsible committee in the European Parliament. These two texts complement EDRi’s […]
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Corporate Europe Observatory: e-Privacy Regulation victim of a “lobby onslaught”
On 6 February 2019, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) released its report “Captured states: when EU governments are a channel for corporate interests”. The report describes the various ways corporations influence the Member States of the European Union. It shows how they are far better equipped than non-governmental organisations and trade unions to access documents and […]
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Copyright Directive: Upload filters strike back
The behind-closed-doors discussions between the European Parliament negotiating team, EU Member States and the European Commission on the copyright Directive finalised last night with an agreement. The text, prepared by France and Germany, will be put to a vote between March and April in the European Parliament and could become law soon afterwards. The copyright […]
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LIBE Committee analysis: Challenges of cross-border access to data
On 7 February, the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) presented two new working documents analysing further the issue of cross-border access to data in criminal matters, also known as “e-evidence”.
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EDPB confirms: Privacy Shield is still a shame
On 22 January 2019, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) adopted a Report on the Second Annual Review of the EU-US Privacy Shield. The Privacy Shield is a framework arrangement between the United States and the European Union to enable the transmission of personal data from the territory of the EU to the US. It […]
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Time for better net neutrality rules
A Dutch court struck a blow against strong net neutrality protections. According to the court, the mobile operator T-Mobile may continue to provide certain music services with preferential treatment to its customers in the Netherlands − a disappointing judgment showing the need for better rules.
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