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Nine controversies about obligatory prepaid registration
“Register your prepaid and get free calls/internet transfer/win a car” – you can hear from Polish telecom operators, as a reminder that all pre-paid SIM cards have to be registered by 1 February 2017. One could almost think that this is just a nicely coordinated campaign of leading telecoms, aimed at collecting a bit more data […]
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Are the US-EU data agreements still alive?
Late on the first day of Computers, Data Protection and Privacy (CPDP) Conference on 25 January 2017, word came through that US President Donald Trump had issued Executive Order (EO), “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States”, which included the following: Privacy Act. Agencies shall, to the extent consistent with applicable law, […]
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Dutch Parliament: Safety net for democratic freedoms or sleepnet?
Currently, Dutch parliament is doing everything they can to get a dragnet surveillance bill approved before the elections on 15 March 2017. If they succeed, soon the online communications of Dutch citizens can, on a massive scale, get caught up in the secret services’ dragnet. So what’s happened since the last time we reported to […]
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SHARE Foundation honoured with a certificate of gratitude
Data Protection Day was celebrated on 28 January, and it was especially festive for EDRi observer SHARE Foundation. The organisation received a certificate of gratitude from the Commissioner for Information of Public Importance and Personal Data Protection of Serbia for their immense contribution to affirmation of the right to protection of personal data.
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Proposed surveillance package in Austria sparks resistance
The Austrian coalition parties have renegotiated their government programme in January 2017. This new programme contains a so-called “security package” that encompasses the introduction of several new surveillance measures and additional powers for the Austrian security agencies. These changes in the law are to be implemented by June 2017. However, so far no evaluation of already […]
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European fund for digital rights launched
The European movement to defend civil rights in the digital sphere is fighting for fundamental freedoms in the online environment. Most European digital rights NGOs are either entirely made up of volunteers or only have small teams of professional staff. They are usually the first to track and fight emerging issues in the field of […]
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Belgium agrees on passenger controls of international rail traffic
Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom have agreed on new checks of passengers’ identities on international trains. The agreement was reached on 26 January 2017 in an informal meeting between the Ministers of the Interior and Ministers of Justice in Malta. The Belgian Minister of the Interior and Security Jan Jambon announced the […]
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Funding is caring: Small grants to support digital rights groups!
We are more than happy to announce the launch of the “European Digital Rights Fund” that will bring urgently needed support to the EDRi community. This small grants programme, designed by the Renewable Freedom Foundation (RFF), is based on peer-led decisions from our digital rights community based on an easy application process that allows for […]
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#PrivacyCamp17: Controlling data, controlling machines
Accountability, transparency and profiling were the buzzwords of the fifth annual Privacy Camp, which took place on 24 January in Brussels. The camp, this year entitled “Controlling data, controlling machines: dangers and solutions”, brought together civil society, policy-makers and academia to discuss the problems for human rights in the digital environment. The event is organised […]
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e-Privacy Regulation: Good intentions but a lot of work to do
On 10 January 2017, the European Commission published its long-awaited proposal for an e-Privacy Regulation (Regulation on Privacy and Electronic Communications, ePR) to replace the 2002 e-Privacy Directive (Directive 2002/58/EC, ePD). EU legislation on data protection is divided between general legislation (the 1995 Directive, soon to be replaced by the General Data Protection Regulation) and […]
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Commission’s 2017 Work Programme: The good, the bad & the ambiguous
At the end of October 2016, the European Commission presented its programme for 2017 “delivering a Europe that protects, empowers and defends”. The new programme highlights 21 key political initiatives and 18 Regulatory Fitness and Performance reviews (REFIT). The programme also contains an overview of the pending proposals from previous years that need to be […]
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New Danish law can lead to substantial internet censorship
On 12 January 2017, the Danish Ministry of Justice presented a draft law on website blocking for public consultation. This step had been expected for a couple of months as part of the government’s action plan on countering online extremism and radicalisation. Denmark has a complete opt-out from the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) area […]
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