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Dutch civil rights group highlights dangers of ISDS in trade deals
On 9 March 2015, EDRi-member Vrijschrift sent a letter to the Dutch Parliament, highlighting the dangers of investor-state dispute settlement clauses (ISDS) in the trade agreements with Canada (CETA) and Singapore (EUSFTA) that the European Union is currently negotiating. On 25 March, EU Ministers of Trade will meet informally to discuss trade agreements, and in […]
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ENDitorial: Spanish rightsholders lobby against copyright reform
Among the very energetic but narrow group of critics attacking the European Parliament’s draft report on the implementation of the Information Society Directive (2014/2256(INI)), the Spanish collecting society SGAE has been one of the most vociferous. In a position paper sent to Parliamentarians, SGAE declares “inadmissible” the mere idea of debating copyright reform and makes […]
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Scottish Government proposes a national ID database
The Scottish Government has run a consultation to use the National Health Service (NHS) Registry database as a means to connect citizens’ data and allow online logins. The proposal has similar characteristics to the plan to introduce an Identity Database in the United Kingdom which was abandoned in 2006. Campaigners and opposition parties have urged […]
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Austrian Internet users to pay for intransparent web blocking scheme
On 27 March 2014, the European Court of Justice (CJEU) ruled that national jurisdiction can order an injunction against an Internet Service Provider (ISP) requiring it to restrict its customers from accessing a website that is placing protected content online without the consent of the rights holder. Since last year, Austrian ISPs have thus started […]
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Danish anti-terror proposal expands surveillance
On 19 February 2015, the Danish government presented a 12-point plan for new anti-terror initiatives in response to the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and the shooting incident in Copenhagen on 14 February. This will become the third major anti-terror package since 2001 to be presented to the Danish Parliament. The focus of the plan […]
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France implements Internet censorship without judicial oversight
The recent terrorist attacks in Europe have led to many statements implying the necessity of limiting citizens’ fundamental rights to ensure public safety. At the European level we are faced with the alarming prospect of air passenger data (Passenger Name Records, PNR) collection and long-term storage, while in France the legislative mills are turning even faster. […]
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Czech Big Brother Awards shine light on privacy invasions
EDRi-member Iuridicum Remedium (IuRe) organised the Czech Big Brother Awards 2014, which marks the the tenth time the event has been held. The Awards ceremony took place in the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague on 25 February 2015. The concept of the Big Brother Awards was created by Privacy International in the UK […]
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EU Council proposals on open internet – Episode 2, the clown wars
After one year of negotiations, a second element of the telecoms regulation was also agreed by the EU Council: arbitrary, ad hoc law enforcement by internet companies. The Council has decided that this is something that internet companies may do, may not do and may do (Council text, pdf). When the European Commission proposed its […]
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EU Council proposals on protecting the open internet – Episode 1, the phantom neutrality
After the European Parliament voted to protect net neutrality in April of last year, the EU Council of Ministers has just adopted its text on net neutrality (pdf)*. It claims to aim to defend the open internet, but would, in fact, permit every imaginable breach of net neutrality. The misleading nature of the adopted text […]
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Leaked documents: European data protection reform is badly broken
Brussels, Belgium. New leaked documents show that European countries, pushed by Germany, are systematically working to destroy the fabric of European privacy legislation. Under the current proposals, far from being provided with security fit for the digital age, Europe’s citizens right to data protection would be devoid of meaning. The Regulation is becoming an empty […]
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Infographic: TTIP Resolution
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) is an agreement which is currently being negotiated between the United States and the European Union. The European Parliament is going to adopt a Resolution on TTIP. A resolution is a political statement which does not have binding effects. This infographic shows how it is going to be […]
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So, whatever happened to net neutrality in Europe?
After all of the excitement and jubilation as a result of the US FCC’s ruling on net neutrality, what is going on in Europe? Quite a lot, as it happens. History In September 2013, the European Commission produced a badly drafted, incoherent “Telecoms Single Market Regulation”, which included proposals that claimed to support net neutrality, […]
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