Blogs
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ORG and DigiGes launch campaigns for the European elections
EDRi members Open Rights Group (ORG), UK, and Digitale Gesellschaft (DigiGes), Germany, have launched their campaigns for the WePromise.eu initiative for the European elections that will be held 22-25 May 2014. During the next term, European Parliament will face many crucial decisions concerning digital policy, ranging from privacy, copyright and net neutrality to mass surveillance. […]
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Microsoft terms of service – a half-step forward
A few weeks ago, there was a media storm when it became known that Microsoft was availing of the right that it gives itself, in its terms of service, to search through users’ Hotmail messages. In the aftermath of the media storm, Microsoft took the welcome decision to change its terms of service. In future, […]
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Big Brother Awards Germany 2014
On 11 April 2014 the fourteenth German Big Brother Awards ceremony was held in Bielefeld, Germany. The awards are organised by EDRi member Digitalcourage and the gala was streamed via the Internet and reported by print and broadcast media across Germany. Six “regular” awards were given, and for the first time, a “positive” award was […]
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Finishing my internship with EDRi
The last three months have provided a great opportunity to get first-hand experience observing digital policy in the European decision-making process. I have worked on a number of topics and assisted with the launch of the WePromise.eu campaign. By far the most memorable (and successful) thing I’ve worked on has been the Telecoms Single Market […]
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Why did UK Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy fail to vote to protect vulnerable children?
On Wednesday 3 April, British Labour MEP Arlene McCarthy sent an urgent e-mail to her colleagues about a vote on “net neutrality” (part of the Telecoms Single Market Regulation) that was scheduled to take place the following day. In her e-mail, she alleged that amendments tabled by the Socialist Group in the European Parliament (of […]
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Is Commissioner Malmström accusing herself of violating EU law?
On the 8th of April, the European Court of Justice ruled that Data Retention Directive was incompatible with European law and declared it invalid. Recent comments by Commissioner Cecilia Malmström (whose Home Affairs portfolio covered the Directive) appear to claim that she was always aware of the incompatibility of the Directive with European law. Addressing journalists […]
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Google fined for Street View violating privacy in Italy
Google has paid a 1 million euro fine imposed by Garante Privacy, the Italian data protection authority. The case dates back to 2010 when, Google’s Street View cars drove across the country without being labeled clearly enough to be perfectly recognisable, and thus violating the privacy of citizens being photographed without their knowledge. The data […]
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Commission opens investor-to-state dispute settlement consultation
The EU Commission has published a public consultation on modalities for investment protection and on investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) in the EU – US trade negotiations (TTIP / TAFTA). ISDS is the most controversial aspect of these negotiations. The ISDS mechanism gives multinationals the right to sue states before special tribunals if changes in law […]
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Human rights orgs form coalition against surveillance exports
A campaign against the export of surveillance and oppressive technologies to dictators has recently been launched in Brussels, called The Coalition Against Unlawful Surveillance Exports (CAUSE). The campaign is coordinated by a coalition of organisations that includes EDRi member Digitale Gesellschaft, Amnesty International, Open Technology Institute and Privacy International. The objective of the campaign is […]
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Data Retention ruled invalid: what does this mean for Kosovo?
The European Court of Justice published on on 8 April its verdict on the Data Retention Directive, ruling it invalid. The court’s decision follows years of strict enforcement by the Commission, which has gone so far as to seek financial penalties from a number of Member States that did not implement the measure on time. […]
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OHCHR consultation in connection with GA Resolution 68 167
On 1 April 2014, several EDRi members, including Article 19, Access and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, along with Privacy International, the Association for Progressive Communications, Human Rights Watch and the World Wide Web Foundation submitted a response to the consultation undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The consultation was […]
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ECJ: Data retention directive contravenes European law
On 8 April, the European Court of Justice ruled that the EU legislation on mass surveillance contravenes European law. The case was brought before the Court by EDRi member Digital Rights Ireland, together with the Austrian Working Group on Data Retention. While it will take some time to get a clear view of what is […]
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