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Council to vote on EU AI Act: What’s at stake?
The EU Council is set to vote on the AI Act on 2 February after three years of negotiation on this legislation. Our civil society AI coalition summarises the latest updates, what is at stake, and civil society's views on the AI Act.
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Irish Media Regulator must address dangerous age verification in its new online safety code
On 30 January 2024, EDRi submitted its comments on the Irish Media Regulator’s (Coimisiún na Meán) new Online Safety Code in a public consultation, highlighting significant concerns about age verification.
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The EU Media Freedom Act’s suspension period for content moderation will harm users
In December 2023, the European Parliament and Member States’ representatives negotiated a controversial special status for media outlets in the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA): their content cannot be removed from big tech platforms for up to 24 hours, even when it violates community standards intended to protect users.
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Encryption discussion during the 8 December trial: from myth to reality
The defendents’ fundamental right to privacy was treated flippantly and shown little interest by the judges and prosecution of the Paris criminal court in the ‘8 December’ trial hearings. This is a cause for concern and could lead to the justification of police’s ever-increasing surveillance.
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Portugal: New data retention law fails at the Constitutional court; Parliament will try for a third time
The Portuguese Constitutional Court has declared a new data retention law proposal to be unconstitutional. In response to the decision, the Parliament swiftly approved, in the beginning of the year, another dubious data retention regime, which might face the same fate - for the third time.
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Challenges ahead: European Media Freedom Act falls short in safeguarding journalists and EU fundamental values
The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) culminated in a politically pressured final trilogue on 15 December 2023. Unfortunately, the agreed-upon text lacks crucial safeguards against surveillance of journalists, which dangerously promote the use of spyware in the EU. It alsoraises concerns about Article 17 and the “media exemption”, potentially undermining the Digital Services Act (DSA) provisions.
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EDRi-gram, 17 January 2024
In December 2023, European Union (EU) institutions reached an agreement on the landmark Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act. But we think it might be too early to celebrate. Same for the European Media Freedom Act, which culminated in a politically pressured final trilogue in December. The final text leaves much to be desired in protecting journalists and EU fundamental rights.
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The right to pay in cash? Approaches of European countries mapped
The Czech organisation Iuridicum Remedium (IuRe), an EDRi member, has been working for several years on the issue of digital exclusion, which also concerns payment in cash. They discovered that People in the Czech Republic who prefer to pay in cash have been facing problems using some services. Now, IuRe has analysed the approaches of different countries in Europe towards cash payments in a new study.
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European Commission discusses “Going Dark”: Behind closed doors
EDRi and 20 organisations call on the High Level Group on Access to Data for Effective Law Enforcement for greater transparency and participation of all stakeholders.
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2023: A good year for privacy, a bad year for chat control
With 2023 coming to a close, where does that leave the draft EU Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Regulation?
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Transitioning from 9 years of EDRi policy work
On 12 January 2024, I will step down as EDRi’s Head of Policy after 9 years dedicated to the protection of human rights in the digital age.
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EDRi-gram, 6 December 2023
In this edition, we reflect on how our movement of human rights organisations and supporters influenced the European Parliament to reject the mass scanning of private messages in the CSA Regulation. And as we approach the final negotiations on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, we are raising the voices of 16 organisations, calling on the Council to effectively regulate the use of AI systems by law enforcement, migration control, and national security authorities in the law. Read on to learn more about digital exclusion in Europe, the expansion of the EURODAC database, and the EU's plans for facial recognition.
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