Blogs
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Algorithms of trauma: New case study shows that Facebook doesn’t give users real control over disturbing surveillance ads
A case study examined by Panoptykon Foundation, EDRi’s member in Poland, and showcased by the Financial Times, demonstrates how Facebook uses algorithms to deliver personalised ads that may exploit users’ mental vulnerabilities.
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How a company illegally exploited the data of 14 million mothers and babies
If you’re in the UK you may know Bounty by the packs of samples they distribute to pregnant women at midwife apps. You might not know that they were also found to have illegally shared data of +14 million mums and babies with 39 companies. Bounty collected personal data from a variety of channels both online and offline: its website, mobile app.
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EDRi and 41 human rights organisations call on the European Parliament to reject amendments to AI and criminal law report
EDRi and 41 human rights organisations* call on the members of the European Parliament to vote against the new amendments, which enable discriminatory predictive policing and biometric mass surveillance.
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DSA should tackle the root cause of polarisation, not just its symptoms
Yesterday, 30 September 2021, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) approved its Opinion on the proposed Digital Services Act (DSA). European Digital Rights (EDRi) and its 45 member organisations had previously called on JURI members to reject the compromise proposed by the Rapporteur for Opinion.
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A losing game: moderating online content fuels Big Tech power
While online platforms have a role to play in dealing with systemic risks, holistic - not techno-centric - approaches are needed to guarantee our safety and free expression, argues Claire Fernandez
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Final push needed for a strong ePrivacy Regulation
Today EDRi and 17 civil rights organisations reiterate our support for the much-needed efforts to upgrade Europe’s ePrivacy legislation.
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Building a coalition for Digital Dignity
In 2020 EDRi started to build the ‘Digital Dignity Coalition’, a group of organisations and activists active at the EU level dedicated to upholding rights in digital spaces and resisting harmful uses of technology. We’ve been organising to understand and resist how technological practices differentiate, target and experiment on communities at the margins - this article sets out what we’ve done so far.
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Big Tech platforms are hurting us. 50 organisations urge the EU to #FixAlgorithms
The list of negative consequences of how dominant online platforms shape our experience online is neither short nor trivial. From exploiting users’ vulnerabilities, triggering psychological trauma, depriving people of job opportunities to pushing disturbing content to others, these are just some examples. While members of the European Parliament debate their position on the Digital Services Act (DSA), EDRi’s member Panoptykon Foundation (Poland), together with 49 civil society organisations from all over Europe, including EDRi, Amnesty International, Article 19, European Partnership for Democracy and Electronic Frontier Foundation, urge them to ensure protection from the harms caused by platforms’ algorithms.
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Website blocking: No copyright liability for DNS services!
EDRi's member Society for Civil Rights (GFF) supports the independent DNS resolver Quad9 in a court case against an interim injunction ordering Quad9 to set up network blocks. The blocking of entire websites is a threat to freedom of information on the internet. Technologically neutral service providers must not bear the costs and risks of enforcing claims for copyright infringements for which they are neither involved in nor aware of.
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Total surveillance law proposed in Serbia
The public debate on the Draft Law on Internal Affairs has officially introduced into legal procedure provisions for the use of mass biometric surveillance in public spaces in Serbia, advanced technologies equipped with facial recognition software that enable capturing and processing of large amounts of sensitive personal data in real time. EDRi's member the SHARE Foundation has used the opportunity of the Draft Law public debate to submit its legal comments on the provisions regulating mass biometric surveillance in public spaces, demanding from the authorities to declare a moratorium on the use of such technologies and systems in Serbia without delay.
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What’s up with WhatsApp encrypted backups
WhatsApp is rolling out an option for users to encrypt their message backups, and that is a big win for user privacy and security. The new feature is expected to be available for both iOS and Android “in the coming weeks.” EDRi's member Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has pointed out unencrypted backups as a huge weakness for WhatsApp and for any messenger that claims to offer end-to-end encryption, and we applaud this improvement. Next, encryption for backups should become the default for all users, not just an option.
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Human rights focus missing in the State of the Union 2021 address
On 15 September, the yearly State of the Union 2021 address took place. The address is the event where the European Commission evaluates the preceding year and the Commission President announces key legislation or reactions to crucial international events.
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