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EDRi-gram, 13 January 2021
How can digital rights best contribute to reclaiming infrastructures, and how can reclaimed infrastructures sustain democratic practices, for a fair, people-centered, digital future in the EU? Join us at Privacy Camp 2021 to find out: https://privacycamp.eu/
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Looking for a New Years’ Resolution? #ReclaimYourFace with our citizens’ initiative!
Since its launch just 2 months ago, the Reclaim Your Face campaign to ban biometric mass surveillance has gone from strength to strength. Already 23 organisations have joined the coalition, and almost 13,000 people have joined the movement – and this is only the beginning.
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New Cybercrime Protocol: More overreach, still no data protection safeguards
In the context of the fifth round of consultation with civil society, data protection authorities and industry, EDRi and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) coordinated a civil society submission to provide feedback on the new draft provisions relating to joint investigations, request for domain name registration information and expedited disclosure of stored computer data in an emergency.
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The EU’s attempt to regulate Big Tech: What it brings and what is missing
This week, the European Commission has proposed two long-awaited pieces of digital legislation, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. Despite a number of good provisions, there are also major shortcomings which must be addressed to guarantee the protection of digital rights.
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Terrorist Content Online: Is this the end?
On 10 December, the European Parliament and the German Presidency acting on behalf of the Council reached a provisional agreement on the Regulation addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online.
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Statement: civil society challenges EU plans to expand biometric mass surveillance
On 9 December, the European Commission presented its new Security Union package, composed of the Counter-Terrorism Agenda and a proposal to strengthen the mandate of Europol. Originally intended for next year, the release of the Counter-Terrorism was accelerated due to recent attacks in France and Austria. When it comes to protecting fundamental rights from intrusive biometric surveillance, the proposals fall seriously short.
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Big Tech’s dominance: only laws can limit its power
Big Tech companies like Facebook have grown so large that the U.S. antitrust authority F.T.C. is considering breaking them up. We need laws that limit the power tech firms wields over our lives.
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Benefiting whom? An overview of companies profiting from “digital welfare”
Could private companies be the only ones really profiting from digital welfare? This overview from EDRi member Privacy International looks at the big players.
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The slippery slope of COVID health passports
There is increasing talk of measures that allow or restrict passengers at the departure gate based on health data. Can you show proof of vaccination? Then you may pass. Do you have a recent, negative test result? Then you may enter. Are you unable or unwilling to show these? Then you are denied access. There’s an understandable rationale that underpins these scenarios: we want to create a safe environment. Yet it is also cause for great concern.
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Reclaiming faces and public spaces!
The Reclaim Your Face movement is growing, and our demands for transparency, limiting the accepted uses and respect for humans are becoming more and more common across Europe. New organisations are joining the coalition each week, and people across Europe continue to sign the petition to add their voices to our demands. Now, thanks to campaigning by Homo Digitalis in Greece and Bits of Freedom in the Netherlands, we’re getting closer to real political and legislative changes that will protect our faces and our public spaces from biometric mass surveillance.
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EDRi-gram, 9 December 2020
In this final 2020 edition of the EDRi-gram, our wish is to start 2021 with more energy, momentum and resources to protect our rights and freedoms online. Would you consider donating to help make that happen?
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“E-evidence”: Mixed results in the European Parliament
The European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) agreed on a final text for the Regulation on cross border access to data (so-called “e-evidence” proposal). Despite some improvements designed to better protect people against law enforcement overreach across jurisdictions, the Committee’s majority has unfortunately also made major compromises that will put the rights of journalists, lawyers, doctors, social workers and individuals in general at risk.
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