Blogs

February 12, 2020 · Blogs | On the ground | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Digital rights in trade agreements

Data protection safeguards needed in EU-Vietnam trade agreements

On 12 February 2020, the European Parliament gave consent for the ratification of the EU-Vietnam trade and investment agreements. The trade agreement contains two cross-border data flow commitments. The related data protection safeguards in this agreement are similar to the ones in the EU-Japan agreement, which entered into force in February 2019. Civil society organisations […]

February 12, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Surveillance and data retention

Digitalcourage fights back against data retention in Germany

On 10 February 2020, EDRi member Digitalcourage published the German government’s plea in the data retention case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Dated 9 September 2019, the document from the government explains the use of retained telecommunications data by secret services, the question whether the 2002 ePrivacy Directive might apply to various forms […]

January 29, 2020 · Blogs | Information democracy

#PrivacyCamp20 happened

January 29, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Biometrics

Stalked by your digital doppelganger?

In this fourth installment of EDRi’s facial recognition and fundamental rights series, we explore what could happen if facial recognition collides with data-hungry business models and 24/7 surveillance.

January 29, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Privacy and confidentiality | Profiling practices

CJEU to decide on processing of passenger data under PNR Directive

On 20 January 2020, the District Court of Cologne, Germany, submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) the question whether the European Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive violates fundamental rights. EDRi member Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF, Society for Civil Rights) initiated the proceedings against the directive, which allows for authorities to […]

January 29, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Surveillance and data retention

Data retention: “National security” is not a blank cheque

On 15 January, Advocate General (AG) Campos Sánchez-Bordona of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered his opinions on four cases regarding data retention regimes in France, Belgium and the UK, in the context of these Members States’ surveillance programmes.

January 16, 2020 · Blogs | Open internet and inclusive technology | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Biometrics

2020: Important consultations for your Digital Rights!

Public consultations are an opportunity to influence future legislation at an early stage, in the European Union and beyond. They are your opportunity to help shaping a brighter future for digital rights, such as your right to a private life, data protection, or your freedom of opinion and expression.

January 15, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Biometrics

Amazon’s Rekognition shows its true colors

EDRi member Bits of Freedom has been investigating the problems associated with the use of facial recognition by the police in the public space. As part of this investigation they wanted to put this technology to the test themselves. How does facial recognition technology really work? Digital tourism On Dam Square, in the center of […]

January 15, 2020 · Blogs | Information democracy | Open internet and inclusive technology | Transparency

Copyright stakeholder dialogues: Filters can’t understand context

On 16 December 2019, the European Commission held the fourth meeting of the Copyright Directive Article 17 stakeholder dialogues. During the “first phase”, meetings focused on the practices in different industries such as music, games, software, audiovisual and publishing. This meeting was the last of what the Commission called the “second phase”, where meetings were […]

January 15, 2020 · Blogs | On the ground | Privacy and data protection | Surveillance and data retention

ECtHR demands explanations on Polish intelligence agency surveillance

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has demanded the Polish government to provide an explanation on surveillance by its intelligence agencies. This is a result of complaints filed with the Strasbourg court in late 2017 and early 2018 by activists from EDRi member Panoptykon Foundation and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights as well as […]

January 15, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Biometrics

Your face rings a bell: Three common uses of facial recognition

Not all applications of facial recognition are created equal. In this third installment, we sift through the hype to analyse three increasingly common uses of facial recognition: tagging pictures on Facebook, automated border control gates, and police surveillance.

January 15, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Biometrics | Data protection standards | Equal access to the internet | Online tracking industry / AdTech | Platform regulation | Profiling practices | Surveillance and data retention | Transparency

Our New Year’s wishes for European Commissioners

EDRi wishes all readers a happy new year 2020! In 2019, we had a number of victories in multiple fields. The European Parliament added necessary safeguards to the proposed Terrorist Content Online (TCO) Regulation to protect fundamental rights against overly broad and disproportionate censorship measures. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled […]