Blogs
Filter by...
-
Real Time Bidding: The auction for your attention
The digitalisation of marketing has introduced novel industry practices and business models. Some of these new systems have developed into crucial threats to people’s freedoms. A particularly alarming one is Real Time Bidding (RTB). When you visit a website, you often encounter content published by the website’s owner/author, and external ads. Since a certain type […]
Read more
-
EU worries over the possibility of losing wiretapping powers
5G telecoms networks could render obsolete the “lawful interception” techniques that police is traditionally using, unless the European Union and national governments take action. This was revealed in internal EU documents obtained by EDRi member Statewatch, that has published a new analysis explaining the issues and calling for a public debate. “It is unsurprising that […]
Read more
-
Regulating online communications: Fix the system, not the symptoms
Our digital information ecosystem fails to deliver the communications landscape needed to sustain our democracies. In a problem analysis, EDRi member Bits of Freedom introduces and disentangles some of the key concepts and issues surrounding the dominant role of platforms and the resulting harms to our freedom of expression.
Read more
-
Fighting online hatespeech: An alternative to mandatory real names
The internet facilitates debates: People around the globe can connect at almost zero cost, and information and opinions that would otherwise hardly be noticed can go viral through social media. However, services like Twitter and Facebook can also be used for targeted defamation. Especially people who belong to minorities or endorse views outside the mainstream […]
Read more
-
EU Commission discards criticism of net neutrality enforcement
On 30 April 2019, EDRi and 31 other civil rights organisations sent an open letter to the EU Commission and BEREC. The letter criticised the lack of enforcement of current net neutrality rules in Europe. The signatories also emphasised that the EU finally needs to act against the widespread use of zero-rating practices. Zero-rating favours […]
Read more
-
E-Commerce review: Opening Pandora’s box?
The next important battle for our rights and freedoms in the digital sphere is looming on the horizon. While the public debate has recently focused on upload filters for alleged copyright infringements and online “terrorist” content, a planned legislative review will look more broadly at the rules for all types of illegal and “harmful” content.
Read more
-
German Big Brother Awards – one “winner” reacts and appears
The German Big Brother Awards (BBA) gala was held on 8 June 2019 in Bielefeld, Germany. Organised annually since 2000 by EDRi member Digitalcourage, this year’s gala was the third to be streamed live in English in addition to the original German. For the second time, the venue was Bielefeld theatre, where the stage set […]
Read more
-
EU rushes into e-evidence negotiations without common position
On 6 June 2019, the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) – which gathers all EU Member States Ministers of Justice – asked the European Commission to start international negotiations on cross-border access to electronic evidence in criminal matters (so-called “e-evidence”) in the upcoming months. The Commission should enter into bilateral negotiations with the United […]
Read more
-
Fighting defamation online – AG Opinion forgets that context matters
On 4 June 2019, Advocate General (AG) of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), Maciej Szpunar, delivered his Opinion on the Glawischnig-Piesczek v Facebook Ireland case. The case is related to injunctions obliging a service provider to stop the dissemination of a defamatory comment. Looking carefully at this Opinion is important, as […]
Read more
-
Data Retention: EU Commission inconclusive about potential new legislation
On 6 June 2019, representatives from eight civil society organisations (including EDRi members) met with officials from the European Commission (EC) Directorate General of Home Affairs (DG HOME) to discuss data retention. This meeting, according to the EC officials, was just another one in a series of meetings that DG HOME is holding with different […]
Read more
-
Facebook and Google asked to appoint representatives in Serbia
Three months before the new Serbian Law on Personal Data Protection becomes applicable, EDRi member SHARE Foundation asked 20 data companies from around the world – including Google and Facebook – to appoint representatives in Serbia as required by the new law. This is crucial for providing Serbian citizens and competent authorities with a contact […]
Read more
-
BEREC workshop: Regulatory action by NRAs and consumer empowerment
On 29 May 2019, EDRi was invited to participate in a workshop of the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) on the planned update of its Net Neutrality Guidelines. Thomas Lohninger from Austrian EDRi member Epicenter.works and Jesper Lund from Danish EDRi member IT-Pol represented our network. Lund provided the following input to […]
Read more