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You cannot post “a bag of bones” on Facebook
However shocking our reality may be, sometimes you have to face it. By censoring a news article about the horrific war in Yemen, Facebook completely disqualifies itself as a platform for public debate. This story should be heard “Chest heaving and eyes fluttering, the 3-year-old boy lay silently on a hospital bed in the highland […]
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Call for whistleblowing is not a crime: The case of a peace activist
The peace activist Hermann Theisen has been convicted by several lower courts for calling on employees of weapons manufacturers to expose illegal activities of their employers. EDRi observer Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF, Society for Civil Rights) supports him in his appeal procedures to get German courts to recognise that neither whistleblowing in the public interest […]
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ApTI submits complaint on Romanian GDPR implementation
In November 2018, the RISE Project case showed that the Romanian Data Protection Authority (ANSPDCP or Romanian DPA) was unprepared to respond to cases that involve both the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy. RISE Project’s investigative journalism story #TeleormanLeaks was an important signal that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) […]
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ICANN and GDPR – nowhere near compliance
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Initial Report of the Expedited Policy Development Process (EPDP) on the Temporary Specification for generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) Registration Data Team makes for difficult reading. This is because, though it contains a serious attempt at complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance, it […]
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New UK counter-terrorism law limits online freedoms
The Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019 became law in the United Kingdom (UK) in February, after passing through UK parliament with less debate than many had hoped, while Brexit dominated the political agenda. The new law is problematic in many ways, including the way in which it limits freedom of expression and access to […]
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Czech BBA: Facebook and iROBOT the worst privacy intruders of 2018
The 14th Czech Big Brother Awards – anti-awards for those who have done the most to threaten personal privacy in 2018 – were announced on 14 February 2019. A jury of nine technology experts, lawyers and journalists chose the worst privacy intruders based on suggestions made by the general public. The Awards in four different […]
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Safeguarding fundamental rights in the new Cybercrime Protocol
On 20 February, European Digital Rights (EDRi), along with ten civil society organisations from across the globe, responded to a public consultation on the Council of Europe’s Second Protocol to the Convention on Cybercrime (also known as the Budapest Convention). The draft Protocol aims to establish international rules for cross-border access to personal data by […]
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Google and IAB: Knowingly enabling intrusive profiling
On 28 January, EDRi member Panoptykon joined a complaint against Google and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in Poland, after it had become clear that the advertising categories provided by these entities are enabling the processing of extremely sensitive data of European citizens. On 20 February, new evidence was published proving that the IAB was […]
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Corporate Europe Observatory: e-Privacy Regulation victim of a “lobby onslaught”
On 6 February 2019, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) released its report “Captured states: when EU governments are a channel for corporate interests”. The report describes the various ways corporations influence the Member States of the European Union. It shows how they are far better equipped than non-governmental organisations and trade unions to access documents and […]
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Upload filters: history and next steps
The proposal for a new copyright Directive was originally aimed at modernising the copyright framework. However, it has fallen short of the initial expectations. Instead, the current proposal for the Directive text forces the implementation of upload filters and brings only minor improvements in other areas. In effect, the proposal could lead to unlawful restrictions […]
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FRA and EDPS: Terrorist Content Regulation requires improvement for fundamental rights
On 12 February 2019, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published an Opinion regarding the Regulation on preventing the dissemination of terrorist content online. In the same day, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) submitted its comments on the topic to the responsible committee in the European Parliament. These two texts complement EDRi’s […]
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Copyright Directive: Upload filters strike back
The behind-closed-doors discussions between the European Parliament negotiating team, EU Member States and the European Commission on the copyright Directive finalised last night with an agreement. The text, prepared by France and Germany, will be put to a vote between March and April in the European Parliament and could become law soon afterwards. The copyright […]
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