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Serbia: Complaints filed against Facebook and Google
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Austrian government hacking law is unconstitutional
On 11 December 2019, the Austrian Constitutional Court decided that the surveillance law that permits the use of spying software to read encrypted messages violates the fundamental right to respect for private life (article 8 ECHR), the fundamental right to data protection (§ 1 Austrian data protection law) and the constitutionally granted right that prohibits unreasonable searches (Art 9 Austrian bill of rights – Staatsgrundgesetz).
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EU Council moves the ePrivacy reform forward – with major flaws in its position
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CJEU ruling on fighting defamation online could open the door for upload filters
Today, on 3 October 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) gave its ruling in the case C‑18/18 Glawischnig-Piesczek v Facebook. The case is related to injunctions obliging a service provider to stop the dissemination of a defamatory comment. Some aspects of the decision could pose a threat for freedom of expression, in particular that of political dissidents who may be accused of defamatory practices.
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CJEU on cookies: ‘Consent or be tracked’ is not an option
European Digital Rights (EDRi) welcomes the CJEU's confirmation that under the current data protection framework, cookies can only be set if users have given consent that is valid under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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CJEU: Public documents could be censored because of copyright
On 29 July 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered a judgment that could have serious impact on freedom of expression. The case (C‑469/17) concerns Funke Medien NRW GmbH, the editor of the German daily newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, and Bundesrepublik Deutschland (Federal Republic of Germany). It follows a request in […]
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Facebook fails to avoid CJEU judgment on NSA case
On 31 May 2019, the Irish Supreme Court decided over an unprecedented application by Facebook. The decision is part of an ongoing procedure on Facebook’s involvement with the United States Nationa Security Agency (NSA) under the so-called “PRISM” surveillance program before the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) and the Irish High Court.
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Facebook’s commitments on ToS: Much ado about nothing?
On 9 April 2019, the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission (DG JUST), together with the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network, cheered at the new Facebook commitments to amend its Terms of Services (ToS). The amendments should address the concerns already raised by national competition authorities about the current ToS. They should […]
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EU Member States give green light for copyright censorship
Today, on 15 April 2019, European Union Member States gave their final approval to the text of the copyright Directive as it was adopted by the European Parliament on 26 March. This vote in the Council of the EU was the last procedural requirement in the EU law-making process. Now the Directive, once translated and […]
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Terrorist Content Regulation: Successful “damage control” by LIBE Committee
Today, on 8 April 2019, the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) adopted its Report on the proposed Regulation for moderation of terrorist content online. Released by the European Commission in September 2018, the proposal was very welcomed in the Council of Member States, which rapidly concluded a political agreement […]
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Google fined 1,5 billion euro for abusive online ad practices
On 20 March, the European Commission imposed yet another massive fine, 1,5 billion euro, on Google. The Commission Directorate-General for Competition stated that the data company has abused its dominant position in the online advertising market by imposing restrictive contracts with third-party websites that prevented rivals from placing their search adverts on these websites.
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EU Parliament stands up against censorship machine
Today, on 26 March, the European Parliament voted against adopting the controversial upload filters as part of the copyright Directive text. This vote comes after what was an intense campaign for human rights activists, with millions of calls and emails from concerned individuals, as well as Europe-wide protests. XXX Members of the European Parliament adopted […]
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