Privacy and confidentiality
Privacy is a crucial element of our personal security, enabling free speech and democratic participation. The absolute and fundamental human right to privacy guarantees people respect for their private life and freedom from snooping and unlawful interference. It gives everyone the freedom to be themselves, to express and develop their opinions and ideas with dignity, and to practice their religion, as well as giving journalists and civil society the ability to report on violations of rights by states or businesses. Without sufficient privacy, people’s private interactions are exposed, which can be used to target or discriminate against them.
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Why Ireland is the Achilles heel of the EU’s fightback against Big Tech
The recent controversies surrounding Big Tech moguls Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg — who are defying content moderation norms and accusing the EU of censorship — should come as no surprise to those following the tech industry closely. For over a decade, Big Tech has approached the EU's robust data protection framework as little more than a compliance checkbox, rather than a set of binding legal obligations.
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Unpacking digital fairness: What Europe must do now to end the tech industry’s most nefarious tactics
The EU plans to propose a Digital Fairness Act to better protect consumers from deceptive design practices, social media addiction, and pervasive online tracking. We unpack what this means and what the European Commission should do to end Big Tech’s most nefarious tactics.
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Deported for reporting a crime: the paradox of securitisation policies
The review of the Return Directive, which governs detention and deportation procedures in the EU, should not lead to the criminalisation of undocumented people. Rather, it should uphold their fundamental right to personal data protection by establishing firewalls that allow them to report crimes without fears of being deported.
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EDRi and members take EU decision-makers through 20 years of digital policy
This September, EDRi, Access Now and ARTICLE 19 took Parliamentarians through a rollercoaster ride of all things digital policy in the European Union. From the early internet and initial experiments in platform regulation, through more recent regulatory innovations, and finally to questions of security and surveillance, we shared a digital rights perspective of the good, the bad and the ugly of digital policy in the EU.
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Rushed EU eID Wallet risks privacy and security: Calls for safeguards are getting ignored in hasty eIDAS implementation
From a visit to the doctor to public transport tickets , the European eID will handle our most sensitive personal data in a wide range of every-day applications. Yet, speed seems more important to the European Commission than a properly functioning eID system that is safe & secure to use.
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Dutch decision puts brakes on Chat Control
This controversial draft EU law has seen so many twists and turns that it’s giving us whiplash. Under renewed pressure from Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, some lawmakers had hoped they could finally get enough support for the controversial bill this autumn. But following a vital last-minute decision by the Netherlands, we are safe from “Chat Control” – for now.
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Open letter: The dangers of age verification proposals to fundamental rights online
On 16 September, EDRi and 63 organisations, academics and experts in privacy, encryption, child safety, sex workers' rights and consumer rights issued a joint statement urging the European Commission to prioritise effective child safety measures while expressing serious concerns about the suitability, proportionality, and negative impact on fundamental rights of current age verification proposals.
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What the arrest of Telegram’s CEO means for digital rights
French prosecutors have charged Telegram CEO Pavel Durov for illegal content disseminated by users of his platform and the company’s failure to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. EDRi is following this case with great concern, here is why.
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Age against the machine: the race to make online spaces age-appropriate
The race is on to make online spaces age-appropriate, but children’s best interest is no Olympic sport. While the internet was not designed with kids in mind, children, teens and young adults are now spending more time online than ever. Parents use video-sharing platforms to show cartoons to their toddlers, while kids and adolescents play online games, engage in social media, learn through online modules, and fashion their identities through their online activities.
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Council of Europe approves AI Convention, but not many reasons to celebrate
EDRi-member ECNL is not rejoicing at the adoption of Council of Europe’s AI Convention because of the significant flaws in the final text
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Joint statement on the future of the CSA Regulation
On 1 July, EDRi and 47 civil society organisations sent a joint statement to the Hungarian Council Presidency and a number of member state permanent representatives. We call on the Council and European Parliament to demand that the European Commission withdraw the draft CSA Regulation.
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European Court of Human Rights: Secret surveillance in Poland violates citizens’ privacy rights
On 28 May 2024, a precedent judgment was announced by the European Court of Human Rights. The court said that the operational control regime, the retention of communications data, and the secret surveillance regime under the Anti-Terrorism Act in Poland violate the right to privacy.
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