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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Open letter: Modernised ePrivacy legislation must protect fundamental rights
Today, 24 April, EDRi and 13 organisations call for robust legislation to complement and particularise the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and call upon the next European Commission to include comprehensive plans for reforming the European Union’s ePrivacy legislation.
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Privacy is not for sale: Meta must stop charging for people’s right to privacy
Ahead of a crucial opinion by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) – a grouping of the EU’s chief privacy regulators - on Meta’s plan to charge for privacy, the European Commission has opened an investigation that we hope will cast light on the unlawfulness of Meta’s so-called ‘Pay or Okay’ model, which has become the ‘talk of the town’ in Brussels.
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Open letter: Mass surveillance and undermining encryption still on table in EU Council
Today, 17 April, EDRi, in a coalition with 50 civil society organisations and 26 individual experts, call on Member State representatives not to agree to the proposed EU Council position on the Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Regulation whilst so many critical issues remain.
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New EU health data law endangers medical secrecy
EU lawmakers have agreed on a compromise for the European Health Data Space (EHDS) which will expose everyone’s medical records to unnecessary security and privacy risks in the name of research and “innovation”.
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European Court of Human Rights confirms: weakening of encryption can violate the human right to privacy
In a milestone judgment - Podchasov v. Russia - the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that weakening of encryption can lead to general and indiscriminate surveillance of the communications of all users and violates the human right to privacy.
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Will the Brussels spyware scandal finally convince the EU to act?
In February, Brussels was rocked by reports of phone hacking and spyware attacks on members of the European Parliament’s defence and security committee. Such intrusions are a huge threat to EU democracy — interfering with decision-making and allowing obstructive disruptions to public debate. Three weeks on, nothing seems to have changed with the EU’s approach to spyware.
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Press Release: Brussels rocked by major spyware scandal: Urgent call for ban
Now, when push has come to shove, policymakers at the European Union (EU) must act to ban spyware in Europe. Yesterday, the media reported a major attack on EU democracy with members of the European Parliament Defense Committee being the target of phone hacking.
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When law enforcement undermines our digital safety, who is looking after our interests?
Imagine your friend sent you a private DM on Twitter. Now imagine, instead of the content remaining for your eyes only, Twitter letting the police also take a peek at it. Such intrusive practices of state actors accessing private messages have grave consequences for our lives. Some people can be physically harmed, and for some, it can mean that their families and friends could get prosecuted. At a collective level, the harm this does to our communities and society at large is immeasurable.
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Health & digital rights organisations and trade unions to the Council of the EU: Uphold patients’ fundamental rights in the EHDS!
The Council of the EU must uphold European patients’ fundamental rights and agree on a right to ‘opt-out’ of the use of patient medical records in the final negotiations on the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
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Irish Media Regulator must address dangerous age verification in its new online safety code
On 30 January 2024, EDRi submitted its comments on the Irish Media Regulator’s (Coimisiún na Meán) new Online Safety Code in a public consultation, highlighting significant concerns about age verification.
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European Commission discusses “Going Dark”: Behind closed doors
EDRi and 20 organisations call on the High Level Group on Access to Data for Effective Law Enforcement for greater transparency and participation of all stakeholders.
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2023: A good year for privacy, a bad year for chat control
With 2023 coming to a close, where does that leave the draft EU Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Regulation?
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