Surveillance and data retention
Surveillance is when an individual or organisation is watching, tracking, filtering, analysing or blocking what you can see and do online or offline. It can be targeted on a specific individual (such as someone suspected of a crime) or it can be done indiscriminately (such as on all users from a particular country), also known as mass surveillance. Surveillance - and the retention of surveillance data - can impose restrictions on our fundamental rights in the digital environment by interfering with our freedom online, or by using digital technology to follow our offline movements, in order to gain an intimate picture of our lives, our beliefs and our interactions.
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Stop Europol’s Trojan Horse: 168 organisations and experts call to reject “insidious” police powers expansion
EDRi published today a joint statement by 168 organisations and experts calling for the rejection of the Europol Regulation and to amend the proposed Facilitation Directive. The so-called ‘Facilitators Package’ would expand surveillance measures, erode the right to seek asylum and criminalise human movement.
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Apple and the long secret arm of the UK Government
Apple disabled their 'advanced data protection' service for UK customers following a secret UK Government order demanding access to global user data. EDRi member Privacy International criticises this weakening of security standards for users in the United Kingdom.
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Poland searches for silver bullet for CSA Regulation
The Polish Council Presidency attempts to break the deadlock on the controversial 'Chat Control' proposal. We analyse the new approach and what could happen if Member States approve it.
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Why the new Europol regulation is a Trojan Horse for surveillance
The EU Commission’s proposal for a new Europol Regulation as part of the recast of the ‘Facilitator’s Package’ is a pretext for unchecked expansion of power and resources for Europol, the EU’s policing agency, at the expense of those they claim to protect.
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Protect Not Surveil position paper: Stop Europol’s expanding digital surveillance against migrants!
EDRi and the Protect Not Surveil coalition published position paper today to call for the rejection of the Europol reform. The proposed legislation would expand Europol’s surveillance powers, put lives at risk, and criminalise migrants and solidarity organisers.
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Pre-travel controls: Digitalising travel documents
We are responding to a public consultation on the European Commissions’ digitalising travel documents proposal. This proposal promises convenience in travel but could pave the way for biometric mass surveillance and automated discrimination.
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Serbian authorities must prosecute illegal hacking of journalists and activists
Today, 19 December, European Digital Rights (EDRi) and 58 organisations urge the European Union’s institutions to take action to stop the Serbian authorities’ illegal use of spyware to target journalists, activists, and members of civil society.
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New European Commission confirmed: our takeaways on what to expect
On 1 December 2024, the new political leaders of one of the EU’s most powerful institutions – the European Commission – officially took office. As part of their nomination process, they shared their digital visions for the next five years. Spoiler alert: the fight for digital rights will be as important as ever, with data protection, encryption and privacy all on the chopping block.
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Non-fitted devices in the UK Home Office’s surveillance arsenal: Investigating the technology behind GPS fingerprint scanners
Privacy International’s technical research on the so-called non-fitted devices (NFDs) used by the UK Home Office to track migrants shows that these devices are intrusive and stigmatising by design. The use of NFDs is an expansion beyond the use of GPS ankle tags of the UK’s surveillance of migrants who are on immigration bail and subject to electronic monitoring conditions.
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Promises unkept: The EU-US Data Privacy Framework under fire
A decade after Snowden’s revelations — and despite the public outrage they sparked — surveillance and mass data collection continue under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF), despite persistent privacy concerns. This shift reflects a reorientation of EU priorities toward economic and geopolitical interests, risking compromises on privacy and data protection.
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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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Biometric surveillance in the Czech Republic: the Ministry of the Interior is trying to circumvent the Artificial Intelligence Act
EDRi-member Iuridicum Remedium draws attention to the way biometric surveillance at airports should be legalised in the Czech Republic. According to the proposal, virtually anyone could become a person under surveillance. Moreover, surveillance could be extended from airports to other public spaces.
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