EDRi-gram, 28 May 2026

What has the EDRi network been up to over the past few weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: May the force be with the digital rights community.

By EDRi · May 28, 2026

Over the past several weeks, Brussels has continued pushing policies that expand data collection and strengthen policing powers, all while presenting them as necessary for security. Talks on the highly controversial EU deportation regulation collapsed on 21 May after negotiators failed to agree on when the new rules should enter into force, but the political direction remains unmistakable: more deportations, increased surveillance, faster procedures, and broader enforcement powers.

Meanwhile, the EU’s much-hyped “tech sovereignty package” appears stuck in transit. The European Commission has once again postponed the long-awaited proposals amid tensions over trade negotiations with the United States. Officially, the package is said to be “ready” but a crucial part of it, the EU’s new Open Source Strategy, has been quietly removed. This will leave a major gap in Europe’s path for digital self-determination.

And while negotiations on the above unfold, Meta quietly announced it will remove end-to-end encryption from Instagram messages on 8 May, meaning your messages to friends and loved ones on one of the world’s largest platforms will no longer be fully secure.

Resistance, however, is growing too. Join us to call on lawmakers to protect encryption and safeguard our ability to safely and securely communicate with each other.

In this edition, we look at the political spin surrounding the European Parliament’s vote on children’s online safety, unpack the dangers posed by spyware, and dive into new research on how the implementation of the Law Enforcement Directive is still ineffective. We also cover the backlash against a Czech football club’s attempt to introduce facial recognition in stadiums, a controversy that exposed just how normalised biometric surveillance is becoming across Europe.

As governments and corporations continue to present invasive technologies as inevitable, the fight over privacy, accountability, and democratic freedoms is happening daily, in our phones, at our borders, online, and now, even in football stadiums.

PS. As digital rights increasingly collide with political polarisation, disinformation, and social conflict, the need for strategies and expertise follows along. That’s why EDRi is looking for conflict prevention and resolution professionals to help strengthen the movement and build more resilient democratic spaces across Europe. More details here.

RECOMMENDED

  • [📺watch] Looking the other way by Human Rights Watch. Increasing government use of commercial spyware and other types of surveillance technology poses a significant threat to human rights worldwide, undermining the work of different voices challenging power. Human Right Watch found that EU Member States have been exporting this dangerous technology to governments with with history of surveillance-fuelled harms, despite EU laws being in place.
  • [📰read ] EU-US data exchange proposal in conflict with EU laws by Statewatch. Since last December, the EU and the US have been negotiating an agreement to exchange information for security screenings and identity verification related to border procedures and visa applications. Statewatch published and analysed the European Commission’s current proposal, which manifestly violates EU law. It goes beyond the limited negotiating mandate of the Commission and against essential data protection safeguards set out by the European Data Protection Authorities, exposing all travellers to automated discriminatory profiling and safety threats.
  • [📰read ] Palestinian exclusion from the digital economy is structural and systematic by 7amleh. 7amleh’s latest report highlights the systematic exclusion Palestinians face in accessing global digital platforms, including payment services, e-commerce, and remote work platforms. Based on an analytical methodology, it was found that Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and inside Israel face structural barriers that restrict their participation in the digital economy. These barriers are shaped by the intersection of global tech company policies and Israeli control over ICT infrastructure, limiting access to essential economic tools.

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