EDRi-gram, 29 March 2023
Last week, with a close circle of friends and supporters in Brussels, EDRi celebrated twenty years of defending and advancing digital rights across Europe. It was an evening full of reflecting on our journey and successes and also building hope and strategies for the future of Europe’s digital rights movement. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us for making the celebration truly special! In this edition of news from the digital rights world, read about a new Brussels-focused campaign against mass facial recognition. Residents of the Belgian capital can join the initiative and demand that the Brussels Parliament bans these intrusive and discriminatory practices. We also explore the concerning revelation that unverified information such as “social media profiles and phone contacts” are being used for the purpose of deportations, according to an internal European Commission assessment.
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Protect My Face: Brussels residents join the fight against biometric mass surveillance
The newly-launched Protect My Face campaign gives residents of the Brussels region of Belgium the opportunity to oppose mass facial recognition. EDRi applauds this initiative which demands that...
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Mapping the impact of biometric surveillance and social media platforms on civic space
The European Center for Not-for-Profit Law is concerned about safeguarding human rights and limiting the negative impacts of security technology on civil society. Therefore, they launched a report...
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Manchester 10: Open letter asks Andy Burnham to tackle discriminatory ‘gang’ surveillance
Advocacy groups and human rights organisations have written to the Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, and the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, Stephen Watson, to ask them to investigate...
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“Social media profiles and phone contacts” used as proof of identity for deportations
Thirteen non-EU countries sometimes accept “social media profiles and phone contacts” as evidence of identity for the purpose of deportations, according to an internal European Commission assessment of...
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Unprecedented appearance by European Commissioner for Home Affairs, innovating on quicksand, and the cabinet vs. online confidentiality
Read through the most interesting developments at the intersection of human rights and technology from the Netherlands. This is the second update in this series.
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Shaping the next 20 years of digital rights in Europe
Last week we celebrated the 20th anniversary of EDRi, the European Digital Rights network, and its two decades of defending and promoting rights online and off. The digital...
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Repression is really something different than prevention
In 2021, a 17-year-old boy in the Netherlands was arrested for inciting of riots. The boy had called for people to come to Utrecht with fireworks as a...
Recommended
Do
It’s time to re-collect your data from these apps!
EDRi member, Privacy International
EDRi member Privacy International has devised a series of guides in order to help you collect your data from various platforms such as Uber, Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp. These platforms store a lot of your information in the cloud, which could become accessible to law enforcement agencies. Take a step forward, read the guides and find out more about the use of your data!
Watch
Suspicion Machines: Exposing welfare surveillance in Europe
Lighthouse Reports
In an unprecedented investigation, Lighthouse Reports and WIRED obtained the code for a complex artificial intelligence algorithm used to predict benefits fraud in the Dutch city of Rotterdam and conducted an academic-reviewed experiment to audit the algorithm. Sarah Chander, Senior Policy Advisor at EDRi, participated in a conversation with the journalists about the implications of their findings. Watch the video to find out more!
Listen
Taming the Titans
EDRi member, Article 19
EDRi member Article 19 has launched Taming the Titans, a new podcast series on Big Tech and human rights, presented by journalist Emily Hart. Over five episodes, Emily talks to a variety of international experts, analysing the power wielded by social media and search engine companies and examining what civil society can do to bring Big Tech back down to size. Listen to the podcast!
Read
Control and censorship of digital communications
EDRi member ApTI and Activewatch
Read the study in collaboration with EDRi member ApTI about control and censorship of digital communications in the last 18 months regarding the main aspects of the past 18 months on online media & control and censorship of digital communications in Romania. Read the english version.
Events
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Psychosocial Circles Now Open!
Team CommUNITY is happy to announce the Spring enrollment of three psychosocial “circles” - a series of weekly virtual private gatherings, led by mental health professionals, that provide...
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Joining the dots: Practices and Imaginaries for Post-Fossil Cultures
As cultural organisations, what do we mean when we talk about sustainability? ENCC annual conference will go beyond the catch-all keyword to highlight specific intersections between culture, ecology,...
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2024 Spring Fling
The Center for Democracy and Technology is pleased to announce the 2024 Spring Fling, a celebration during IAPP’s Global Privacy Summit. You won’t want to miss it!
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Civic-centric digital transformation: international conference
The conference is organized in the spirit of an inclusive and efficient digital transformation based on the needs of the citizens, which leaves no space for the undermining...
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Foss-north 2023
Foss-north is a free / open source conference covering both software and hardware from the technical perspective. Hosted in Gothenburg between Copenhagen, Oslo, and Stockholm, with an international...
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The Green/Digital/Society Conference
If you are an environmental or digital rights activist, researcher, policymaker, community member or just a concerned human being from the SEE region or Europe, join the discussion...
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Call for participation for re:publica Berlin 2023: CASH, the festival for the digital society
Join the discussion about what does cash means to us and how does it impact the climate emergency or the protection of human rights. A different way of...
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3rd ACM International Workshop on Multimedia AI against Disinformation (MAD’24) – Call for papers
Find out what you need to do to present your paper at the next International Workshop on Multimedia AI against Disinformation.
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Summer Academy For Global Privacy Law 2023
The Brussels Privacy Hub is proud to announce its 2023 Summer Academy for Global Privacy Law, after 7 years of successful editions.
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Freedom not Fear 1-4 September 2023
Freedom not Fear (fnf) is an annual self-organised conference on privacy and digital rights. People from all across Europe meet and work towards more freedom in the digitalised...
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Feira @ the Global Gathering
You can now apply for the Global Gathering Feira, a 3-day social and networking festival space for digital rights defenders!
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EU DisinfoLab 2024 Annual Conference – open call, sumbit your ideas!
After the successful #Disinfo2023 in Krakow, the 2024 Eu DisinfoLab conference is set to take place in Riga, Latvia, on 9-10 October 2024.
Jobs
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Law and Governance of Quantum Technologies is looking for 3 PhD researchers and a Postdoc researcher
The research group on the Law and Governance of Quantum Technologies studies the legal implications of quantum technologies through the lens of questions about law and digital infrastructure....
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Call for Nomination – EDRi Board elections 2023
EDRi General Assembly will this year elect two Board members to replace two outgoing Board members. EDRi is looking for interested candidates to become a member of the EDRi...
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Electronic Frontier Foundation is hiring for Director of Major Gifts
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through...
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Sovereign Tech Fund is hiring for a Communications Manager
The Sovereign Tech Fund's mission is to promote security, innovation and competitiveness and to create a stable digital foundation for participation and democracy.
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Digital Action is hiring for a Global Campaigns Manager
Digital Action is a globally connected campaigning organisation established in 2019 to protect democracy and human rights from digital threats. We are collaborative campaigners, catalysing movements that will...
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AlgorithmWatch is hiring for Head of Fundraising
AlgorithmWatch is a human rights organization based in Berlin and Zurich. Evaluating the social impact of algorithmic decision-making (ADM) and AI-based systems, it is dedicated to ensuring that...
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Privacy International is hiring for a Legal Officer
Since 1990, Privay International has been working to promote the human right of privacy throughout the world: raise awareness of threats to privacy; monitor and report on surveillance...
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The Greater Internet Freedom (GIF) project is hiring for a Lead Researcher
The lead researcher will spearhead and manage the research initiative along with the GIF team. They will liaise with the research advisory board, coordinate, and conduct the research...
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Global Disinformation Index is hiring for a Chief impact Officer
Disinformation has become a business. Today’s internet business models reward engagement above all else. These models monetise attention without considering the quality of the content garnering that attention,...
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Tor Project is hiring for a Product Designer
The Tor Project, Inc., nonprofit organization advancing human rights and freedoms by creating and deploying free and open source anonymity and privacy technologies, is seeking a Product Designer...
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Wikimedia Foundation is hiring for a Communications Manager
The Wikimedia Foundation is the nonprofit that hosts Wikipedia and their other free knowledge projects. Wikimedia Foundation wants to make it easier for everyone to share what they...
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Access Now is hiring for a Security Officer
Access Now is a growing international human rights organisation dedicated to defending and extending the digital rights of users at risk around the world, including issues of privacy,...
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Systemic Justice is hiring for various positions
Systemic Justice works to radically transform how the law works for communities fighting for racial, social, and economic justice. Centring affected communities in joint litigation, Systemic Justice will...