Biometrics
Biometrics refers to the use of analytical tools and devices which capture, record and/or process people’s physical or behavioural data. This can include faces (commonly known as facial recognition), fingerprints, DNA, irises, walking style (gait), voice as well as other characteristics. Under the EU’s data protection laws, this biometric data is especially sensitive. It is linked to our individual identities, and can also reveal protected and intimate information about who we are, where we go, our health status and more. When used to indiscriminately target people in public spaces, to predict behaviours and emotions, or in situations of imbalances of power, biometric surveillance such as facial recognition has been shown to violate a wide range of fundamental rights.
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Technology has codified structural racism – will the EU tackle racist tech?
The EU is preparing its ‘Action Plan’ to address structural racism in Europe. With digital high on the EU’s legislative agenda, it’s time we tackle racism perpetuated by technology, writes Sarah Chander.
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SHARE Foundation presents #hiljadekamera : A documentary on biometric mass surveillance
SHARE Foundation has recently released a short documentary on the controversial use of the mass surveillance system in Belgrade, Serbia. Various digital experts and activists took part in the documentary, including the national Data Protection Authority in Serbia and EDRi's own Policy and Campaigns Officer, Ella Jakubowska.
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IBM’s facial recognition: the solution cannot be left to companies
On 8 June 2020, IBM’s CEO announced to the US Congress that – on the grounds of “justice and racial equity” – the company would “sunset” its “general purpose” facial recognition technologies. EDRi has addressed the company through a letter, but IBM's response suggests the organisation is motivated by public relations, instead of fundamental rights.
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Digital rights for all
In this article we set out the background to EDRis’ work on anti-discrimination in the digital age. Here we take the first step to explore anti-discrimination as a digital rights issue, and then, what can EDRi do about it? The project is motivated by the need to recognise how oppression, discrimination and inequality impact the enjoyment of digital rights, and to live up to our commitment to uphold the digital rights of all.
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Open Letter: EDRi calls on IBM to clarify stance on facial recognition
On 25 June, EDRi sent an open letter to the CEO of IBM in response to their 8 June statement on racial equality and facial recognition in the US.
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COVID-Tech: COVID-19 opens the way for the use of police drones in Greece
In EDRi’s series on COVID-19, COVIDTech, we explore the critical principles for protecting fundamental rights while curtailing the spread of the virus, as outlined in the EDRi network’s statement on the pandemic.
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COVID-Tech: the sinister consequences of immunity passports
In EDRi’s series on COVID-19, COVIDTech, we explore the critical principles for protecting fundamental rights while curtailing the spread of the virus, as outlined in the EDRi network’s statement on the pandemic.
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Can the EU make AI “trustworthy”? No – but they can make it just
European Digital Rights (EDRi) submitted its answer to the European Commission’s consultation on the AI White Paper.
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More than the sum of our parts: a strategy for the EDRi Network
It took over a year. From an EDRi members’ survey in early 2019 to the vote by the (online) General Assembly of members at the end of April 2020. In those months we held workshops, webinars, calls, several rounds of comments, draft iterations and about 50 consultations.
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Ban biometric mass surveillance!
44 civil society organisations call for a ban on biometric mass surveillance in EDRi's new paper, "Ban Biometric Mass Surveillance: A set of fundamental rights demands for the European Commission and EU Member States"
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Why COVID-19 is a Crisis for Digital Rights
The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an equally urgent digital rights crisis. New measures being hurried in to curb the spread of the virus, from “biosurveillance” and online tracking to censorship, are potentially as world-changing as the disease itself.
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COVID-19: A Commission hitchhiker’s tech guide to the App Store
How's does the European Commission's toolbox and data protection guidelines fit with the EDRi network's take?
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