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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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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Technology, migration, and illness in the times of COVID-19
In our ongoing work on technology and migration, we examine the impacts of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the rights of people on the move and the increasingly worrying use of surveillance technology and AI at the border and beyond.
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COVID-Tech: Emergency responses to COVID-19 must not extend beyond the crisis
In EDRi's new series on COVID-19, we will 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 virus. Each post in this series will tackle a specific issue at the intersection of digital rights and the global pandemic in order to explore broader questions about how to protect fundamental rights in a time of crisis.
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Facial recognition: Homo Digitalis calls on Greek DPA to speak up
In the spring of 2019, the Hellenic Police signed a €4 million contract with Intracom Telecom, a global telecommunication systems and solutions vendor, for a smart policing project. Seventy five percent of the project is funded by the Internal Security Fund (ISF) 2014-2020 of the European Commission.
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Facial Recognition & Biometric Mass Surveillance: Document Pool
Despite evidence that public facial recognition and other forms of biometric mass surveillance infringe on a wide range EU fundamental rights, European authorities and companies are deploying these systems at a rapid rate. This has happened without proper consideration for how such practices invade people's privacy on an enormous scale; amplify existing inequalities; and undermine democracy, freedom and justice.
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