Our work
EDRi is the biggest European network defending rights and freedoms online. We work to to challenge private and state actors who abuse their power to control or manipulate the public. We do so by advocating for robust and enforced laws, informing and mobilising people, promoting a healthy and accountable technology market, and building a movement of organisations and individuals committed to digital rights and freedoms in a connected world.
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CETA will undermine EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
In February 2016, the European Commission and Canadian government published the final draft text of the EU – Canada trade agreement (CETA), prior to its approval or rejection by the Council of the European Union, European Parliament and, possibly, national parliaments. In October 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the […]
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EUIPO publishes final report about ”Youth and Intellectual Property”
(Update on 6 June 2016: We corrected some quotes in this article which referred to a different but related report) On 6 April, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO, formerly known as OHIM) published its report on “Youth and IP”, which followed the 2013 study on “European Citizens and Intellectual Property: Perception, Awareness and […]
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The lobby-tomy 6: Not in my backyard
Something you’ll hear in policy debates on the environment: windmills are a great idea and obviously good for the environment, but we don’t want them in our backyard. This argument doesn’t just apply to the debate on the environment, but apparently also in the debate on privacy protection. Representatives from industry speak convincingly about what […]
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Please sue us
Each of the Member States of the European Union is required to incorporate European directives into national legislation. If a Member State does not obey this obligation, the European Commission can sue this country in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). But what actions can a country take if such directives force […]
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Dutch dragnet surveillance bill leaked
On 29 April, the final text for the Dutch dragnet surveillance bill was leaked. It turns out that Minister of the Dutch Interior Ronald Plasterk is still bent on granting the secret services the power to carry out bulk interception of innocent citizens’ communications.
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EDRi and 72 other NGOs send letter to EU regulators on net neutrality
Today, EDRi joined forces with 72 other civil society organisations from the five continents of the world to ask European Telecom Regulators to uphold net neutrality in the current negotiations about the future of the Open Internet in the European Union. The Body of European Regulators of Electronic Communication (BEREC) and the 28 telecom regulators are currently […]
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BREAKING: TTIP leaks confirm dangers for digital rights
Today, Greenpeace has unveiled documents on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), including the telecommunications chapter and EU’s Tactical State of Play of March 2016. The leaks show an ideological drive towards deregulation and law enforcement by private companies , said Joe McNamee, Executive Director of European Digital Rights (EDRi). This would sweep away […]
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Leaked EU Communication – Part 2: Protecting Google at all costs
While the European Commission talks tough about supporting European industry, much of what is in the leaked Communication on online platforms appears to be designed to protect Google and other online giants, to the detriment of competition and European innovation. “Fair payments” for copyright The Communication refers obtusely to the notion of “fair” distribution of […]
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Leaked EU Communication – Part 1: Privatised censorship and surveillance
EU Charter of Fundamental Rights: Subject to the principle of proportionality, limitations [to fundamental rights] may be made only if they are necessary and genuinely meet objectives of general interest recognised by the Union or the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others. A draft European Commission Communication on Platforms has been leaked. […]
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#ReadAnneDiary (if you can)
The chaotic and outdated copyright framework in the European Union (EU) negatively impacts citizens by placing absurd restrictions on use of cultural goods. These restrictions benefit neither authors nor society in general. The European Commission (EC), in its quest to achieve a Digital Single Market, is aiming at reforming the situation and is trying to […]
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Trilogues: the system that undermines EU democracy and transparency
Most of the legislation of the European Union (EU) is today adopted using an informal, non-democratic, non-accountable and non-transparent process. This mechanism is known in the EU bubble as “trilogues” or “trialogues”. Trilogues are a set of informal negotiations between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission to fast-track […]
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Countering terrorism, a.k.a. the biggest human rights threat of 2016
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and Human rights, Ben Emmerson said “the central challenge for human rights in 2016 [is] ensuring governments continue to support a human rights agenda” while seeking to end terrorism. The European Union is also faced with this challenge. In the EU, there is currently a proposal for a […]
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