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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WiFi tracking and the ePrivacy Directive in Denmark
Citizens are increasingly being monitored and tracked by public authorities and commercial interests. Many carry digital devices which, by design, emit a unique identifier, such as the WiFi Media Access Control (MAC) address of a smartphone. Even though the MAC address does not directly reveal the identity of a person, the fact that it is […]
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An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg from suspended user Giz
I am confused. When your Chief of Personal Products, Chris Cox was speaking with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence he said that Facebook’s policy never required anyone to use their legal name. He said that Facebook wants users to use our authentic identities, the names our people call us, like Sister Roma and Little Miss […]
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JURI Committee adopts disastrous Trade Secrets provisions
The proposed Trade Secrets Directive, previously reported in EDRi-gram, was adopted on 16 June by the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI). To put it briefly, this proposal would create a new pseudo-intellectual property right for businesses to protect information that is not covered by traditional intellectual property rights. Commercially sensitive information is now […]
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Google admits it was wrong on “right to be forgotten”
In the widely publicised “Google/Spain” ruling of the European Court of Justice (CJEU), it was decided that the results of Google searches sometimes infringe the rights of individuals. In such circumstances, individuals can complain – to Google in the first instance – and ask for searches involving their name to be de-linked from the unfair […]
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Blurry, ambiguous “net neutrality” deal is an abdication of responsibility
Fifteen months after the European Parliament voted in favour of clear protection for net neutrality in Europe, a messy, ambiguous “deal” was reached around 2am in the morning on 30 June. In the coming days, negotiators will finalise explanatory notes (known as “recitals”) which may add some clarity. However, the apparently deliberate ambiguity of the […]
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Press release: Father of net neutrality warns EU’s proposals may “guarantee US dominance” online
Following high-level meetings with the European Commission this week, leading US Professor Tim Wu said he was “worried that the Internet in Europe will never recover if these proposals are adopted.” He added that, in relation to online services, the proposals may guarantee the dominance of US online services in Europe for years to come. […]
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General Data Protection Regulation: Document pool
In January 2012, the European Commission, following extensive consultations, published a draft Regulation. The initiative had three priorities – modernisation of the legal framework for the protection of personal data, harmonisation of the rules across the EU (proposing a single Regulation rather than a Directive that is implemented via 28 national laws) and maintaining existing […]
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Democratic support for net neutrality is clear, as is Council’s stubbornness
All political groups in the European Parliament have made their support for net neutrality clear. Not alone did the European Parliament adopt a strong text in favour of non-discrimination on the Internet in 2014, but political groups representing the vast majority of the Parliament have made clear statements in favour of a neutral, innovative, democratic […]
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Net neutrality in critical danger in Europe. The time to act is NOW!
Last week, the European Parliament finalised its second compromise proposal on net neutrality, and sent it to the Member States (represented in the Council of the European Union) and the European Commission. This will now allow the Council and Commission to put pressure on the Parliament to accept a final compromise this week. The new […]
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UK: Report of the investigatory powers review
A key report reviewing the UK’s legal framework governing surveillance commissioned by the Government and written by David Anderson QC, was released on 11 June 2015. The thrust of the report is a resounding call for wholesale reform of Britain’s surveillance legislation with it concluding that “This state of affairs is undemocratic, unnecessary and – […]
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Belgian Constitutional Court rules against data retention
On 12 June, following two actions for annulment brought independently, the Belgian Constitutional Court ruled against the mass collection of communications metadata. This ruling is line with a recent ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidating the directive that inspired the Belgian law. The Data Retention Directive (2006/24/CE) adopted in […]
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EU continues push for travel surveillance by the back door
The European Commission has released its plans for providing financial support to national security measures. These plans, despite the absence of a legal basis, privacy concerns and a pending EU Court of Justice (CJEU) decision, include the financing of a European mass surveillance measure: namely the long-term storage and exchange of citizens’ air travel data, […]
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