Press releases
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Press release: European Commission jumps the gun with proposal to add facial recognition to EU-wide police database
The European Commission has put forward a proposal to ‘streamline’ the automated sharing of facial recognition images and other sensitive data by police across the EU. What will be discarded in order to ‘streamline’ the process? Vital safeguards which are designed to protect all of us from state over-reach and authoritarian mass surveillance practices.
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New German government calls for European ban on biometric mass surveillance
The newly-agreed German government coalition has called for a Europe-wide ban on public facial recognition and other biometric surveillance. This echoes the core demands of the Reclaim Your Face campaign which EDRi has co-led since 2020, through which over 65 civil society groups ask the EU and their national governments to outlaw biometric data mass surveillance.
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Two steps forward, one step back: DMA must do more to free people from digital walled gardens
The European Parliament Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) report on the Digital Markets Act (DMA) makes improvements to the DMA but also includes serious loopholes that need to be fixed in trilogue
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DSA should tackle the root cause of polarisation, not just its symptoms
Yesterday, 30 September 2021, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee (JURI) approved its Opinion on the proposed Digital Services Act (DSA). European Digital Rights (EDRi) and its 45 member organisations had previously called on JURI members to reject the compromise proposed by the Rapporteur for Opinion.
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iSpy with my little eye: Apple’s u-turn on privacy sets a precedent and threatens everyone’s security
Apple has just announced significant changes to their privacy settings for messaging and cloud services: first, it will scan all images sent by child accounts; second, it will scan all photos as they are being uploaded to iCloud. With these changes, Apple is threatening everyone’s privacy, security and confidentiality.
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Biometric mass surveillance flourishes in Germany and the Netherlands
In a new research report, EDRi reveals the shocking extent of biometric mass surveillance practices in Germany, the Netherlands and Poland which are taking over our public spaces like train stations, streets, and shops. The EU and its Member States must act now to set clear legal limits to these practices which create a state of permanent monitoring, profiling and tracking of people.
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DSA should promote open and fair digital environment, not undermine the rule of law
The Rapporteur of the European Parliament Committee leading one of the most important legal initiatives to regulate platforms has spoken. The Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee's draft report on the Digital Services Act (DSA) turns online platforms into judge, jury and executioner when it comes to removing online content. This follows the same logic as the Copyright Guidelines that were presented last week. It also gives vast powers to the European Commission and national governments to suppress opposing voices.
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European Commission ignores civil society concerns and sides with creative industries
Today is a sad day for Europe. Instead of listening to reason and arguments, the European Commission itself brought up in front of the CJEU, the backroom political influence of the entertainment industry has won once again. Clearly “earmarking” content means preferring the economic interests of a few powerful actors over the fundamental rights of a whole generation.
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European Parliament confirms new online censorship powers
EU regulation against ‘terrorist’ content online (TERREG) was approved without a final vote by the European Parliament on April 29th. The regulation will harm our ability to freely express ourselves and access information online.
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Targeted Online: How Big Tech’s business model sells your deepest secrets for profit
Surveillance-based advertising which is currently the business model used by Google, Facebook and many others is harmful to people and to society as a whole because it encourages the spread of disinformation. It's also bad for the media who lose control of their ad space and suffer from decreasing revenue as a result.
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New ECI calls Europeans to stand together for a future free from harmful biometric mass surveillance
The Reclaim Your Face coalition launches a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) today to ban biometric mass surveillance. The ECI represents the voice of those who oppose a dystopian future and instead want a future in which choices are made by us, not by algorithms. The initiative needs to collect 1 million signatures in at least 7 EU countries during the next year.
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Press release: EDRi network launches public initiative against biometric mass surveillance
On 7 January, the European Commission registered a new European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), the ‘Civil society initiative for a ban on biometric mass surveillance practices’.
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