Privacy and confidentiality
Privacy is a crucial element of our personal security, enabling free speech and democratic participation. The absolute and fundamental human right to privacy guarantees people respect for their private life and freedom from snooping and unlawful interference. It gives everyone the freedom to be themselves, to express and develop their opinions and ideas with dignity, and to practice their religion, as well as giving journalists and civil society the ability to report on violations of rights by states or businesses. Without sufficient privacy, people’s private interactions are exposed, which can be used to target or discriminate against them.
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Germany: Invading refugees’ phones – security or population control?
In its new study, EDRi member Society for Civil Rights (GFF) examines how German authorities sniff out refugees’ phones. The aim of “data carrier evaluation” is supposed to be determining a person’s identity and their country of origin. However, in reality, it violates refugees’ rights and does not produce any meaningful results.
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Security Information Service wins the Czech Big Brother Awards
The Czech Big Brother Award (BBA) 2019 winners are the Czech Security Information Service (BIS), the antivirus company Avast, and the energy company PRE. Positive prize of Edward Snowden went to the city of Prague.
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Romania: Mandatory SIM registration declared unconstitutional, again
On 18 February 2020, the Romanian Constitutional Court unanimously declared unconstitutional a new legislative act adopted in September 2019 introducing mandatory SIM card registration. The legislative act in question was an emergency ordinance issued by the Government which wanted to introduce this obligation as a measure “to improve the operation of the 112 emergency service […]
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ECtHR: Obligation on companies to identify all phone users is legal
On 30 January 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued its judgment on the Breyer VS Germany case.
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AG’s Opinion: Mass retention of data incompatible with EU law
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CJEU to decide on processing of passenger data under PNR Directive
On 20 January 2020, the District Court of Cologne, Germany, submitted to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) the question whether the European Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive violates fundamental rights. EDRi member Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF, Society for Civil Rights) initiated the proceedings against the directive, which allows for authorities to […]
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The many faces of facial recognition in the EU
In this second installment of EDRi's facial recognition and fundamental rights series, we look at how different EU Member States, institutions and other countries worldwide are responding to the use of this tech in public spaces.
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Casual attitude in intelligence sharing is troubling
A recent report by Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service CTIVD shows that the Dutch secret services regularly violate the law when sharing intelligence with foreign services. For the sake of privacy and freedom of communication, it is crucial that data sharing safeguards are both tightened and more strictly enforced.
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Why privacy is particularly crucial for people with disabilities
With data being described as the “new currency”, many questions arise around privacy and data protection. We all leave increasingly larger data footprints as we use more, and more advanced technologies. We let apps access our phonebook contacts, track our habits and behavior, and know our preferences. At other times, we do not even have […]
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EU Council moves the ePrivacy reform forward – with major flaws in its position
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ePrivacy: EU Member States push crucial reform on privacy norms close to a dead end
Today, on 22 November 2019, the Permanent Representatives Committee of the Council of the European Union (COREPER) has rejected the Council’s position on a draft ePrivacy Regulation. “In this era of disinformation and privacy scandals, refusing to ensure strong privacy protections in the ePrivacy Regulation is a step backwards for the EU,” said Diego Naranjo, […]
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Dance. Enjoy. Share. With Care.
Anyone using cloud services should be aware of what the “cloud” is, what it is not, and how it can affect our privacy and security. Our information stored in “clouds” can be protected if the EU says “Yes!” to a strong ePrivacy Regulation, greater enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and drops the […]
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