Surveillance and data retention
Surveillance is when an individual or organisation is watching, tracking, filtering, analysing or blocking what you can see and do online or offline. It can be targeted on a specific individual (such as someone suspected of a crime) or it can be done indiscriminately (such as on all users from a particular country), also known as mass surveillance. Surveillance - and the retention of surveillance data - can impose restrictions on our fundamental rights in the digital environment by interfering with our freedom online, or by using digital technology to follow our offline movements, in order to gain an intimate picture of our lives, our beliefs and our interactions.
Filter resources
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IuRe crowdfunds to end data retention in the Czech Republic
The digital-legal organisation, EDRi member, Iuridicum Remedium is crowdfunding to take the Czech government to court to end the widespread collection of metadata from telephone and online communication of every user in the country (so-called data retention). The case willrely on a ruling by the EU Court of Justice, which declared that the large-scale collection of metadata was inadmissible, for the third time last October. Crowdfunding a legal case in the public‘s interest is an alternative to dysfunctional class actions.
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Q&A: PI case – UK High Court judgment on general warrants and government hacking explained
EDRi member Privacy International (PI) explain in some detail what their case involving UK intelligence services using general warrants is about.
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Looking for a New Years’ Resolution? #ReclaimYourFace with our citizens’ initiative!
Since its launch just 2 months ago, the Reclaim Your Face campaign to ban biometric mass surveillance has gone from strength to strength. Already 23 organisations have joined the coalition, and almost 13,000 people have joined the movement – and this is only the beginning.
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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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New Cybercrime Protocol: More overreach, still no data protection safeguards
In the context of the fifth round of consultation with civil society, data protection authorities and industry, EDRi and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) coordinated a civil society submission to provide feedback on the new draft provisions relating to joint investigations, request for domain name registration information and expedited disclosure of stored computer data in an emergency.
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The EU’s attempt to regulate Big Tech: What it brings and what is missing
This week, the European Commission has proposed two long-awaited pieces of digital legislation, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. Despite a number of good provisions, there are also major shortcomings which must be addressed to guarantee the protection of digital rights.
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Statement: civil society challenges EU plans to expand biometric mass surveillance
On 9 December, the European Commission presented its new Security Union package, composed of the Counter-Terrorism Agenda and a proposal to strengthen the mandate of Europol. Originally intended for next year, the release of the Counter-Terrorism was accelerated due to recent attacks in France and Austria. When it comes to protecting fundamental rights from intrusive biometric surveillance, the proposals fall seriously short.
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Benefiting whom? An overview of companies profiting from “digital welfare”
Could private companies be the only ones really profiting from digital welfare? This overview from EDRi member Privacy International looks at the big players.
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The slippery slope of COVID health passports
There is increasing talk of measures that allow or restrict passengers at the departure gate based on health data. Can you show proof of vaccination? Then you may pass. Do you have a recent, negative test result? Then you may enter. Are you unable or unwilling to show these? Then you are denied access. There’s an understandable rationale that underpins these scenarios: we want to create a safe environment. Yet it is also cause for great concern.
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Reclaiming faces and public spaces!
The Reclaim Your Face movement is growing, and our demands for transparency, limiting the accepted uses and respect for humans are becoming more and more common across Europe. New organisations are joining the coalition each week, and people across Europe continue to sign the petition to add their voices to our demands. Now, thanks to campaigning by Homo Digitalis in Greece and Bits of Freedom in the Netherlands, we’re getting closer to real political and legislative changes that will protect our faces and our public spaces from biometric mass surveillance.
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Looking back at digital rights in the era of a surveillance pandemic
2020 started as a year to build momentum to tackle various digital rights issues, including mass surveillance and freedom of expression online. Needless to say, the global pandemic disrupted not only these efforts but also our health, personal relations, basic survival needs and ways to organise around human rights. After 9 months of living and working in a pandemic, we look back at what we achieved and the ways forward from here.
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For a truly “Trustworthy AI,” EU must protect rights and deliver benefits
EDRi member Access Now published a report exploring the actions EU governments are taking to promote what the EU calls Trustworthy AI, what this approach means for human rights, and how European AI strategy is changing, both for EU institutions and national governments.
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