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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Estonian eID cryptography mess – 750000 cards compromised
In 2017, a flaw causing vulnerabilities in millions of encryption keys, including national Estonian electronic ID (eID) cards, was discovered. A month and a half after the discovery, the Estonian Police publicly announced the vulnerability, but stated that the eID cards “are completely secure”.
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Portugal bans use of DRM that limits access to public domain works
With the tendency of becoming too accustomed to bad news on copyright, it is refreshing to hear that Portugal has recently passed a law that helps to strike a fairer balance between users and copyright holders on digital rights management (DRM). The law does not abolish legal protection for DRM altogether – unfortunately, that would […]
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Surveillance laws fall far short of fundamental rights standards
On 23 October, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published the second volume of its study on surveillance and its impact on fundamental rights. This study comes following the request of the European Parliament (EP) for information on the consequences of surveillance for fundamental rights. The Agency notes that “the mere existence of […]
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See which MEPs voted in favour of e-Privacy – and which ones against it
On 19 October, the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted on the proposed e-Privacy Regulation. With 31 votes the Committee voted in favour of measures defending privacy, security and competition for phone and internet services. The 31 MEPs in favour of the e-Privacy Regulation belong to the Alliance of […]
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Euro-parliamentarians say a clear “no” to the anti-privacy lobby
On 19 October, the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted on the proposed e-Privacy Regulation. The Committee voted in favour of measures defending privacy, security and competition for phone and internet services. Despite a huge lobbying effort to water down the proposal, the Committee voted for clear, privacy-friendly rules. […]
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Extending the use of eID to online platforms – risks to privacy?
On 10 October 2017, the European Commission published the “draft principles and guidance on eID interoperability for online platforms” on the electronic Identification And Trust Services (eIDAS) observatory. Building on the eIDAS Regulation, the Commission would like to extend the scope of use for the eIDs to online platforms, in addition to public services. This […]
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EU’s plans on encryption: What is needed?
On 18 October 2017, the European Commission is expected to publish a Communication on counter-terrorism, which will include some lines on encryption. What is encryption? Why is it important? When we send an encrypted message (or store an encrypted document), no one else but the intended recipient can read it using a unique key. So […]
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Europe’s governments win the Big Brother Awards 2017 for opening the pandora’s box of surveillance
On Friday 13 October, the annual Belgian Big Brother Awards – a negative prize for the worst privacy abuser of the year – took place in Brussels. The jury awarded the European trend of state hacking, European Digital Right’s (EDRi) nomination, the title of the ultimate privacy villain. The public voted Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) […]
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Dear MEPs: We need you to protect our privacy online!
They’re hip, they’re slick and they follow you everywhere. They know you like new shoes, playing tennis and tweeting at odd hours of the morning. Do you know what that says about your health, your relationships and your spending power? No? Well, the online companies do. They follow you everywhere you go online, they have […]
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ENDitorial: Tinder and me: My life, my business
Tinder is one of the many online dating companies of the Match Group. Launched in 2012, Tinder started being profitable as of 2015, greatly thanks to people’s personal data. On 3 March 2017, journalist Judith Duportail asked Tinder to send her all her personal data they had collected, including her “desirability score”, which is composed […]
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TiSA impact assessment report ignores crucial human rights concerns
In 2013, the European Commission decided to subject the draft Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) to a Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) in support of the negotiations. The Final Report, which was published in July 2017, fails to address several key fundamental rights concerns.
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Tear down the tracking wall
It has become a daily routine: “consenting to” being tracked, on the basis of meaningless explanations (or no explanation at all) before you’re allowed access to a website or online service. It’s about time to set limits to this tracking rat race.
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