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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German police raids privacy group’s premises
In the early morning of 20 June 2018, German police forces raided several locations – the headquarters of the privacy group Zwiebelfreunde, and the homes of three of its board members, as well as the association OpenLab, which is part of EDRi member Chaos Computer Club (CCC) in Augsburg.
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Danish High Court ruling on data retention use and file sharing cases
On 7 May 2018, the Eastern High Court in Denmark delivered a ruling that internet service providers (ISPs) are not required to disclose subscriber information in file sharing cases.
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Litigation against the Danish government over data retention
Despite two rulings from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in 2014 and 2016 against general and undifferentiated (blanket) data retention, a majority of EU Member States still have national data retention laws in place. Denmark is one these Member States.
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Belgium Constitutional Court decision on the concept of incitement to terrorism
On the 15 March, the Constitutional Court of Belgium issued judgement 31/2018 on the action for the annulment of the law of 3 August 2016 containing various provisions in the fight against terrorism.
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Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte: Legal challenge against Bavarian Police Act
EDRi observer Gesellschaft für Freiheitsrechte (GFF) is preparing a joint constitutional complaint to be brought before the German Constitutional Court against the newly passed Bavarian Police Act (PAG)
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BBA Germany 2018: Spying on employees, refugees, citizens…
The annual German Big Brother Awards gala was held by EDRi member Digitalcourage in Bielefeld on 20 April 2018.
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New Dutch law for intelligence services challenged in court
On 21 March 2018, the Dutch voted in an advisory referendum on the new Intelligence and Security Services Act. A majority of Dutch citizens voted against the law in its current form – a clear signal that the law is in urgent need of reconsideration. EDRi member Bits of Freedom has been fighting against important parts of this law since the first draft in 2015, so the outcome of the referendum comes as a positive news.
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Bavarians protest against vastly extended police powers
A large anti-surveillance rally took place in Munich on 10 May 2018. 30 000 protesters showed their dismay about the Bavarian plans to reform the law on the tasks of the state’s police. Even the organisers were surprised by the scale of the demonstration – they had expected fewer than 10 000 people.
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Big Brother Awards – tips and materials for organisers
In October 2018, we will celebrate 20th anniversary of the first Big Brother Awards (BBA) event in UK.
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EU Member States fight to retain data retention in place despite CJEU rulings
EU Member States are still working to adopt their position on the ePrivacy Regulation proposed by the European Commission in January 2017. A number of draft compromise texts have been published by the Council Presidency before discussions in the Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society (WP TELE).
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Fighting for migrants’ data protection rights in the UK
Since 2014, the United Kingdon (UK) government has steadily rolled out policies to make the country a “hostile environment” for migrants, in the words of Prime Minister Theresa May.
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DPAs require urgent action on air passenger surveillance
The Working Party 29 (WP29) is an advisory body composed of representatives from the data protection authority of each EU Member State, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) and the European Commission.
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