Our work
EDRi is the biggest European network defending rights and freedoms online. We work to to challenge private and state actors who abuse their power to control or manipulate the public. We do so by advocating for robust and enforced laws, informing and mobilising people, promoting a healthy and accountable technology market, and building a movement of organisations and individuals committed to digital rights and freedoms in a connected world.
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ECJ: no legal protection for spin-off databases
The European Court of Justice has decided to diminish the legal protection of so called ‘spin-off’ databases under the Database Directive 1996/9/EC. In order to claim ‘sui generis’ database protection, a substantial investment must be made “in seeking, collecting, verifying and presenting existing materials”. The resources used to create the materials which make up the […]
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Recommended reading: CCTV in Europe
The magazine ‘Surveillance & Society’ has a special double issue online about the politics and practice of CCTV. Under the title ‘The Politics of CCTV in Europe and Beyond’ the magazine examines the extraordinarily fast growth of closed circuit television (CCTV) in western societies. Papers on regulation and governance and a large number of case […]
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EU governments want 2 biometric identifiers for every citizen
On 25 October 2004 Members of the Europarliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted on a proposal from the Council of Ministers to include a biometric identifier in EU passports and visas of travellers with EU destinations. While the MEPs were discussing the technical implications and privacy guarantees, behind their back […]
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Big Brother Awards presented in Austria, Germany and Spain
Last week Big Brother Awards were presented in 3 different countries to a wide range of government officials, companies and institutions for violating privacy and promoting extensive control over citizens lives. Seville in Spain hosted the 50st BBA event held worldwide on 30 October 2004, 6 years since Privacy International invented the ceremony in London. […]
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Secret code added to most colour prints
While printer-manufacturer Canon was awarded a Big Brother Award in Germany for secretly adding a unique code to every print-out made on household printing equipment, the practice is very wide-spread. Many laser printers seem to print-out a unique number on every print-out, invisible to the bare eye, measuring only 0,1 millimetre. The Dutch police has […]
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Controversy over Czech wiretaps
President Vaclav Klaus of the Czech Republic has condemned a series of police telephone wiretaps as a ‘scandalous’ invasion of citizens’ privacy after press reports stated that officers listened in on his telephone conversations with a businessman. Czech newspapers reported that police wiretapped entrepreneur Ranko Pecic, an old friend of Klaus, for four months until […]
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EU Commission line-up before reshuffle
After the withdrawal of his first line-up on 26 October, the designated President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durrão Barroso, is expected to present a new team tomorrow (4 November), during the European Council meeting in Brussels. Two of the most controversial Commissioners-designate will not be part of the college Barroso is expected to […]
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Source code review of Irish voting machines
Six months after cancelling the use of electronic voting machines for the European elections Ireland has reached a deal with the Dutch manufacturer of the machines. The Irish government will hire a private firm, acceptable to both sides, to review the complete source code of the voting machines. Nedap, the Dutch company that manufactured the […]
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NGOs criticise corporate influence in the EU
More than 50 NGOs, brought together by the Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), have urged the EU Commission to cut down the disproportionate corporate influence on Brussels policy making. In an open letter to designated Commission President José Manuel Barroso, the NGOs claim 15.000 Brussels lobbyists, “assisted by an army of public affairs consultants, today play […]
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Privacy International condemns compulsory ID in NL
Privacy International has expressed grave concern about new Dutch legislation for extended compulsory identification. From 1 January 2005 every Dutchman (and tourist) 14 years and older will have to wear ID, and can be fined up to 2.250 euro for not immediately showing ID when asked to do so by any police official, or related […]
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Armenian group demands take down website Turkish consulate
On 15 November 2004 a Paris court (Tribunal de Grand Instance) is scheduled to decide about a request from an Armenian group to take-down part of the website of the Turkish consulate in France. The Armenian group, the Comité de défense de la cause arménienne, CDCA, accuses the Turkish consul of spreading ‘denial propaganda’, denying […]
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Call for participation: consultation on fundamental rights
The European Commission has opened a consultation on the establishment of an EU Fundamental Rights Agency. This consultation follows the decision taken by the European Council in December 2003 to extend the mandate of the European Union Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, based in Vienna, to become a Fundamental Rights Agency. The consultation addresses […]
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