Privacy and data protection
Privacy and data protection are essential for us to live, connect, work, create, organise and more. Governments and companies have long used mass surveillance for control trying to legitimise snooping for health, security or other reasons. The near-total digitisation of our lives has made it easier to control, profile and profit from our attention, data, bodies and behaviours in ways that are very difficult for us to understand and challenge. European data protection standards such as the GDPR are a good step forward but we need more to effectively ensure enforcement and protection against unlawful surveillance practices.
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EDRi Annual Report 2023: Our collective impact defending digital rights in Europe
In our Annual Report, you can read more about EDRi’s efforts to build an inclusive and equitable digital environment that allows us all to thrive. In 2023, we resisted attempts to normalise corporate and state surveillance, mobilised thousands of supporters, and had an unmistakable impact on European tech policy.
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European Court of Human Rights: Secret surveillance in Poland violates citizens’ privacy rights
On 28 May 2024, a precedent judgment was announced by the European Court of Human Rights. The court said that the operational control regime, the retention of communications data, and the secret surveillance regime under the Anti-Terrorism Act in Poland violate the right to privacy.
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New report unravels AI narratives in sci-fi cinema and TV
Students of the SWPS University’s Institute of Humanities in Warsaw, Poland, published their research on “Visions of AI in Popular Culture: Analysis of the Narratives about Artificial Intelligence in Science Fiction Films and Series”. The report delves into the central themes and recurring motifs through which technology becomes ingrained and socialised in cinematic fiction.
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High-Level Group “Going Dark” outcome: A mission failure
On 13 June, the Justice and Home Affairs Council, composed of EU Member States’ ministers of the Interior, will discuss the recommendations of the High-Level Group (HLG) on Access to Data for Effective Law Enforcement (“Going Dark”). This blogpost provides a short analysis of the HLG’s recommendations and a summary of its procedural flaws.
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Council’s General Approach on GDPR Procedural
EDRi acknowledges the Council’s positive steps in their General Approach on the Proposal for additional procedural rules concerning the GDPR. Nevertheless, we emphasise the pressing need for enhanced legal certainty and the prevention of actions that could compromise the effectiveness of GDPR enforcement and erode trust, particularly concerning the protection of fundamental rights.
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Open letter: The dangers of the May 2024 Council of the EU compromise proposal on EU CSAM
EDRi has signed the Global Encryption Coalition open letter in response to news of the Belgian Presidency’s latest compromise proposal, dated May 2024, on the Regulation on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA).
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Be scanned – or get banned!
In the latest in a string of alarming developments, the Belgian government has proposed a new supposed 'solution' to the Chat Control deadlock in the Council. Read why this new proposal undermines people's security across the European Union.
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EDRi-gram, 29 May 2024
What an exciting few weeks we have ahead of us – the European Parliament elections are just around the corner and much is about to change. The next time you read the EDRigram, we will have new decision-makers in place at the Parliament. But before we jump too far ahead into the future, here’s what’s been happening in the digital rights world since we last met. EDRi member La Quadrature du Net is taking legal action against the French prime minister’s decision to block TikTok in New Caledonia. The French government is resorting to the tried-and-tested authoritarian reflexes of obstructing people’s freedom of expression as tensions in the archipelago reach new heights. In this EDRigram, we’re also getting real about EU’s surveillance agenda, and looking at how to enforce the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in a way that realises its full potential.
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EDRi and Reclaim Your Face campaign recognised as Europe AI Policy leaders
EDRi and the Reclaim Your Face coalition were recognised as the Europe AI Policy Leader in Civil Society for our groundbreaking work as a coalition to advocate for a world free from biometric mass surveillance.
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It’s time for a heart-to-heart about the EU’s surveillance agenda
The EU prides itself on its worldwide norm-setting influence in the fields of data protection and artificial intelligence regulation. Still, it is not always for the best when it comes to digital state surveillance. Privacy is safety. As we approach the European elections in June, it’s time to discuss the EU's role in shaping how technologies are developed and used.
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Position paper: GDPR enforcement done right
There is an urgent need to enhance legal certainty and prevent actions that undermine the effectiveness of and trust in GDPR enforcement. EDRi and Access Now have co-drafted a position paper on the EU Proposal for additional procedural rules concerning the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
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Resist Europol Document Pool
This document pool gathers all the relevant documentation regarding Europol’s powers and legislative reforms, critical analysis and research as well as tools for action.
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