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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EDRI-gram – Number 2.11, 2 June 2004
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EDRI-gram – Number 2.10, 19 May 2004
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Dutch MP3 search engine wins court case
The Dutch MP3 search engine zoekmp3.nl has won a clear victory in an full civil proceedings case they instigated against Brein, a Dutch representative body of both the recording industry and the music rights collecting societies. Zoekmp3 asked and got a clear confirmation that their activities as a search engine do not constitute a copyright […]
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Council adopts bad position on software patents
Tuesday 18 May the Council of the European Union adopted by a qualified majority in its Competitiveness meeting a Common position for the Second Reading of the Software Patent Directive. The text is described by the Foundation for a free Information Infrastructure as ‘the most uncompromisingly pro-patent text yet’. The Common Position, which was agreed […]
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EU to sign agreement on PNR transfer to the U.S.
With the approval on 17 May 2004 of the transfer of airline passenger’s personal data to the U.S., the Commission and the Council of the European Union have bluntly bypassed the European Parliament and Court of Justice. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, head of the Green/EFA Group in the European Parliament, said the decision was “ignoring the declared […]
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New telecommunications act in Germany
On Wednesday 5 May, the Mediation Committee, a common organ of the two German legislative bodies, adopted a compromise regarding the new German Telecommunications Act. It brought back a number of privacy restrictions that were already contained in the Government’s draft act (See EDRI-gram nr. 21), but had been rejected by the Deutsche Bundestag, the […]
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New freedom of information law in the Ukraine
On 11 May 2004 the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) adopted the new wording of a draft law amending several legislative acts concerning the protection of state secrets. This draft law was initially approved in July 2003, but was subsequently vetoed by the President due to several technical inaccuracies (incorrect numeration of articles, repeating several similar […]
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Study: ISPs too eager to take down legal content
In a study about notice and take down procedures, researchers from the Oxford university centre for socio-legal studies were shocked to find how easily internet providers take down perfectly legal content. As mystery-shoppers they opened up 2 websites in July and November 2003, one in the United States and one in the United Kingdom with […]
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10 years of internet prosecution in Italy
On 18 May 2004, the Italian Senate turned a highly controversial new decree into law that puts heavy fines and even prison sentences on the download of movies, music or other copyrighted works even when done without any commercial purpose. Though the law speaks of penalties when ‘making a profit’, jurisprudence in Italy has already […]
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Recommended reading: privacy and biometrics
The OECD working party on information security and privacy have published a very informative but dry report about biometrics. The report analyses theory and practice of the following major biometric-based technologies: finger-scanning, hand geometry, facial recognition, iris scanning, retinal scanning, finger geometry, voice recognition and dynamic signature verification. A brief description of other, more obscure […]
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Collecting societies warned about breaking competition rules
The European Commission warned the 16 different organisations in Europe that collect the royalties on behalf of music-authors that they may be breaking EU competition rules. The collecting societies have closed a pan-European pact in the Santiago agreement, whereby each national organisation functions as the only shop for all European music licenses. “The structure put […]
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Survey on WIPO Broadcasting Treaty
The Union for the Public Domain is organising a survey about the way governments act in the preparation of the proposed WIPO Broadcasting Treaty. The draft stands to give broadcasters the power to regulate copying, reproduction, distribution and right of transmission. It would extend the length of these powers from 20 to 50 years, and […]
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