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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UK can join EU surveillance schemes with no parliamentary scrutiny, warns new report
The UK can join intrusive EU surveillance schemes including a pan-European network of police facial recognition databases with no need for parliamentary debate or scrutiny, says a new report published by EDRi member Statewatch.
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A beginner’s guide to EU rules on scanning private communications: Part 2
Vital EU rules on human rights and on due process protect all of us from unfair, arbitrary or discriminatory interference with our privacy by states and companies. As we await the European Commission’s proposal for a law which we fear may make it mandatory for online chat and email services to scan every person’s private messages all the time, which may constitute mass surveillance, this blog explores what rights-respecting investigations into child sexual abuse material (CSAM) should look like instead.
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Secret negotiations about Europol: the big rule of law scandal
In negotiations held behind closed doors, the Council of Member States and the European Parliament are about to torpedo all the efforts of the European data protection watchdog’s to hold Europol accountable for its illegal data practices.
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What went down at #PrivacyCamp22?
EDRi’s annual flagship event Privacy Camp took place yesterday, on 25 January, for the first time online. We hope many of you were able to attend and that you found the event just as inspirational as the in-person experience.
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European Parliament approves rights-respecting DSA & proposes ban on use of sensitive personal data for online ads
Today's upcoming vote by the European Parliament's (EP) on the Digital Services Act (DSA) is expected to be a good step forward in protecting people’s rights on the internet, including freedom of expression and information, right to safety and the right to privacy, which EDRi has strongly and consistently advocated for.
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EDRi-gram, 19 January 2022
In this first edition of the EDRi-gram for 2022, we look at how people are pushing MEPs to take the opportunity to end surveillance ads. We also explore why it is important for our health data to stay private and how the e-Evidence Regulation threatens the confidentiality of this sensitive information. We also look into what it’s like to have an algorithm as your boss through the stories of millions of people worldwide, working in the gig economy for companies like Uber, Deliveroo, Bolt & Just Eat, who are subjected to unprecedented surveillance.
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People ask MEPs: Take the opportunity, end surveillance ads!
Thousands of people are asking the EU Parliament to end online surveillance advertising , ahead of the DSA (Digital Services Act) vote in the plenary on Thursday, 20 January 2022. EDRi is part of the movement mobilising people, together with individual organisations in the PeopleVsBigTech group and beyond.
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Short Film “Reclaim Your Face”: the harms of Biometric Mass Surveillance to society
‘Biometric Mass Surveillance pose a danger to society’ is the main message of Alexander Lehmann's latest short film. And there is no better place to premier this movie than at the last Chaos Computer Club's end of the year event rC3. The film "Reclaim Your Face" highlights the issues surrounding biometric mass surveillance and underlines the harms that its’ systems pose to our society.
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Hide and Seek: Polish DPA agrees that people should be able to access their advertising profiles, but there’s no way to do so
Following EDRi member Panoptykon’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) complaint against one of the biggest Polish news website, Interia.pl - the Polish Data Protection Authority has confirmed that online publishers should give users access to their advertising profiles generated for the purposes of delivering behavioural ads.
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The EU’s own ‘Snowden Scandal’: Europol’s Data Mining
On 3 January 2022, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), which supervises the processing of personal data by the EU’s law enforcement agency, Europol, ordered Europol to delete data held in its databases on individuals with no established link to criminal activity.
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Cross-border access to user data by law enforcement in 2021: A year in review
Law enforcement agencies around the world are getting their holiday wish list, thanks to the Council of Europe’s adoption of a flawed new protocol to the Budapest Convention, a treaty governing procedures for accessing digital evidence across borders in criminal investigations.
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Don’t let Big Tech fool you: Small businesses don’t want surveillance advertising
Tracking-based advertising has become all pervasive in the digital world. Amnesty Tech's new research shows that small businesses know very well how harmful these practices are to human rights but have little alternative.
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