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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EU Parliament ditches PNR transfer for the third time
A last effort of the EU Council to reach agreement with the European Parliament about the transfer of airliner passenger’s personal data (Passenger Name Record; PNR) to the U.S. failed on Tuesday 4 May. With a 343 to 301 majority, Parliament decided not to vote on the Council’s proposal to treat the matter as an […]
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Ireland cancels e-voting
Ireland has cancelled the use of electronic voting machines for the upcoming European elections in June after an independent commission said the secrecy and accuracy of the voting could not be guaranteed. The Irish government has spent 40 million euros on voting machines from the Dutch manufacturer Nedap. The Irish opposition demands the resignation of […]
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Privacy International report on ID-cards and terrorism
EDRi member Privacy International has published an Interim Report on the link between identity cards and the prevention of terrorism. The report, the first of its kind, was initiated following attempts by the UK and Canadian governments to introduce biometric ID cards. The report analysed the 25 countries that have been most affected by terrorism […]
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Romania implements Cybercrime Convention
Romania has implemented the Cybercrime Convention with law nr. 64 from 24 March 2004. The law was published in the Official Monitor nr. 343, on 20 April 2004. The main provisions of the Cybercrime Convention were already incorporated in Title III of the Anti-corruption law nr. 161/2003, published in the Official Monitor nr. 279 from […]
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Business interest first served at .eu domain
On 30 April 2004, the European Commission finally released the public policy for the new .EU top-level domain. The policy seems to have been written with 2 thoughts in mind: prevent endless disputes with governments about geographical and institutional names and make sure all trademark-related rights are served first. Registration will take place in two […]
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Update on the EU Copyright Directive
Eight Member States were referred by the Commission in December 2003 to the Court of Justice for failure to transpose the Copyright Directive (2001/29/EC) into national law. The deadline for implementation was 22 December 2002, but was only met by Greece and Denmark. Italy, Austria, Germany and the UK transposed the Directive into national law […]
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Council accepts Spanish PNR proposal
The Council of ministers of justice and interior affairs (JHA) accepted on 29 April 2004 the Spanish proposal to oblige European air carriers to transfer passenger data about non-EU passengers entering the EU. “At the request of the authorities responsible for carrying out checks on persons at external borders, carriers will be obliged to transmit, […]
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Final French vote on controversial Digital Economy Law
Tomorrow, 6 May 2004, the French national assembly will have the final reading of the controversial digital economy law (Loi sur la confiance dans l’economie numerique, LEN), followed by a final reading in the Senate on 13 May 2004. This will conclude the French transposition process of the E-Commerce Directive (2000/31/EC) and part of the […]
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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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Recommended Reading: EU spam regulations ineffective
The Amsterdam institute for information law published a study (commissioned by Sybari software) about the impact of the new anti-spam regulations in the EU. Their conclusion is not encouraging. “An important limitation on the effectiveness of the E-Privacy Directive is the simple fact that most spam originates from outside the EU. (…) Beyond that, the […]
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IPR Directive soon to be law
Adoption of the Directive on Measures and Procedures to Enforce Intellectual Property Rights – the infamous Fourtou Report – is a mere formality. The General Secretariat of the European Council has invited the Council’s Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER) to suggest to the Council, at one of its forthcoming meetings, to adopt the Directive as […]
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