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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Written submission: Civil society shows evidence gaps in “Going Dark” group proposal for access to data for law enforcement
On 28 February 2024, EDRi and its members submitted written comments on the work of the High-Level Group (HLG) on “access to data for effective law enforcement". This HLG was set up under the Swedish Presidency of the Council in 2023 to allegedly find solutions to law enforcement ‘modern challenges’ in the digital era.
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Open letter: Digital rights advocates unite against Meta’s “Pay or Okay”. Privacy and data protection are NOT for sale
In response to three Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) requesting a European Data Protection Board (EDPB) opinion on Meta's 'Pay or Consent' approach, Access Now, the EDRi office and other EDRi members have united in an open letter urging the Board to reject these subscription-based approaches unequivocally.
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Delay, depress, destroy: How tech corporations subvert the EU’s new digital laws
When the DSA and DMA were passed in 2022, major tech industry associations praised the new laws as significant achievements. It is time for Big Tech corporations to stop pouting and live up to their responsibility.
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Bits of Freedom launches campaign on DSA user rights
EDRi member in the Netherlands Bits of Freedom has launched a campaign to bring attention to user rights addressed by the European Union's new digital law, the Digital Services Act. On the brand new website, that engages civil society, you can find guidelines on how to enforce your own platform rights.
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The privacy saga with Norwegian Social Service continues
We promised you an update to Janne Cecilie Thorenfeldt’s case taking the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Since EDRi member Elektronisk Forpost Norge (EFN) reported about the massive GDPR violations of the Service, here is what happened.
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EDRi-gram, 06 March 2024
On 17 February, one of the landmark digital laws, the Digital Services Act, in the European Union came fully into force. Now, you've got a whole bunch of fantastic online rights at your fingertips. But don't worry, we've got your back! Our friends at Bits of Freedom have whipped up a shiny new website packed with easy-peasy actions to help you understand and flex those digital rights muscles like a pro. But wait, there's more! We're thrilled to introduce you to our new Head of Policy, Ella Jakubowska. Ella takes up this role from her previous EDRi position as Senior Policy Advisor, where she led advocacy on facial recognition, the confidentiality of online communications, age verification and more. She’ll be spending the coming months listening and learning, so please get in touch if you’d like to talk all things digital rights policy.
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#PrivacyCamp24: Event summary
On January 24, 2024, we brought together policymakers, activists, human rights defenders, and academics from all over Europe for Privacy Camp 2024. We came together to explore the theme ‘Revealing, Rethinking, and Changing Systems’.
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Press Release: Brussels rocked by major spyware scandal: Urgent call for ban
Now, when push has come to shove, policymakers at the European Union (EU) must act to ban spyware in Europe. Yesterday, the media reported a major attack on EU democracy with members of the European Parliament Defense Committee being the target of phone hacking.
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When law enforcement undermines our digital safety, who is looking after our interests?
Imagine your friend sent you a private DM on Twitter. Now imagine, instead of the content remaining for your eyes only, Twitter letting the police also take a peek at it. Such intrusive practices of state actors accessing private messages have grave consequences for our lives. Some people can be physically harmed, and for some, it can mean that their families and friends could get prosecuted. At a collective level, the harm this does to our communities and society at large is immeasurable.
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EDRi-gram, 21 february 2024
In this edition, we share with you our concerns about the Irish media regulator’s Online Safety Code and the sledgehammer approach of age verification tools. Also, earlier this month, the EU Parliament voted on the agreement on automated data exchange for police cooperation, known as ‘Prüm II’. What does this framework, and the broader securitisation mindset it represents, mean for our fundamental rights?
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Mass surveillance and encryption backdoors have no future in Europe
Today, 20 February, in a public consultation at the European Commission, the EDRi network calls on EU lawmakers to end all attempts to normalise dangerous surveillance practices that rip people off their safety and privacy online.
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GDPR enforcement: European Parliament must guarantee procedural rights to ensure people’s data protection
While it is a step forward in better enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Parliament’s current GDPR Procedural Harmonisation Regulation text is still not enough to safeguard the fundamental rights of people. Today, February 15, the text was approved in the Committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), laying out the blueprints for enhanced procedures for cross-border GDPR complaints and ex-officio investigations.
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