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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Human Rights Court sets limits on right to monitor employees
On 5 September 2017, the Grand Chamber of the European Court for Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on the Bărbulescu v. Romania case. It found that there was a breach of the right to family life and correspondence (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights), as claimed by Mr Bărbulescu. Mr Bărbulescu was fired […]
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Booklet: Your guide to Digital Defenders vs. Data Intruders – Privacy for kids!
The Internet. It's cool, fast and global! But it's also complicated, sometimes. Sometimes it can be difficult to see the risks - where our private stuff online can be read and used by others.
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CETA will undermine EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
In February 2016, the European Commission and Canadian government published the final draft text of the EU – Canada trade agreement (CETA), prior to its approval or rejection by the Council of the European Union, European Parliament and, possibly, national parliaments. In October 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) invalidated the […]
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The lobby-tomy 6: Not in my backyard
Something you’ll hear in policy debates on the environment: windmills are a great idea and obviously good for the environment, but we don’t want them in our backyard. This argument doesn’t just apply to the debate on the environment, but apparently also in the debate on privacy protection. Representatives from industry speak convincingly about what […]
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Please sue us
Each of the Member States of the European Union is required to incorporate European directives into national legislation. If a Member State does not obey this obligation, the European Commission can sue this country in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). But what actions can a country take if such directives force […]
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Dutch dragnet surveillance bill leaked
On 29 April, the final text for the Dutch dragnet surveillance bill was leaked. It turns out that Minister of the Dutch Interior Ronald Plasterk is still bent on granting the secret services the power to carry out bulk interception of innocent citizens’ communications.
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Data Protection
This booklet is intended to provide an overview of some of the key issues and jargon surrounding data protection in the digital environment. At its core, data protection is about preserving a fundamental right that is reflected in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Council of Europe Convention 108, as well as […]
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Support EDRi!
This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Unterstützen Sie EDRi | https://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_9.24_Unterstuetzen_Sie_EDRi?pk_campaign=edri&pk_kwd=20111218] Increasingly, your digital freedom is under threat. And unfortunately, mostly as a result of European rules. Europe agreed to transfer your travel data wholesale to the US. Europe obliged your telephone provider to store your location, sometimes for up to two years. And […]
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Danish committee on citizens IT-rights
The Danish ministry of science and technology has mandated a committee on citizens IT-rights. The committee has representatives from various ministries, consumer organisations, the IT-business sector and civil society. EDRi-member Digital Rights has participated in the committee since it started its work in September 2002. The aim of the committee is to give recommendations to […]
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Austria looses court case about surveillance costs
Telecommunication companies in Austria have won an important court case against the federal government. Though in general the wiretapping provisions in the new Telecommunications Law were not deemed unconstitutional, from 2004 onwards, government will have to reimburse providers for the costs of procuring and maintaining surveillance equipment. Full verdict in German (27.02.2003) http://www.vfgh.gv.at/vfgh/presse/G37-16-02.pdf
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French Constitutional Council validates computer search without warrant
The French Constitutional Council recently validated the Internal Safety Law (‘Loi sur la sécurité intérieure’), adopted by the Parliament on February 13. This decision has been commented by the Human Rights League – LDH, the French member of the International Human Rights Federation – as a ‘step backwards for the rule of law’. Among the […]
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Polish providers fight email monitoring obligation
According to an item on Warsaw Polish Radio 1 on 19 March 2002, telecommunication providers in Poland have received an order from the Ministry of Infrastructure to install email wiretapping equipment. In the item counsellor Daniel Wieszczycki stated the order is contrary to the Constitutional right of secrecy of correspondence. In pursuance of the order, […]
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