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EU Parliament sends a global message to protect human rights from AI
Today, the Internal Market Committee (IMCO) and the Civil Liberties Committee (LIBE) committees took several important steps to make this landmark legislation more people-focused by banning AI systems used for biometric surveillance, emotion recognition and predictive policing. Disappointingly, the MEPs stopped short of protecting the rights of migrants.
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EU-US plan offensive to legitimise police access to data, civil society responds amid growing fears – Press Release
On 6 April 2023, EDRi and 8 partners sent an open letter to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Vice President Margrethe Vestager, as well Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Through the letter, the organisations called out the clear and deliberate plans to disregard international human rights standards in the EU-US approaches to security in the digitalised society, in particular in regards to end-to-end-encryption.
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Poll: Young people in 13 EU countries refuse surveillance of online communication – Press Release
According to the results of the survey, 80% of young people aged 13 to 17 years old from 13 EU Member States would not feel comfortable being politically active or exploring their sexuality if authorities were able to monitor their digital communication, in order to look for child sexual abuse.
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News from Ireland question effectiveness and lawfulness of online scanning for tackling child sexual abuse: Lessons for the EU
An investigation in Ireland published today shows that tools for scanning private communications to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online suffer not only from low accuracy and high rates of false alarms but have led to people’s data and privacy being put in danger without reasonable suspicion.
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The DSA should pave the way for systemic change
Today, 5 July, is a victorious day for human rights online as we embark on the next stage in our journey – real alternatives to the currently dominant surveillance business model. The European Parliament’s approval of the Digital Services Act (DSA) will bring many opportunities to limit the huge power Big Tech companies like Google, Meta (Facebook) and Amazon have over people and democracies. However, this regulation is only the first step in ensuring people’s rights online are protected, more work is needed for a better internet. Now, it is imperative that we see strong enforcement by regulatory authorities that will ensure the high human rights standards the new rules promise.
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European Commission’s online CSAM proposal fails to find right solutions to tackle child sexual abuse
Today, 11 May, is a worrying day for every person in the EU who wants to send a message privately without exposing their personal information, like chats and photos, to private companies and governments. The European Commission has adopted its “Regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse” material online, including measures which put the vital integrity of secure communications at risk.
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Europol’s ever-increasing mandate: European Parliament failed to stand up for fundamental rights
Today, 4 May, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved the revision of Europol’s mandate and the Schengen Information System. This supports a massive, unchecked expansion of Europol’s powers, posing a threat to people’s rights through over-policing, mass surveillance and discrimination.
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EU negotiators approve good DSA, but more work is needed to build a better internet
Friday night’s political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA) is a good first step towards protecting people’s rights on the internet and to some extent limiting the immense power that Big Tech companies have over people and democracies.
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The European Parliament must go further to empower people in the AI act
Today, 21 April, POLITICO Europe published a leak of the much-anticipated draft report on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act proposal. The draft report has taken important steps towards a more people-focused approach, but it has failed to introduce crucial red lines and safeguards on the uses of AI, including ‘place-based’ predictive policing systems, remote biometric identification, emotion recognition, discriminatory or manipulative biometric categorisation, and uses of AI undermining the right to asylum.
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The Digital Markets Act promises to free people from digital walled gardens
Last night, 24 March, the European Union made a great step forward to better protecting our rights online as it approved the political trilogue compromise for the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This decision promises to challenge the strongly centralised environment of Big Tech platforms exerting too much power over our rights and over the flow of information in society. Tech companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple will have to start following strict rules that ensure free and fair competition in the digital markets.
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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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European court supports transparency in risky EU border tech experiments
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the European Commission must reveal initially-withheld documents relating to the controversial iBorderCtrl project, which experimented with risky biometric ‘lie detection’ systems at EU borders. However, the judgement continued to safeguard some of the commercial interests of iBorderCtrl, despite it being an EU-funded migration technology with implications for the protection of people’s rights.
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