Press releases
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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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EU AI Act: Deal reached, but too soon to celebrate
On 8 December 2023, following over 36 hours of negotiations, EU lawmakers finally cinched a deal on the Artificial Intelligence Act. However, whilst some fundamental rights protections have been won, the overall Act has not lived up to its potential to put people and their rights front and center.
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A coalition of six organisations takes EU’s dangerous terrorist content regulation to court
On 8 November 2023, a coalition of six organisations filed a complaint before the French supreme administrative court, the Conseil d’État, against the French decree implementing the Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online.
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Press Release (CSA Regulation): Who benefits from the EU Commission’s mass surveillance law?
A newly-published independent investigation uncovered that the European Commission has been promoting industry interests in its proposed law to regulate the spread of child sexual abuse material online.
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Press Release: The EU’s Internal Market Committee votes for protecting encryption in the CSA Regulation
The European Union’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) Committee becomes the fourth European Parliament Committee to adopt an opinion on the European Union Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Regulation, voting to protect encryption and rule out unacceptably risky technologies.
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EU Parliament calls for ban of public facial recognition, but leaves human rights gaps in final position on AI Act
The final EU Parliament position upholds all of the fundamental rights demands which were added at committee level. Despite efforts to overturn it, the final position also maintains the committees' strong stance against biometric mass surveillance practices. But it is disappointing that the plenary missed the opportunity to increase protections when it comes to empowering people affected by the use of AI and the rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
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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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