Information democracy
Powerful companies and governments control the way the internet and new technologies are deployed. These actors blur the lines on corporate power in ways that have tremendous impact on people and democracies. The dominant business model of ‘Big tech’ platforms is based on surveillance, polarization and power imbalances. This ‘surveillance capitalism’ has had a global impact on democracy. For example, state and private actors can use the internet and technologies to spread political disinformation, to manipulate electoral results, to attack human rights defenders and to limit civic space.
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EDRi-gram, 1 December 2021
In this edition, we tell you how you can take your power back from Big Tech companies and help us create a democratic, fair and open internet for a just society. We are also calling on the EU to put our fundamental rights first in the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA).
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Transposition of the Copyright Directive in Spain
The transposition of the Copyright Directive in Spain has been done with no Parliament debate. While the political parties could ask for it, they will likely not do so for fear of conflicting with certain famous artists from the copyright lobby, who are lobbying for an extreme position on copyrights.
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EDRi-gram, 17 November 2021
Check out our joint call to the Portuguese government to oppose a proposed law that tries to sneak in biometric mass surveillance. In this edition, we also explain how Facebook's latest announcement about deleting their facial recognition database demonstrates that voluntary self-regulation from tech giants is superficial and cannot replace actual legislation against these practices. And discuss the shortcomings of Facebook whistleblower's testimony.
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Big-tech lobby sets the rules about big-tech in Europe
The dominance of Google and Facebook is disastrous for the public debate online. We've been saying this for a long time. But this dominance can also be felt in the regulation of the same platforms. Huge amounts of money are spent by big tech to influence European laws and regulations.
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European Parliament’s plans of a Digital Services Act threaten internet freedoms
The EU's Digital Services Act is a chance to preserve what works and to fix what is broken. EFF and other civil society groups have advocated for new rules that protect fundamental rights online, while formulating a bold vision to address today's most pressing challenges. However, while the initial proposal by the EU Commission got several things right, the EU Parliament is toying with the idea of introducing a new filternet, made in Europe. Some politicians believe that any active platform should potentially be held liable for the communications of its users and they trust that algorithmic filters can do the trick to swiftly remove illegal content
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EDRi urges Portugal government to oppose proposed video surveillance law
EDRi member and Reclaim Your Face lead organisation D3 (Defesa Dos Direitos Digitais) are raising awareness of how the Portuguese government’s new proposed video surveillance and facial recognition law – which Ministers are trying to rush through the Parliament - amounts to illiberal biometric mass surveillance. It also endangers the very foundations of democracy on which the Republic of Portugal rests.
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EDRi-gram, 3 November 2021
In this edition of the EDRi-gram, we share EDRi's guide to help Members of the European Parliament make strong human rights choices regarding the Digital Services Act amendments prior to the IMCO vote. We also share the unfortunate news of how Europol's unfettered and problematic data-driven model of policing has been given the green light, which will lead to serious risks of discrimination based on race, socio-economic status or class, and nationality.
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Disinformation and propaganda: It’s all political!
The disinformation and propaganda campaigns in the European Union (EU) are inexplicably tied to the political parties that misuse the tools of mass media communications to spread fear and deceit (Euractiv, 2021). The media exemption currently debated within the scope of the Digital Services Act (DSA) that would prevent digital intermediaries from interfering with content posted by media outlets is an early Christmas present to the disinformation agents, as it would enable them to continue with their propaganda production, fueled by algorithmic distribution.
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EDRi-gram, 20 October 2021
In this edition of the EDRi-gram, we share the launch of a collection of four scenarios that describe situations involving cross-border access to personal data and explains the necessary safeguards needed in the e-Evidence Proposal to mitigate these fundamental rights harms. We also demonstrate how software embedded in people’s devices can monitor our movements and surveil us, how a ban on surveillance advertising can fix Facebook and a lot more. Also now's your chance to submit your session proposal for the 10th annual Privacy Camp event, happening on January 25, 2022!
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You Shall Not Pass! Wikimedia Foundation Denied Observer Status At WIPO
China blocked the Wikimedia Foundation’s bid for observer status at WIPO. This is the second time this has happened after the Foundation’s initial application in 2020. Wikimedia’s exclusion sets a worrying precedent and should alert European lawmakers who are concerned about the democratic governance of intergovernmental organizations. EDRi's member Wikimedia Germany sheds some light on the case.
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If you want digital policy done right, propose it yourself
Fed up with the digital policies in Germany or the lack thereof in the past decades, EDRi member Chaos Computer Club e.V. (CCC) submitted their own proposal for a digital agenda of the new German government. Digital policy has been severely neglected by past governments. This explains the extended list of topics being tackled in this proposal.
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EDRi-gram, 6 October 2021
We celebrate a historic milestone for our human rights as the European Parliament heard what EDRi has been long advocating for and took a bold stand against unacceptably risky uses of AI like biometric mass surveillance and predictive policing. We also cheer for civil society's success in Serbia as community and international pressure forced the government to withdraw its law, threatening to subject people to oppressive and privacy intrusive biometric surveillance.
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