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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The Digital Omnibus: A step back from the brink, but the risks remain
A first Council compromise on the Digital Omnibus removes several of the most dangerous changes that were originally proposed to the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive. This is a welcome development, however, important risks remain. Some amendments could still weaken safeguards in practice, while new provisions on AI development and access to terminal equipment remain unresolved. Simplification should strengthen rights, not dilute them. The safest way to protect Europe’s digital rulebook is to reject the Digital Omnibus entirely.
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Fewer rules, more innovation? The miscalculation of the new Brussels
Is European regulation really holding back innovation, or is it a strategic asset that we are about to sell off? This piece debunks the official narrative of a European Commission that claims to be “learning to regulate better”. Through incisive analysis, it warns that the fear of falling behind in the artificial intelligence race is pushing Brussels to sacrifice fundamental rights in the name of a misunderstood competitiveness.
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The eID Wallet still doesn’t deserve your full trust
Despite its imminent deployment, the EU’s new eID Wallet is not yet fit for purpose in terms of safeguarding the rights of its users. EDRi and nine CSOs urge the European Commission to amend the draft implementing acts to ensure that users cannot be tracked, forced to share sensitive data nor to provide their legal identity where this is not required by law.
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EDRi-gram, 4 March 2026
What has the EDRi network been up to over the past few weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: Chat Control in final stretch, breaking extractive business models with Digital Fairness Act, & more!
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Outsourcing crime control: How EU anti-money laundering rules threaten financial privacy
Privacy First is drawing attention to the risks to financial privacy and fundament rights arising from the European Union’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) framework. Over the past decade, the EU has increasingly shifted the responsibility of detecting financial crime from public authorities to banks, bookkeepers and other companies (called“obliged entities”). With a completely revised AML Package set to enter into force in mid-2027, this system will expand further, turning ordinary citizens and civil society organisations into subjects of systems of financial surveillance.
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Chat Control is in the final stretch – but it could be a marathon, not a sprint
With final negotiations on the controversial CSA Regulation underway, you’d be forgiven for thinking that our digital rights are out of the woods. However, even though the recently-agreed position of EU Member States is a cautiously optimistic step, we are still far from a final deal. Perhaps the most worrying issue that remains is the threat of age verification becoming mandatory across all digital methods of private communication – a hugely disproportionate limitation on our privacy and free speech.
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Open Letter: We say no to Big Tech mass snooping on our messages!
EDRi and 39 organisations are urging Members of the European Parliament to reject any extension of the the temporary ePrivacy derogration, also known as “Chat Control 1.0”, and to protect the rights that keep us safe from arbitrary snooping in our lives.
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EDRi-gram, 18 February 2026
What has the EDRi network been up to over the past few weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: A competitiveness feast with our rights on the menu 🍽️
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Czech ministry apologizes to journalist for blanket collection of mobile phone data
The Czech Supreme Court has ruled that the legal regulation of blanket collection of electronic communications data (known as data retention) violates European Union law in a "long-term and particularly serious manner." This decision is the result of a multi-year campaign by the organization IuRe. However, the responsible minister has not yet taken steps to end blanket collection.
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European Commission’s plans will lead to worse regulations
EDRi is deeply concerned that the European Commission’s current plans to amend the Better Regulation framework will lead to worse lawmaking, not better. In its submission to the Commission, EDRi shares recommendations to ensure balanced representation, fairness, transparency, and meaningful safeguards in EU lawmaking.
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Reopening GDPR and ePrivacy through the Digital Omnibus: a risky path for EU digital rights
EDRi has assessed the Digital Omnibus proposals affecting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy framework. While presented as simplification, the changes amount to deregulation in effect, weakening fundamental rights safeguards, increasing legal uncertainty, and advancing through a process that falls short of democratic lawmaking standards.
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AI Omnibus: Reject the proposals to undermine transparency in the AI Act
The European Commission’s dangerous and misguided Digital Omnibus proposal includes a dangerous rollback of transparency requirements in the AI Act. 60 civil society organisations, independent public authorities and individuals, including EDRi, urge EU lawmakers to reject a change that would risk weakening enforcement, legal certainty, and the protection of fundamental rights, while offering negligible benefits for companies.
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