March 23, 2016 · Blogs

EPIC Intervenes in Privacy Case at European Court of Human Rights

EPIC filed a third-party intervention with the European Court of Human Rights in a significant case about mass surveillance and transatlantic co-operation between intelligence agencies. The 10 Human Rights Organizations and Others v the UK (24960/15) case involves a challenge brought by NGOs from all around the world including Privacy International, the American Civil Liberties […]

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February 14, 2007

Towards a committee for French on-line services regulation ?

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) French Internet regulation history seems to repeat itself, as shows a recently unveiled administrative decree project, which aims at creating a “National Commission for the deontology of on-line public communication services”. The Commission would be in charge of elaborating “deontological recommendations” towards professional on- line communication services, […]

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February 12, 2014 · Blogs

Italian Supreme Court: Google’s Youtube is just a hosting provider

(title corrected from the newsletter version when the title was wrongfuly posted as “Italian Supreme Court: search engines are just hosting providers”) The Italian Supreme Court (Court of Cassation) finally comes to put an end to a long-term case brought in 2008 by Vividown association against three Google executives considered responsible for a post uploaded […]

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February 28, 2007

Increased Europol powers need increased data protection policies

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) Peter Hustinx, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) considers that the changes on the legal basis of Europe’s police (Europol) proposed by the European Parliament meant to increase its powers have to be accompanied by proper data protection rules. The European Parliament has proposed changes that would […]

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March 29, 2006

Creative Commons license upheld in Dutch and Spanish courts

Both in The Netherlands and in Spain the Creative Commons license was judged in court. In both cases the validity of this alternative copyright license was upheld. In the Netherlands, the first court case about the validity of the Creative Commons license produced clear victory for the user of the license. On 9 March 2006 […]

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June 3, 2015 · Blogs

Data retention: German government tries again

Even before the parliamentary summer recess starting on 4 July, the German government wants to push a national law on data retention through the German Bundestag. After the Ministry of Justice presented so-called guidelines in mid-April, and a complete draft law only a month later, the Parliament is now supposed to debate and pass this […]

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September 21, 2012 · Blogs

Clean IT – Leak shows plans for large-scale, undemocratic surveillance of all communications

This article is also available in German: [CleanIT – Pläne zur Überwachung des Internets im großen Stil] A leaked document from the CleanIT project shows just how far internal discussions in that initiative have drifted away from its publicly stated aims, as well as the most fundamental legal rules that underpin European democracy and the […]

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July 26, 2017 · Blogs

PNR: EU Court rules that draft EU/Canada air passenger data deal is unacceptable

Today, on 26 July 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed that the EU/Canada deal on collection of air travellers’ data and sharing it breaches European law. This is the third time that the European Court has ruled against arrangements for mandatory storage of personal data. This is good news for […]

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July 1, 2015 · Blogs

WiFi tracking and the ePrivacy Directive in Denmark

Citizens are increasingly being monitored and tracked by public authorities and commercial interests. Many carry digital devices which, by design, emit a unique identifier, such as the WiFi Media Access Control (MAC) address of a smartphone. Even though the MAC address does not directly reveal the identity of a person, the fact that it is […]

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August 12, 2015 · Blogs

Internet censorship redux – under the guise of regulating gambling

On 12 June 2015 a law came into effect requiring the providers of networks and electronic communication services in Romania to block access to gambling sites as well as sites advertising gambling activities that are unauthorised in the country. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) will now be obliged to implement a website blocking system and use […]

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July 2, 2014 · Blogs

Supreme Court of the US on cell phone searches: get a warrant

In the court case Riley vs California, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) affirmed on 25 June what many digital rights activists have been telling a long time: Our mobile phones, especially smartphones, have become such an extension of ourselves that warrantless searches of them violate fundamental rights. Not only that, SCOTUS was […]

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July 18, 2007

French ruling against video-sharing platform DailyMotion

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) On 13 July 2007, a French court has ruled against the French company DailyMotion, second world leader of video-sharing platforms after YouTube, in a counterfeit case. The legal action was initiated by the director, the producer, and the distributor of a movie put on-line by a user […]

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