April 12, 2007 · Blogs

Free-DRM music by iTunes, but EC starts official investigation

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) EMI and Apple announced in the beginning of April 2007 that EMI Music’s entire digital catalogue of music will be available for purchase without DRM from the iTunes worldwide in May. This is also the result of several complaints from consumer advocates and European Commission (EC) officials […]

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March 26, 2008

European Commission: pro active in using open source software

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) The European Commission announced it would increase its own use of open source software for ICT projects: “For all new development, where deployment and usage is foreseen by parties outside of the Commission Infrastructure, Open Source Software will be the preferred development and deployment platform.” Valerie Rampie, […]

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October 8, 2003

EU proposal on biometrics in visa and passports

The European Commission is proposing to integrate biometric identifiers into visas and residence permits for third country nationals. Later this year proposals will follow for biometrics in passports of EU citizens, likely to be similar to the visa proposal. The Commission and member states want to store two types of biometric data into a contactless […]

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June 13, 2016 · Blogs

BEUC and EDRi urge the EU Commission not to undermine citizens’ privacy in trade agreements

On 10 June 2016, the European Consumers Association (BEUC) and European Digital Rights (EDRi) sent an open letter to the EU Commissioner for Trade, Cecilia Malmström, to express our concerns about the inclusion of a ban on (non-defined) “data localisation” in trade agreements. We urge the Commission to defend one of the biggest successes of […]

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May 10, 2006

EU Parliament Members want more privacy in SIS II

The Committee of Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs at the European Parliament debated the draft Regulation on the establishment, operation and use of the second generation Schengen Information System (SIS II). There was a consensus among members of the committee that better privacy safeguards are needed for the SIS II, especially because it will […]

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July 12, 2017 · Blogs

Total information awareness for law enforcement, no data protection

The European Network of Law Enforcement Technology Services (ENLETS), an informal group funded by the European Commission, has produced a report on best practices in mobile solutions for law enforcement practitioners.

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December 2, 2009

Civil liberties groups ask EU to repeal data retention directive

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Bürgerrechtsgruppen fordern die Widerrufung der Richtlinie zur Vorratsdatenspeicherung von der EU| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1606] Civil liberties groups European Digital Rights (EDRi) and the German Working Group on Data Retention (AK Vorrat) are calling on the European Union to repeal the 2006 directive on the data retention of electronic communications. In […]

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December 2, 2009

Stockholm programme adopted by the European Parliament

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Europäisches Parlament nimmt Stockholmer Programm an| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1610] After six months of preparation, the European Union has almost reached agreement (somewhat behind schedule) on its 5-year plan for policy in the area of “freedom, security and justice”, better known as the “Stockholm Programme”. Discussions on this proposal took place […]

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May 24, 2006

French draft copyright law continues to be criticised

As a continuation of the “saga” of the French draft law on copyright and related rights of the information society (DASDVSI), the French Senate voted this month the law which continues to be severely criticised by the consumer associations as well as software companies. The Senators have adopted the law with 164 votes for and […]

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October 10, 2018 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Freedom of expression online

EU Parliament’s anti-terrorism draft Report raises major concerns

While the recommendations of the final Report will not be binding, it sets a bad precedent for EU citizens prior to the elections, and its impact could be greater than that of most other political statements.

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October 24, 2018 · Blogs | Open internet and inclusive technology | Equal access to the internet | Freedom of expression online | Privacy and confidentiality | Surveillance and data retention

New standards for networking challenge regulators & digital rights

On 17 October, the European body of telecommunications regulators (BEREC) organised a stakeholder meeting in Brussels, inviting industry, consumers, regulators and citizens’ rights groups to reflect on the BEREC Work Programme 2019.

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December 16, 2009

EDPS worries about extended powers of agency running EC databases

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Datenschutzbeauftragter sorgt sich um erweiterte Befugnisse der Agentur, die Datenbanken der Kommission betreibt| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1631] Although not opposed to the creation by the European Commission of a security agency that would be in charge of EU visa and asylum databases, EDPS Peter Hustinx issued an opinion on 7 December […]

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