Europol and biometric surveillance “won” the Czech Big Brother Awards
For the 19th year, the Big Brother Awards took place in the Czech Republic. There were four negative awards given as well as one positive award.
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Europol and biometric surveillance “won” the Czech Big Brother Awards
For the 19th year, the Big Brother Awards took place in the Czech Republic. There were four negative awards given as well as one positive award.
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Europe’s highest court delivers landmark judgment against IAB Europe in GDPR consent spam pop-ups case
The Court of Justice of the European Union's landmark decision on March 7, 2023, against the auctioning of personal data for advertising purposes under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) challenges the legality of invasive tracking and profiling in the context of online advertising. It marks a significant victory for privacy advocates and sets a precedent for the protection of personal data in the digital era.
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EDRi-gram, 20 March 2024
On March 13, following years of tireless advocacy, the EU Parliament finally passed the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act. But there’s not much to celebrate – the law missed the mark when it comes to protecting our human rights, especially those of migrants and people on the move. On the same day, the Parliament also passed the European Media Freedom Law (EMFA) which aims to protect journalists and media workers. Another legislation with lofty ambitions that did not live up to its goals. Despite the Brussels spyware scandal that shocked up in February 2024, EU’s approach to surveillance technology remains lackadaisical at best. What will finally convince them to take action?
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European Court of Human Rights confirms: weakening of encryption can violate the human right to privacy
In a milestone judgment - Podchasov v. Russia - the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled that weakening of encryption can lead to general and indiscriminate surveillance of the communications of all users and violates the human right to privacy.
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GPS tagging of migrants found unlawful by UK data protection authority
As a result of Privacy International’s 2022 complaint against the UK Home Office, the UK data protection authority (ICO) has found that the GPS tagging of migrants and asylum seekers arriving to the UK small boats was unlawful, and issued a formal warning for all future data protection compliance of GPS tagging as a whole. This is a major step towards better scrutiny of the human rights implications of the surveillance of migrants.
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Will the Brussels spyware scandal finally convince the EU to act?
In February, Brussels was rocked by reports of phone hacking and spyware attacks on members of the European Parliament’s defence and security committee. Such intrusions are a huge threat to EU democracy — interfering with decision-making and allowing obstructive disruptions to public debate. Three weeks on, nothing seems to have changed with the EU’s approach to spyware.
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Privatised municipal surveillance on the stage of security theatre in Slovenia
The municipality of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, wasted almost two years deflecting freedom of information requests (FOIAs) from EDRi member Državljan Dsfor the municipal CCTV system data in the city. The data, when finally provided, revealed the scale of ineffective security theatre paid for by Ljubljana’s citizens, and the need for a public debate about the use of this technology.
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Written submission: Civil society shows evidence gaps in “Going Dark” group proposal for access to data for law enforcement
On 28 February 2024, EDRi and its members submitted written comments on the work of the High-Level Group (HLG) on “access to data for effective law enforcement". This HLG was set up under the Swedish Presidency of the Council in 2023 to allegedly find solutions to law enforcement ‘modern challenges’ in the digital era.
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Open letter: Digital rights advocates unite against Meta’s “Pay or Okay”. Privacy and data protection are NOT for sale
In response to three Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) requesting a European Data Protection Board (EDPB) opinion on Meta's 'Pay or Consent' approach, Access Now, the EDRi office and other EDRi members have united in an open letter urging the Board to reject these subscription-based approaches unequivocally.
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Delay, depress, destroy: How tech corporations subvert the EU’s new digital laws
When the DSA and DMA were passed in 2022, major tech industry associations praised the new laws as significant achievements. It is time for Big Tech corporations to stop pouting and live up to their responsibility.
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Bits of Freedom launches campaign on DSA user rights
EDRi member in the Netherlands Bits of Freedom has launched a campaign to bring attention to user rights addressed by the European Union's new digital law, the Digital Services Act. On the brand new website, that engages civil society, you can find guidelines on how to enforce your own platform rights.
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The privacy saga with Norwegian Social Service continues
We promised you an update to Janne Cecilie Thorenfeldt’s case taking the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV) on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Since EDRi member Elektronisk Forpost Norge (EFN) reported about the massive GDPR violations of the Service, here is what happened.
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