EDRi-gram, 25 September 2024
With summer on its way out, there might be a chill in the air. But there’s none to be found in Brussels and the digital rights world. Last week, we were glued to our screens as the European Commission President Elect, Ursula Von Der Leyen, announced the Commissoners-Designate and what they’ll be in charge of. Now, these Commissioners will go through live-streamed hearings at the European Parliament next month before starting work. We’ll be watching with interest… and maybe popcorn. This week, we’re also concerned about the impact of age verification proposals on fundamental rights and the well-being of children and young people. Spoiler alert: it’s not good. Evidence & lived experiences show these tools are dangerous, discriminatory and unsafe. EDRi and 63 organisations and experts wrote to the European Commission to urge them to halt proposals for using such tools in the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the eIDAS Regulation. Now that we’ve all firmly, albeit sadly, turned off our summer out-of-office messages, it’s also time to catch up on what Google, Meta, X and other tech giants have been up to over the summer, especially with the DSA and Digital Markets Act (DMA) in place.
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EDRi-gram, 25 September 2024
With summer on its way out, there might be a chill in the air. But there’s none to be found in Brussels and the digital rights world. Last week, we were glued to our screens as the European Commission President Elect, Ursula Von Der Leyen, announced the Commissoners-Designate and what they’ll be in charge of. Now, these Commissioners will go through live-streamed hearings at the European Parliament next month before starting work. We’ll be watching with interest… and maybe popcorn. This week, we’re also concerned about the impact of age verification proposals on fundamental rights and the well-being of children and young people. Spoiler alert: it’s not good. Evidence & lived experiences show these tools are dangerous, discriminatory and unsafe. EDRi and 63 organisations and experts wrote to the European Commission to urge them to halt proposals for using such tools in the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the eIDAS Regulation. Now that we’ve all firmly, albeit sadly, turned off our summer out-of-office messages, it’s also time to catch up on what Google, Meta, X and other tech giants have been up to over the summer, especially with the DSA and Digital Markets Act (DMA) in place.
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Making decision-making just and accountable: A vision for our digital future
Together, we can protect human rights, strengthen democracy, and reshape societal systems. Read about our commitment to making decision-making just and accountable, as part of our Vision for 2024 and beyond.
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Open letter: The dangers of age verification proposals to fundamental rights online
On 16 September, EDRi and 63 organisations, academics and experts in privacy, encryption, child safety, sex workers' rights and consumer rights issued a joint statement urging the European Commission to prioritise effective child safety measures while expressing serious concerns about the suitability, proportionality, and negative impact on fundamental rights of current age verification proposals.
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What the arrest of Telegram’s CEO means for digital rights
French prosecutors have charged Telegram CEO Pavel Durov for illegal content disseminated by users of his platform and the company’s failure to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. EDRi is following this case with great concern, here is why.
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EDRi-gram, 11 September 2024
With the post-election shake-up and the upcoming appointment of new European Commissioners, both governments and tech giants are making moves that could threaten our rights. In Denmark, efforts to broaden the definition of antisemitism, including criticism of the Israeli state, may lead to the misuse of the Terrorist Content Online Regulation to silence pro-Palestinian voices. In France, legal action against Telegram’s co-founder has intensified calls for stricter enforcement of the Digital Services Act. At the EU level, we’ve seen a troubling decision by the European Commission to cut funding for free software projects. In light of these challenges, and as we prepare for the next EU mandate, we’ve launched a collective strategy process with our members and partners to ensure civil society’s voice is heard in shaping the future of EU digital legislation. On 1 October, over 40 organisations will meet at the Tech and Society Summit to bring our collective vision on the intersection of technology, society, and the environment closer to decision-makers.
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Prioritising planet care: A vision for our digital future
Together, we can protect human rights, strengthen democracy, and reshape societal systems. Read about our commitment to empowering people to flourish and thrive, as part of our Vision for 2024 and beyond.
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Denmark will issue removal orders without court approval: Impacts on free speech and pro-Palestinian voices
Removal orders in the Terrorist Content Online (TCO) Regulation currently require prior court authorisation in Denmark, but this will soon change as a consequence of a political agreement to strengthen the fight against antisemitism. Together with a broadened definition of antisemitism focusing on the State of Israel, the already highly problematic TCO Regulation could be further leveraged by Danish authorities for arbitrary censorship of pro-Palestinian voices on social media.
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Croatian TikTok: A battleground between pro-EU and anti-EU narratives
Gong, a Croatian democracy watchdog organisation and EDRi member, published an analysis of the political narratives on TikTok during the national 2024 election campaign. The research explores the political narratives and environment on TikTok in the pre-campaign and campaign period for the Croatian parliamentary elections. It highlights a vibrant and intricate political landscape on TikTok in Croatia, marked by a division between democratic and anti-democratic narratives aimed at swaying the platform's younger audience.
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Mass hacking and fundamental rights: a missed opportunity for the Court of Justice of the Euorpean Union?
On 30 April 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) published its decision in the ‘EncroChat’ case. The case emerged from recent European police cooperation operations against organised crime, involving the mass interception of encrypted communications by means of spyware (‘hacking’).
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Age against the machine: the race to make online spaces age-appropriate
The race is on to make online spaces age-appropriate, but children’s best interest is no Olympic sport. While the internet was not designed with kids in mind, children, teens and young adults are now spending more time online than ever. Parents use video-sharing platforms to show cartoons to their toddlers, while kids and adolescents play online games, engage in social media, learn through online modules, and fashion their identities through their online activities.
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Statement: EU takes modest step as AI law comes into effect
The EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act will finally come into force on August 1, 2024. While it's disappointing that the final law did not put people and their rights at the centre, it still contains some silver linings.
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EDRi-gram, 10 July 2024
This is the last edition of EDRi-gram before we take a (well-deserved) break for the summer. Keeping you updated about the various goings-on in the busy world of digital rights is a toilsome task! Don’t worry, this edition is full of interesting news and recommendations for you to follow up on all summer long. You can start by going through a new document pool by the Resist Europol coalition that brings together all relevant resources you’ll need to understand and contest EU’s securitisation agenda, especially through the seemingly never-ending expansion of the bloc’s agency for law enforcement cooperation. With Hungary taking over the presidency of the Council of the European Union as of last week, EDRi and 47 digital rights, human rights & children’s rights organisations have called for the withdrawal of the draft CSA Regulation proposal. It is high time to say good riddance to a proposal that is not only unfit for addressing the complex issue of child sexual abuse, but would also undermine private and safe online communication for all.
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