February 16, 2022 · Blogs | Privacy and surveillance | Biometrics | Profiling practices | Surveillance and data retention

Technologies for border surveillance and control in Italy

This research points out that identification and categorisation systems for migrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers, rely on vast quantities of biometric data including fingerprints and facial images. It is, however, often difficult to assess how these procedures are managed. Upon identification, the aforementioned groups have limited knowledge and awareness about where and how their personal and biometric data are going to be stored and used, hindering them from countering the pressure that this flow of information puts on their subsequent living conditions in Italy and in the European Union.

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April 29, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and surveillance | Biometrics | Disinformation and electoral interference | Freedom of expression online | Surveillance and data retention

Why COVID-19 is a Crisis for Digital Rights

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an equally urgent digital rights crisis. New measures being hurried in to curb the spread of the virus, from “biosurveillance” and online tracking to censorship, are potentially as world-changing as the disease itself.

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February 29, 2012

UK: Home Office spy plan

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Überwachungspläne des britischen Innenministeriums | https://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_10.4_Ueberwachungsplaene_des_britischen_Innenministeriums?pk_campaign=edri&pk_kwd=20120229] The UK Government plans to store details on all phone calls or online communications for a year in databases that will be available to security services, under the pretext of anti-terrorism fight. Landline and mobile phone companies and broadband providers will be […]

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April 21, 2010

Italian minister in favour of file-sharing

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Italienischer Minister als File-Sharer | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1872] The Italian Minister of Internal Affairs Roberto Maroni has recently expressed his disapproval of three-striles solutions for file-sharers and admitted he was one of the people that downloaded music from the Internet, free of charge. He had already made a similar statement […]

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December 14, 2016 · Blogs

ENDitorial: What do two copywrongs make? Definitely not a copyright

Anyone who turns up in Brussels these days and tries to follow discussions around the proposal for “ancillary copyright” (aka “link tax”) in the Copyright Directive must be truly baffled.

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May 6, 2009

Three strikes law in France – Second attempt

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [3 Treffer-Gesetz in Frankreich – der zweite Versuch | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1390] Macedonian: [Втор обид за воведување на законот Хадопи во Франција | http://www.metamorphosis.org.mk/content/view/1443/4/lang,mk/] The Hadopi (or three strikes) law saga continues with the second reading of the draft law in the French National Assembly having started on 29 April […]

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April 21, 2010

Asociación de Internautas goes to EC against court decision

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Asociación de Internautas wendet sich wegen Gerichtsurteil an Europäische Kommission | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1873] Asociación de Internautas (the Spanish Association of Internet Users – AI) has recently denounced to the European Commission (EC) the Spanish Supreme Court decision in the case introduced by SGAE (the General Society of Authors and […]

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April 6, 2011

NGOs ask CoE to investigate government collection of biometrics

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Allianz ersucht Europarat um Untersuchung der staatlichen Nutzung biometrischer Daten | http://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_9.7_NGOs_fordern_von_Europarat_Unterschung_biometrischer_Datensammlungen] An international alliance of organisations, including EDRi and several EDRi-members, and individuals from 27 countries has lodged a petition calling on the Council of Europe to start an in-depth survey on the collection and storage of […]

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November 20, 2014 · Blogs

Leaked documents show net neutrality may be in danger!

On 14 November 2014, the Italian Presidency presented amendments to the Telecommunications package for comment by the Member State delegations. We are hereby making the document and its annexes publicly available (Note and addendum). These documents show that the Italian Presidency is now back-pedalling on meaningful net neutrality protections – having previously made some much […]

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November 8, 2006

UK DNA Database under scrutiny

(Dieser Artikel ist auch in deutscher Sprache verfügbar) United Kingdom has today the largest DNA database in the world, with over 3,5 million DNA samples. These days the Nuffield Council on Bioethics announced starting a public consultation about the new legislation regarding the storage of the DNA samples. The DNA database was initiated in 1996 […]

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May 6, 2009

WIPO Committee on Development and Intellectual Property: Third meeting

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Das WIPO-Komitee für Entwicklung und Geistiges Eigentum: das dritte Treffen | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1393] The central issues in the third meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP) seemed to be the creation of centralized databases to collect traditional cultural expressions, traditional knowledge, […]

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March 12, 2012 · Blogs

World Day Against Cyber-Censorship

Lire cet article en français Support of a single Internet without restrictions and accessible to all is the message of this year’s world day against cyber-censorship. For the fourth time, Reporters without Borders (RSF) has published a report listing the worst violators of online free speech worldwide. In the following, we want to focus on […]

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