October 7, 2009

The Pirate Bay may be banned in Italy

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [The Pirate Bay könnte in Italien verboten werden | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1540] An appeal won on 24 September 2008 against the decision of the Italian court enforced on 10 August 2008 ordering the seizure of The Pirate Bay (TPB) in Italy, has been reversed by the Italian Court of Cassation. […]

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October 7, 2009

France wants to filter online gambling sites

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Frankreich will online-Glücksspielseiten filtern | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1539] From 7 till 9 October 2009, the French National Assembly will discuss a draft law on opening the competition and regulation of online gambling sector. The text foresees the creation of a similar authority to that of HADOPI, called ARJEL that would […]

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October 7, 2009

Paris Court of Appeals on a GPL – related case

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Pariser Berufungsgerichtshof mit einem GPL-Fall | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1541] The Paris Court of Appeals published in September 2009 its decision on a case that involved the distribution of the VNC Software, remote desktop access software available under GPL GNU licence. The case was brought forward by AFPA (Association for professional […]

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October 7, 2009

US gives up its unilateral supervision powers over ICANN

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [USA geben ihre unilaterale Aufsichtsbefugnisse über ICANN auf | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1542] In a movement welcomed by the European Commission, the US have announced they would become more open in Internet governance and give up their dominant position in the supervision of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers […]

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October 7, 2009

ENDitorial: Amendment 138-EP asked to choose between democracy and defeat

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [ENDitorial: Zusatz 138 – EP soll zwischen Demokratie und Niederlage wählen | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1543] The opening meeting of the informal conciliation discussions between the Council and European Parliament (EP) has taken place. This process was largely brought about by the Parliament’s overwhelming rejection of a “compromise” proposal with regard […]

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October 21, 2009

EDRI Open Letter to the EP on Amendment 138

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [EDRis offener Brief an das Europäische Parlament über Zusatz 138 | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1551] EDRi sent the following open letter to all the members of the European Parliament (EP) on 19 October 2009 asking for a continuos support for the citizens’ rights by not giving up on Amendment 138 in […]

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October 21, 2009

Romania: Data retention law declared unconstitutional

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Rumänien: Gesetz zur Vorratsdatenspeicherung für verfassungswidrig erklärt | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1552] The Romanian Constitutional Court (CCR) announced on 7 October 2009 that it took the decision to consider unconstitutional the Romanian implementation of the data retention directive. The Romanian data retention law has been in force since the beginning of […]

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October 21, 2009

France pushes the introduction of EDVIGE project through the back door

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Frankreich verwirft die Einführung des EDVIGE-Projekts | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1553] The French Government produced two new decrees published in the Official Journal on 18 October 2009 which actually resurrect the rejected EDVIGE plan to create an intelligence database with personal data. By-passing the French Parliament, the Minister of Interior Brice […]

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October 21, 2009

Web blocking gets a reality check

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Websperren müssen der Wahrheit ins Auge blicken | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1554] In the negotiations surrounding the formation of a new conservative-liberal coalition in Germany following the recent elections, an agreement has been reached to postpone, for at least a year, the introduction of web blocking. As the law has already […]

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October 21, 2009

Buma/Stemra imposes levy for embedding audio and video

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Buma/Stemra führt Steuern für die Einbindung von Audio und Video ein | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1555] Dutch collecting society Buma/Stemra announced that it will impose a levy on Internet users for embedding audio- and videomaterial on their website, starting 1 January 2010. The levy starts at EUR 130 for the first […]

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October 21, 2009

Copyright in the digital environment

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Copyright in der digitalen Umgebung | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1556] During the 1st European Innovation Summit that was held on 12 – 16 October 2009 at the European Parliament in Brussels, a workshop on the future of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in Europe included a panel to debate the subject of […]

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October 21, 2009

The European Commission calls for online privacy protection measures

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Die Europäische Kommission fordert online-Schutzmaßnahmen für die Privatsphäre | http://www.unwatched.org/node/1557] Macedonian: [Европската комисија апелира за мерки… | http://www.metamorphosis.org.mk/edri/evropskata-komisija-apelira-za-merki-za-zashtita-na-privatnosta-na-internet.html] On 8 October 2009 the European Commission (EC) repeated its call to all EU member states to increase their efforts in dealing with online privacy threats to the public, such […]

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