July 11, 2018 · Blogs | Information democracy | Freedom of expression online | Surveillance and data retention

German police raids privacy group’s premises

In the early morning of 20 June 2018, German police forces raided several locations – the headquarters of the privacy group Zwiebelfreunde, and the homes of three of its board members, as well as the association OpenLab, which is part of EDRi member Chaos Computer Club (CCC) in Augsburg.

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July 14, 2021 · Blogs | Campaigns | Information democracy | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Biometrics | Surveillance and data retention

No place for emotion recognition technologies in Italian museums

An Italian museum trials emotion recognition systems, despite the practice being heavily criticised by data protection authorities, scholars and civil society. The ShareArt system collects, among others, age, gender and emotions of people. EDRi member Hermes Center called the DPA for an investigation.

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January 22, 2025 · Blogs | EDRi-gram | Highlights | Information democracy | Open internet and inclusive technology | Privacy and data protection

EDRi-gram, 22 January 2025

The EDRi-gram is back after the winter break and yes, we missed you too. Before we dive into the new year, we have a review of 2024 for you. From stopping Chat Control to hosting the first-ever Tech and Society Summit, read up on what kept EDRi so busy last year. In this edition, also catch-up with some important developments from the end of 2024 which are bound to pop up again on the digital rights radar soon. The infamous High Level Group Going Dark presented their "insecurity by design agenda". So don’t be surprised if EU politics sees another iteration of flawed proposals on data retention and circumventing encryption. Ugh. Meanwhile, the European Commission presented their proposal for digitalising travel documents. “Didn’t they promise that for the third quarter of 2023,” you say? Indeed, but after the initiative received a devastating amount of negative feedback, it took more than a year for the adjusted EU travel app proposal. We provide an extensive analysis of the (so far) voluntary system for pre-travel controls. For our more masochistically inclined readers, we take a look over to the US and how corporate social media such as Meta and X align with the new administration. Recent changes to content moderation policies empower far-right extremists and expose marginalised and minoritised communities to hate speech.

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April 12, 2006

UK teachers are spied in classrooms

Teachers protest against the installation of 50 CCTV systems with microphones in UK schools, used as surveillance measures by the school management. While observation in class was supposed to help teachers in improving their performances, the headmasters, who have also used two-way mirrors to survey the teachers, grade them according to the way they perform […]

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February 9, 2022 · Publications | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Privacy and confidentiality | Surveillance and data retention

Chat control: 10 principles to defend children in the digital age

The automated scanning of everyone’s private communications, all of the time, constitutes a disproportionate interference with the very essence of the fundamental right to privacy. It can constitute a form of undemocratic mass surveillance, and can have severe and unjustified repercussions on many other fundamental rights and freedoms, too.

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July 31, 2013 · Blogs

ENDitorial: Belgian railways – a case study in bad internet security

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [ ENDitorial: Belgische Bahn – ein Paradebeispiel für mangelnde Sicherheit im Internet | https://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_11.15_ENDitorial_Belgische_Bahn_ein%20Paradebeispiel_fuer_mangelnde_Sicherheit_im_Internet?pk_campaign=edri&pk_kwd=20130731 ] Earlier this year, we reported on the major data leak that was suffered by Belgian railways. Following the release of the data – including names, email addresses and even, in some cases, phone […]

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February 6, 2024 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Cross border access to data | Surveillance and data retention

Automated data exchange in Prüm II: The EU’s securitisation mindset keeps encroaching on our fundamental rights

The agreement on automated data exchange for police cooperation, known as ‘Prüm II aligns with a broader EU trend of laws prioritising national security over human rights. The final text of this regulation has insufficient fundamental rights safeguards and could even encourage more member states to adopt facial recognition technology. The EU Parliament must reject the current Prüm II Regulation in the upcoming plenary vote.

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August 28, 2013 · Blogs

Data privacy issues following PRISM affair

The PRISM scandal has brought forth a series of issues related to the protection of the European citizens’ data and reactions calling for measure to prevent spying on these data. As the EU is currently updating its data privacy legislation, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, the German justice minister, believes the EU needs a new set of data […]

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October 8, 2003

French DPA against tracking of passenger movements

The French Data Protection Authority, the CNIL, considers the current use of chip-cards for public transport a serious danger for privacy. The cards combine identity-data with travel data like point of entrance to the subway, date and time, and even exact route in case the passenger switches route halfway. In its recommendation of 16 September, […]

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March 15, 2021 · Blogs | Highlights | Information democracy | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Biometrics | Data protection standards | Surveillance and data retention

116 MEPs agree – we need AI red lines to put people over profit

In light of the upcoming proposal for the regulation of artificial intelligence in Europe, 116 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have written to the European Commission’s leaders in support of EDRi’s letter calling for red lines on uses of AI that compromise fundamental rights.

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April 20, 2022 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Profiling practices | Surveillance and data retention

Europol’s reform: A future data black hole in European policing

The European Parliament is soon due to vote on the powers expansion of the European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol. Civil society has been extremely critical of Europol’s mandate revision, raising many concerns with regards to the lack of fundamental rights protections and policymakers’ blind and absolute trust in how the agency will use its new powers. All the more reasons to be worried: the result of the trilogue negotiations with the Council of the EU made it even worse.

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November 20, 2024 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Online tracking industry / AdTech | Surveillance and data retention

Promises unkept: The EU-US Data Privacy Framework under fire

A decade after Snowden’s revelations — and despite the public outrage they sparked — surveillance and mass data collection continue under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF), despite persistent privacy concerns. This shift reflects a reorientation of EU priorities toward economic and geopolitical interests, risking compromises on privacy and data protection.

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