January 15, 2014 · Blogs

Digital Rights sessions at the CPDP Conference

The first tradition of every new year is the Computers, Privacy and Data Protection Conference (CPDP) which will take place on 22‐24 January 2014 in Brussels, Belgium. Before the official start of the conference, the annual pre-CPDP event for NGOs will take place on 21 January. It is co-organised by CPDP, VUB, EDRi, Access & […]

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May 9, 2012

ENDitorial: ACTA is not dead

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [ENDitorial: ACTA ist noch nicht am Ende | https://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_10.9_ENDitorial?pk_campaign=edri&pk_kwd=20120509] Next week, the European Parliament’s Development Committee (DEVE), the first of the five Committees responsible for providing opinions on the proposed ACTA agreement will vote on its draft recommendation. As of today, it appears more likely than not that […]

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January 15, 2014 · Blogs

Google was fined by French and Spanish Data Protection Authorities

On 19 December 2013, Google was fined by the AEPD – Spanish Data Protection Authority (DPA) with 900 000 Euro for breaching the Spanish data protection provisions. Later on, on 3 January 2014, Google was given the maximum 150 000 Euro fine by CNIL (the French Data Protection Authority) ‘s Sanctions Committee for non-compliance with […]

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March 9, 2016 · Blogs

ENDitorial: PNR – political finger-pointing, no viable legislation

The EU Passenger Name Record Directive (or ‘PNR Directive’) would require the storage of travel data for airline passengers, ostensibly for law enforcement purposes. The specialist European Parliament committee responsible for the proposal rejected it in 2013 but adopted the proposal in 2015, following the terrorist attacks. The European Parliament recently decided not to schedule […]

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December 1, 2021 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Profiling practices | Surveillance and data retention

UN Special Rapporteurs challenge EU’s counter-terrorism plans

Through their communication, the Special Rapporteurs demonstrate how several existing and foreseen EU security measures fail to meet the principles of legality, necessity and proportionality, enshrined in European and international laws (such as the Regulation on preventing the dissemination of Terrorism Content Online and the processing by Europol of sensitive data for profiling purposes). The fatal flaw lies in the use of broad and undefined terms to justify extensive interferences in human rights.

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September 25, 2019 · On the ground | Privacy and data protection | Surveillance and data retention

PNR complaint advances to the Austrian Federal Administrative Court

On 19 August 2019, Austrian EDRi member epicenter.works lodged a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority (DPA) against the Passenger Name Records (PNR) Directive. After only three weeks, on 6 September, they received the response from the DPA: The complaint was rejected. That sounds negative at first, but is actually good news. The complaint […]

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July 6, 2022 · Blogs | On the ground | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Surveillance and data retention

Good news: Dutch secret services destroy unlawfully stored information on millions of innocent citizens

The secret services store information on millions of citizens that they are no longer by law allowed to have. EDRi member Bits of Freefom filed a complaint about this with the supervisor. The supervisor stated on June 15, 2022, that the data must be destroyed.

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November 17, 2021 · Blogs | Press mentions | Privacy and data protection | Biometrics | Surveillance and data retention

Do no harm? How the case of Afghanistan sheds light on the dark practice of biometric intervention

In August 2021, as US military forces exited Afghanistan, the Taliban seized facial recognition systems, highlighting just how a failure to protect people’s privacy can tangibly threaten their physical safety and human rights. Far from being good tools which fell into the wrong hands, the very existence of these systems is part of broader structures of data extraction and exploitation spanning continents and centuries, with a history wrapped up in imperialism, colonialism and control.

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November 30, 2022 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Surveillance and data retention

Europol management board in breach of new rules as soon as they came into force

The EU’s police agency, Europol, has landed itself in trouble again. Statewatch has now revealed that the agency’s management board was in breach of the new rules governing the agency as soon as they came into force in June.

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October 25, 2023 · Blogs | Press mentions | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Privacy and confidentiality | Surveillance and data retention

Why your data might already be on a Europol list

Police forces around Europe seem hooked on the habit of collecting information on a massive scale and forwarding it to the EU's police agency, Europol. This undermines privacy, fair trial rights and the presumption of innocence.

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January 11, 2024 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Privacy and confidentiality | Surveillance and data retention

European Commission discusses “Going Dark”: Behind closed doors

EDRi and 20 organisations call on the High Level Group on Access to Data for Effective Law Enforcement for greater transparency and participation of all stakeholders.

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September 22, 2021 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Biometrics | Surveillance and data retention

Biometric ‘permission to travel’ scheme in Borders Bill will affect tens of millions of people

The attack on the asylum system proposed by the UK government in the Nationality and Borders Bill has provoked outrage. However, the Bill also includes proposals to introduce an electronic 'permission to travel' scheme that would involve gathering biometric and other data from tens of millions of people. The UK Parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) is conducting legislative scrutiny on the Bill. EDRi's member Statewatch submitted written observations to the inquiry last week.

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