March 7, 2023 · Blogs | Highlights | Press releases | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Surveillance and data retention

Poll: Young people in 13 EU countries refuse surveillance of online communication – Press Release

According to the results of the survey, 80% of young people aged 13 to 17 years old from 13 EU Member States would not feel comfortable being politically active or exploring their sexuality if authorities were able to monitor their digital communication, in order to look for child sexual abuse.

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November 25, 2019 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Surveillance and data retention

New Protocol on cybercrime: cutting red tape ≠ cutting human rights safeguards

From 20 to 22 November 2019, European Digital Rights (EDRi) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) took part in the Octopus Conference 2019 at the Council of Europe (CoE) to present the comments submitted by EFF, EDRi, IT-Pol Denmark and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) on draft provisions of the Second Additional Protocol to […]

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August 27, 2008

Successful appeal against backdoor in German anonymiser

Yesterday, an appeal-court in Germany suspended an earlier order to build a backdoor into Germany’s most famous anonymising service. The backdoor was removed immediately. According to the original court-order, the IP-addresses of all visitors to a certain website had to be logged and handed-over to the federal criminal police office. This vital information was not […]

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July 17, 2013 · Blogs

The PRISM scandal gets bigger

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [PRISM-Skandal weitet sich immer mehr aus | https://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_11.14_PRISM-Skandal_weitet_sich_immer_mehr_aus?pk_campaign=edri&pk_kwd=20130717] Privacy campaigners have filed claims against Prism and Tempora, the US and British spy programmes that allow intelligence agencies to gather, store and share data on millions of innocent people. Privacy International has submitted a claim to the Investigatory Powers […]

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April 21, 2021 · Blogs | Highlights | Open letters | Information democracy | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Biometrics | Surveillance and data retention

EU’s AI proposal must go further to prevent surveillance and discrimination

The European Commission has just launched the EU draft regulation on artificial intelligence (AI). AI systems are being increasingly used in all areas of life – to monitor us at protests, to identify us for access to health and public services, to make predictions about our behaviour or how much ‘risk’ we pose. Without clear safeguards, these systems could further the power imbalance between those who develop and use AI and those who are subject to them.

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August 27, 2003

Anonymiser reveals identity Dutch pudding-poisoner

The identity of a Dutch pudding-poisoner was revealed through an anonymiser. The Dutchman tried to blackmail Campina, a large dairy producer, by poisoning a tin of pudding. He made Campina open a bank account, get a ‘world card’ with it and deposit 200.000 Euro. Then they had to send him the details of the magnetic […]

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August 24, 2011

German DPA asks for the removal of Facebook "like" button

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Deutscher Datenschützer fordert Entfernung des Facebook-“Like”-Buttons | http://www.unwatched.org/EDRigram_9.16_Deutscher_Datenschuetzer_fordert_Entfernung_des_Facebook_Like_Buttons?pk_campaign=edri&pk_kwd=20110901] Thilo Weichert, the German data protection commissioner from the Independent Center for Privacy Protection (ULD) – the Data Protection Authority (DPA) from the state of Schleswig-Holstein, on 19 August 2011 called on website owners in his north German state to […]

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December 9, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Biometrics | Data protection standards | Privacy and confidentiality | Surveillance and data retention

The slippery slope of COVID health passports

There is increasing talk of measures that allow or restrict passengers at the departure gate based on health data. Can you show proof of vaccination? Then you may pass. Do you have a recent, negative test result? Then you may enter. Are you unable or unwilling to show these? Then you are denied access. There’s an understandable rationale that underpins these scenarios: we want to create a safe environment. Yet it is also cause for great concern.

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July 20, 2023 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Privacy and confidentiality

Voluntary detection measures still on the table for the CSA Regulation

Whilst the draft EU CSA Regulation is intended to replace current voluntary scanning of people's communications with mandatory detection orders, lawmakers in the Council and Parliament are actively considering supplementing this with "voluntary detection orders". However, our analysis finds that voluntary measures would require a legal basis in the CSA Regulation, which would likely fall foul of the Court of Justice. Content warning: contains discussions of child sexual abuse and child sexual abuse material

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December 4, 2019 · Blogs | Open internet and inclusive technology | Privacy and data protection | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Biometrics | Data protection standards | Profiling practices | Surveillance and data retention

Facial recognition and fundamental rights 101

This is the first post in a series about the fundamental rights impacts of facial recognition. Private companies and governments worldwide are already experimenting with facial recognition technology. Individuals, lawmakers, developers - and everyone in between - should be aware of the rise of facial recognition, and the risks it poses to rights to privacy, freedom, democracy and non-discrimination.

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August 27, 2003

Air France spies on staff

According to an article in Transfert.net, Air France has been spying for years on some of its staff with the help of a camera hidden behind a clock. A union-member became suspicious when he took a close look at the thick electrical wires going to a clock in a private relaxation room on Roissy airport. […]

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January 19, 2022 · Blogs | Press mentions | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Privacy and confidentiality | Surveillance and data retention

Online surveillance thrives when fear takes over

European law-enforcement agencies have been pushing to end encryption and survey everyone’s online communications.

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