December 16, 2009

The Netherlands promises transparancy regarding wiretapping

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Die Niederlande verspricht Transparenz bezüglich der Abhöraktionen| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1629] The Dutch Minister of Justice promised on 26 November 2009 at the request of the Dutch Parliament to provide more transparency regarding wiretapping. The Dutch government is placing relatively many taps on a per-capita basis, compared to other countries. During […]

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December 15, 2010

Data Retention Directive evaluation: expect the unexpected?

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Evaluierung der Vorratsdatenspeicherung: Das Unerwartete erwarten? | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2438] The evaluation of the controversial Data Retention Directive takes an unexpected turn, for the worse. At a crucial one-day conference in Brussels on 3 December 2010, aimed at gathering input for the evaluation, long-term critic of the Directive Commissioner Malmström […]

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December 16, 2009

Future of MySQL investigated by the European Commission

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Die Europäische Kommission untersucht die Zukunft von MySQL| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1630] The acquisition of Sun Microsystems by Oracle is investigated by the European Commission for its potential anti-competition effects, including the future role of MySQL as an open source database software owned by Oracle. The debate between opponents and supporters […]

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December 15, 2010

Commission finds solution on notice and takedown and it seeks the problem

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Kommission findet Lösung für Notice and Takedown und sucht nun das Problem | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2439] On 15 December 2010, the European Commission held its third meeting on “public private cooperation to counter the dissemination of illegal content in the European Union.” The first meeting took place in November 2009 […]

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December 16, 2009

EDPS worries about extended powers of agency running EC databases

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Datenschutzbeauftragter sorgt sich um erweiterte Befugnisse der Agentur, die Datenbanken der Kommission betreibt| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1631] Although not opposed to the creation by the European Commission of a security agency that would be in charge of EU visa and asylum databases, EDPS Peter Hustinx issued an opinion on 7 December […]

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December 15, 2010

ECJ to discuss the case of eBay & trademark infringement

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [EuGH behandelt Rechtssache eBay & Markenschutz | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2440] In the case introduced by L’Oreal against auction site eBay and referred by the High Court of Justice (England and Wales) to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) the Advocate General, Niilo Jaaskinen, published on 9 December 2010 its opinion […]

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December 16, 2009

The new Swedish anti-piracy law stirs things for file sharers

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Das neue schwedische Anti-Piraterie-Gesetz stiftet Unruhe unter Filesharern| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1632] As already foreseen this summer, the Swedish recording industry is using the new anti-piracy IPRED law to chase filesharers. On 7 December 2009, the Swedish branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) filed a suit with […]

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December 15, 2010 · Blogs

Council text on web blocking – breaking the law to fight crime

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Ratstext zu Netzsperren – Rechtsbruch für den Kampf gegen das Verbrechen | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2441] The Council of Justice Ministers adopted a text on web blocking at its recent meeting in Brussels on 2-3 December 2010. The Belgian Presidency, for domestic reasons, felt obliged to adopt a text during its […]

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December 16, 2009

Italy: The Anopticon project – putting surveillance back in its place

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Italien: Das Anopticon Projekt – wie Überwachung in seine Schranken gewiesen wird| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1633] Nowadays, CCTVs are the practical implementation of the “Panopticon”, theorised in 1791 by Jeremy Bentham as the “ideal prison”, one that keeps people in place by using their natural fear of being surveilled. The Anopticon […]

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December 15, 2010

French law Loppsi 2 under debate again

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Neue Debatte über französisches Loppsi 2 Gesetz | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2442] The so-called Loppsi 2 draft law (loi d’orientation et de programmation pour la performance de la sécurité intérieure – law on guidelines and programming for the performance of internal security) is being discussed these days in the French General […]

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December 16, 2009

ENDitorial: What the conquistadores can teach us about ACTA

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [ENDitorial: Was uns Konquistadoren über ACTA lehren| http://www.unwatched.org/node/1634] When the conquistadores arrived in the Americas, historians tell us that the viruses that they carried caused devastation among the indigenous populations. For the European invaders, who had been subject to the viruses for longer, the illnesses, while still sometimes […]

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December 15, 2010

Privacy Platform Meeting

This article is also available in: Deutsch: [Privacy Platform Meeting | http://www.unwatched.org/node/2443] On 1 December 2010, the Privacy Platform held a meeting on the Commission’s recent Communication on updating the Data Protection Directive. Hosted by Sophie in’t Veld MEP, the panel consisted of: Martin Selmayr, Head of Commissioner Reding’s cabinet (who spoke in her absence […]

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