bits of freedom
Filter by...
-
The Netherlands, aim for a more ambitious copyright implementation!
All EU Member States are obliged to implement the newly adopted EU Copyright Directive, including its controversial Article 17. But how to interpret it, is up to them. In the Netherlands, there is currently a draft bill, which is unfortunately very disappointing. The government really needs to try much harder to protect the interests of […]
Read more
-
Regulating online communications: Fix the system, not the symptoms
Our digital information ecosystem fails to deliver the communications landscape needed to sustain our democracies. In a problem analysis, EDRi member Bits of Freedom introduces and disentangles some of the key concepts and issues surrounding the dominant role of platforms and the resulting harms to our freedom of expression.
Read more
-
It starts with free Pokémon Go, it ends with Bolsonaro
Chile was the first country in the world to have a net neutrality law, but it is not enforced at all. A simple search across mobile internet providers shows a large offer of “free” data if you’re using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, or Pokémon Go. This is called “zero-rating” and means people […]
Read more
-
What the YouTube and Facebook statistics aren’t telling us
After the recent attack against a mosque in New Zealand, the large social media platforms published figures on their efforts to limit the spread of the video of the attack. What do those figures tell us?
Read more
-
What will happen to our memes?
In Europe, new rules concerning copyright are being created that could change the internet fundamentally. The consequences that the upload filters included in the EU copyright Directive proposal will have for our creativity online raise concerns. Will everything we want to post to the internet have to pass through “censorship machines”? If the proposed Directive […]
Read more
-
Period tracker apps – where does your data end up?
More and more women use a period tracker: an app that keeps track of your menstrual cycle. However, these apps do not always treat the intimate data that you share with them carefully. An app that notifies you when to expect your period or when you are fertile can be useful, for example to predict […]
Read more
-
We can no longer talk about sex on Facebook in Europe
Sometime in late 2018, Facebook quietly added “Sexual Solicitation” to its list of “Objectionable Content”. Without notifying its users. This is quite remarkable, to put it mildly, as for many people sex is far from being a negligible part of life.
Read more
-
Bits of Freedom announces winner of privacy award
The Dutch Big Brother Awards will take place on 22 January 2019 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. This year’s distinguished winner of the Felipe Rodriguez Award is Kirsten Fiedler, Managing Director of European Digital Rights. With this award, a Dutch digital rights organisation, EDRi member Bits of Freedom recognises people and organisations who have made a remarkable […]
Read more
-
Net Neutrality vs. 5G: What to expect from the upcoming EU review?
Since 2016 the principle of net neutrality is protected in the European Union (EU). Net neutrality is a founding principle of the internet. It ensures the protection of the right to freedom of expression, the right to assembly, the right to conduct business, and the freedom to innovate on the internet. These protections came about […]
Read more
-
My Data Done Right launched: check your data!
On 25 October 2018 EDRi member Bits of Freedom launched My Data Done Right – a website that gives you more control over your data. From now on you can easily ask organisations what data they have about you, and ask them to correct, delete or transfer your data.
Read more
-
ENDitorial: YouTube puts uploaders, viewers & itself in a tough position
A pattern is emerging. After blocking a controversial video, YouTube nonpologises for doing so, and reinstates the video... just to block it again a few months later. The procedures around content moderation need to improve, but that's not all: more needs to change.
Read more
-
Will the evaluation of the net neutrality rules be balanced?
In our open letter we expressed our concerns about the study of the implementation of the net neutrality rules. Our letter focused on the possible conflicts of interest of the lawyers in charge of the study, as well as the risk of an unbalanced report.
Read more