data protection
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EU Parliament committee rejects mass scanning of private and encrypted communications
On 14th November, Members of the European Parliament’s ‘Civil Liberties’ committee voted against attempts from EU Home Affairs officials to roll out mass scanning of private and encrypted messages across Europe. It was a clear-cut vote, with a significant majority of MEPs supporting the proposed position.
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Political negotiations continue: EU lawmakers fail to agree on strong rules for regulating political advertising
On 10 October, the European Parliament, the Commission and the EU Council had their fifth meeting (in the so-called trilogues) to find an agreement on the transparency and targeting of political advertising. The three institutions could not come to a consensus. Here is why.
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Are we about to lose the last pillar of our digital security?
Breaking encryption and criminalising its use will not resolve the deep societal issues we are facing. Instead, governments should protect and promote the very tool that ensures our digital security.
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Spotify gets fine of € 5 Million for GDPR violations
Following an EDRi member noyb complaint and litigation over inactivity, the Swedish Data Protection Authoirty (IMY) has issued a fine of 58 Mln Swedish Crown (about € 5 Million) against Spotify.
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Guarding health data privacy in Europe: The limits and challenges of current regulations
The GDPR demonstrates the capacity of the European Union to prioritise data protection and privacy. The collection and use of health data by private corporations makes privacy protections critically important. Taken together, the provided policy recommendations here create comprehensive steps forward.
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Open Letter: Make vulnerability disclosure in the Cyber Resilience Act more secure, not less
The CRA would require organisations to disclose software vulnerabilities to government agencies within 24 hours of exploitation. However, such recently exploited vulnerabilities are unlikely to be mitigated within such a short time, leading to real-time databases of software with unmitigated vulnerabilities in the possession of potentially dozens of government agencies. Read the open letter.
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Europol data deals with violent police forces need “strong data protection safeguards”
Proposed data-sharing deals between Europol and five states in Central and South America needs explicit safeguards if they are to uphold fundamental rights, the European Data Protection Supervisor said at the beginning of May. Police forces in those states have brutal records of violence and torture.
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Open letter: e-Evidence package lacks appropriate safeguards, EU Parliament must reject it
Civil society, doctors, lawyers and journalists associations and internet service providers are calling on MEPs to reject the so-called “e-Evidence” package during the plenary vote on June 13 because the proposed system of cross-border access to data in criminal matters would severely undermine fundamental rights.
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USA border plan requires “continuous and systematic” transfers of biometric data
Last year, it was revealed that the USA planned to launch Enhanced Border Security Partnerships (EBSPs) with other states around the world, seemingly targeting the EU, UK and Israel first. These would involve “continuous and systematic” transfers of biometric data to the USA for the purposes of immigration and asylum vetting, says a recent Council of the EU document obtained by Statewatch.
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Sex, religion and race are advertising taboos, except for power-hungry politicians
As the GDPR turns five, certain EU lawmakers want to rip out some of its protections, so they can use our deeply personal information to tailor political ads and tip political elections and campaigns in their favour.
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5 years of the GDPR: National authorities let down European legislator
On 25 May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force, promising to be the strongest set of data protection rules to enhance our privacy. While the contents of EU data protection rules stayed largely the same, the alleged big change was the GDPR's strict enforcement. 5 years later, national authorities and courts largely leave the European legislator in the lurch – despite a budget of more than €330 million in 2022.
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PEGA Committee does not go all the way on spyware regulation
On 8 May 2023, the Committee of Inquiry of the European Parliament investigating the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA) adopted its final report and recommendation, after 14 months of hearings, studies and fact-finding missions.
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