european commission
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EU’s plans on encryption: What is needed?
On 18 October 2017, the European Commission is expected to publish a Communication on counter-terrorism, which will include some lines on encryption. What is encryption? Why is it important? When we send an encrypted message (or store an encrypted document), no one else but the intended recipient can read it using a unique key. So […]
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Dear MEPs: We need you to protect our privacy online!
They’re hip, they’re slick and they follow you everywhere. They know you like new shoes, playing tennis and tweeting at odd hours of the morning. Do you know what that says about your health, your relationships and your spending power? No? Well, the online companies do. They follow you everywhere you go online, they have […]
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TiSA impact assessment report ignores crucial human rights concerns
In 2013, the European Commission decided to subject the draft Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) to a Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) in support of the negotiations. The Final Report, which was published in July 2017, fails to address several key fundamental rights concerns.
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Commission’s position on tackling illegal content online is contradictory and dangerous for free speech
Today, on 28 September, the European Commission published its long-awaited Communication “Tackling Illegal Content Online”. This follows a leaked copy we previously analysed. The document puts virtually all its focus on internet companies monitoring online communications, in order to remove content that they decide might be illegal. It presents few safeguards for free speech, and […]
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Leaked document: Does the EU Commission really plan to tackle illegal content online?
On 14 September, Politico published a leaked draft of the European Commission’s Communication “Tackling Illegal Content Online”. The Communication contains “guidelines” to tackle illegal content, while remaining coy in key areas. It is expected to be officially published on 28 September.
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Did the EU Commission hide a study that did not suit their agenda?
In 2013, the European Commission announced a launch of a study on copyright – and never published its results. Julia Reda, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), tabled a freedom of information request on this issue and was eventually granted access to the study.
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EDRi delivers paper on encryption workarounds and human rights
On 12 September, EDRi published the position paper “Encryption Workarounds: a digital rights perspective”. It was published in response to the European Commission’s expert consultation exercise around the Encryption Workarounds paper by Orin Kerr and Bruce Schneier.
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EU decision-making is not EU administration, says EU administration
In 2016, the EU Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly made some recommendations to improve the transparency of the “trilogue” process. Trilogues are informal negotiations conducted between a small number of representatives of the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament and the Commission, and they are increasingly used to circumvent the traditional, treaty-based decision-making process of […]
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Total information awareness for law enforcement, no data protection
The European Network of Law Enforcement Technology Services (ENLETS), an informal group funded by the European Commission, has produced a report on best practices in mobile solutions for law enforcement practitioners.
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Germany: Will 30 June be the day populism killed free speech?
On 30 June 2017, the German Parliament will vote on the bill on “Enforcement on Social Networks”, also known as the “NetzDG”. This draft law, if adopted, could seriously impair human rights online, including freedom of expression and opinion. That is why we tirelessly explored different ways to make sure the European Union (EU) would […]
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Proposed Copyright Directive – Commissioner confirms it is illegal
At a meeting of the European Parliament Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) on 19 June, European Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip made a statement that was both shocking and shockingly honest. He advertised the content filtering product of the US company Audible Magic as an affordable alternative to Google’s Content ID filtering technology for filtering European […]
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ENDitorial: AVMSD – the “legislation without friends” Directive?
When the European Commission proposed yet another revision of the TV Without Frontiers Directive in 2016, the Directive was really showing its age. The Directive was originally launched in 1989, revised just eight years later in 1997, again ten years later in 2007, and finally only three years after that in 2010. It has become […]
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