Europol
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Q&A on the Recommendation on measures to “effectively tackle illegal content online”
Today, on 1 March 2018, the European Commission proposed a "Recommendation" on the surveillance and filtering of the internet by online companies
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New EU network to combat the “challenges stemming from encryption”
The European Union intends to simplify investigative authorities’ access to encrypted content. This emerged from the replies to a questionnaire that was circulated to all Member States by the Slovak Presidency of the EU Council. After a “reflection process”, efforts in this area are, according to the summary of the replies, intended to give rise […]
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Dutch government wants to keep “zero days” available for exploitation
The Dutch government is very clear about at least one thing: unknown software vulnerabilities, also known as “zero days”, may be left open by the government, in order to be exploited by secret services and the police. We all benefit from a secure and reliable digital infrastructure. It ensures the protection of sensitive personal data, […]
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Joint Referral Platform: no proof of diligent approach to terrorism
On 28 April 2016, EDRi asked the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission (DG Home) to release more information about a new initiative announced in April 2016, the Joint Referral Platform. What we knew already (or thought we knew) The existence of the Joint Referral Platform was disclosed on 20 April […]
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New documents reveal Europol’s plans to increase surveillance
The Europol work programme until the end of the year 2016 reveals that the agency’s goals are to gradually expand its surveillance capacities, to facilitate cross-border access to data, and increase the use of biometrics. In August 2016, the German news site Netzpolitik.org leaked a document (pdf) which provides a neat overview of Europol’s planned […]
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Oversight of the new Europol regulation likely to remain superficial
On 1 May 2017, the new regulation on Europol will enter into force. The compromise agreed on during the trilogue procedure establishes more detailed provisions on oversight of the activities of Europol by the European Parliament.
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Europol: Non-transparent cooperation with IT companies
Will the European Police Office’s (Europol’s) database soon include innocent people reported by Facebook or Twitter? The Europol Regulation, which has been approved on 11 May 2016, not only provides a comprehensive new framework for the police agency, but it also allows Europol to share data with private companies like Facebook and Twitter. The history […]
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EC wants to add facial recognition to transnational databases
On 4 May 2016, the European Commission (EC) published a proposal to recast the EURODAC Regulation. The European Automated Fingerprint Identification System (EURODAC) was initially introduced in 2003 to establish an EU asylum fingerprint database, and to share this information with national law enforcement authorities and Europol. According to this proposal, if a person applies […]
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EU encourages cooperation between intelligence agencies
In the wake of the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015, the planning and implementation of measures taken in the name of fighting terrorism have been geared up on the EU level. After the publication of the Council of Europe report on foreign fighters, EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove stated on 7 December 2015 […]
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Denmark plans to use PNR data for increased Schengen border control
In Denmark, there is currently a public consultation for a new draft law which aims at improving the border checks at Denmark’s Schengen borders. Formally, the Schengen Border Code has abolished border checks at EU’s internal borders, but, under Article 21, member states are still allowed to carry out identity checks in the border territory, […]
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