Freedom of expression
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A coalition of six organisations takes EU’s dangerous terrorist content regulation to court
On 8 November 2023, a coalition of six organisations filed a complaint before the French supreme administrative court, the Conseil d’État, against the French decree implementing the Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online.
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Is the EU protecting people from Pegasus spyware?
Spyware is an extremely invasive surveillance tool and a global threat to human rights and democracy. Since the initial Pegasus Project revelations, we’ve learned that governments and private actors in over 46 countries worldwide, including EU member states, have used invasive spyware to target and silence journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents, and dissidents.
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Policy Statement on article 17 of the proposed European Media Freedom Act
EDRi and our members Access Now, ApTI, Article 19, Citizen D, EFF, EFN, IT-Politisk Forening, Panoptykon, Vrijschrift, Wikimedia Germany alongside other organisations are calling to reject Article 17 in its current form altogether in the EMFA.
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New EU Regulation pushes for journalism and media protection online
The European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) will intervene in the internal media market looking forward to improving the quality of media services and strengthening the integrity of the media market as a whole. EDRi finds particularly important the provisions regarding the prohibition of spyware against journalists and the rules bringing “more protection for media against unjustified online content removal”.
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Belgium’s data retention law must not undermine people’s right to privacy
Belgium's Parliament will soon vote on the draft law on the collection and retention of identification data and metadata in the electronic communications sector and the provision of such data to authorities. This draft law, as it is and if adopted without adequate adjustments, would pose a threat to people’s rights, such as the right to privacy and data protection, freedom of expression and information, press freedoms and professional secrecy guarantees, and would potentially set a dangerous precedent for other Member States.
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Digital rights organisations call to dismiss the media exemption in the European Media Freedom Act
EDRi and our members Homo Digitalis, Access Now, EFN, Vrijschrift, and Državljan D are calling on the European Commissioners Vestager, Jourová and Breton to dismiss the ‘media exemption’ in the EMFA.
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Europol’s ever-increasing mandate: European Parliament failed to stand up for fundamental rights
Today, 4 May, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved the revision of Europol’s mandate and the Schengen Information System. This supports a massive, unchecked expansion of Europol’s powers, posing a threat to people’s rights through over-policing, mass surveillance and discrimination.
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Threat to the protection of personal data in Belgium: European civil society is concerned
EDRi, alongisde multiple civil society organisations, is the signatory of an open letter addressed to the Belgian Parliament, demanding better enforcement of the European data protection rules and guarantees of political independence of the Belgian Data Protection Authority.
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What happens next with upload filters in the EU after the CJEU copyright ruling
On 26 April, the Court of Justice of the European Union delivered its judgement on one of the most relevant cases for freedom of expression in recent years: Case C-401/19- Poland v Parliament and Council. The case was brought by Poland after the adoption of the controversial copyright Directive, and specifically because of its Article 17 that, according to EDRi and other civil society organisations, academics and politicians, could lead to mandatory use of upload filters on most online platforms.
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Copyright: European Court of Justice strictly limits the use of upload filters
“Today’s ruling sets an important precedent for the protection of freedom of expression online. Nevertheless, it does not go far enough. The European Court of Justice does not completely rule out the use of upload filters to enforce copyright on online platforms. At least, however, the court confirms what civil society has been emphasizing for years: upload filters are unable to reliably distinguish between copyright infringements and legitimate forms of free expression such as parodies or quotations. It is therefore right that the highest court limits the use of upload filters under Article 17 of the EU Copyright Directive to uploads that constitute manifest infringements, such as uploads of entire movies.”
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French deputies must reject online censorship without a judge in one hour
On 9 February 2022, the Law Commission of the French National Assembly discussed the bill concerning the "dissemination of terrorist content online", transposing the European regulation on terrorist content online into French law. European Digital Rights (EDRi) and EDRi’s members La Quadrature du Net and Wikimedia France sent the following letter to the members of this Commission to call for the rejection of the bill prior to the discussion.
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Framing the future of the internet
The European Parliament has just voted on the Digital Services Act, crucial for internet regulation.
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