mass surveillance
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Netzpolitik.org case: Prosecutor dismissed, inquiry dropped
As reported previously in EDRi-gram at the end of July 2015, two reporters of a German digital rights blog Netzpolitik.org, Markus Beckedahl and André Meister, were under investigation for treason after the publication of leaked documents revealing plans to expand German internet surveillance. On 10 August, German federal prosecutors announced that the much disputed investigation will […]
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French Constitutional Council approves sweeping surveillance powers
On 23 July, the French Constitutional Council approved sweeping surveillance powers for intelligence agencies. In its decision, the Council declared almost all provisions constitutional, in contradiction to vehement opposition from civil rights groups, human rights experts, academia and the online business sector. The “Loi Renseignement” (also dubbed the “French Patriot Act”) was passed by the […]
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EU PNR: Unproven, ineffective strategies are not security
“When people are scared, they need something done that will make them feel safe, even if it doesn’t truly make them safer. Politicians naturally want to do something in response to crisis, even if that something doesn’t make any sense.” Bruce Schneier, Security expert The proposal for a EU PNR Directive (Fight against terrorism and […]
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Danish anti-terror proposal expands surveillance
On 19 February 2015, the Danish government presented a 12-point plan for new anti-terror initiatives in response to the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris and the shooting incident in Copenhagen on 14 February. This will become the third major anti-terror package since 2001 to be presented to the Danish Parliament. The focus of the plan […]
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Macedonia: Massive surveillance revelation: 20 000 people wiretapped
On 10 February, EDRi-member Metamorphosis, expressed grave concern about the publicly announced allegations of mass and unauthorised surveillance of citizens. Invasions of privacy directly affect freedom of expression in Macedonia, and fuel the overall climate of fear and silence. On 9 February 2015, the Macedonian opposition leader Zoran Zaev held a press conference in Skopje, […]
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Googling your brain: latest “data protection” proposals from Council
When the European Commission proposed its Data Protection Directive in 1995, it made the decision not to give the EU Member States the option to opt out of its profiling (“automated decision-making”) provisions. Even in the days before “big data” and rampant mass surveillance, the dangers of using personal data to make decisions based on […]
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Ground-breaking paper on internet rule of law launched by Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner
Today, 8 December 2014, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Nils Muižnieks, released a so-called “Issue Paper” on The rule of law on the Internet and in the wider digital world, with important conclusions and recommendations. They cover four topics of particular interest to EDRi: privatised law enforcement, suspicionless mass data […]
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Poland: New project on public institutions’ surveillance practices
Every year more and more public money is invested in surveillance technologies – everything from drones and video surveillance to data mining software for public administration. Recently, the Polish government announced a new programme of co-financing surveillance cameras in the schools. Why do governments spends public funds on surveillance without justifying such investments or evaluating […]
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Panoptykon called on MEPs to stop mass surveillance
On 11 September 2014 digital right activists and advocates around the world commemorated the anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks on the WTC as the Freedom not Fear Day. It reminded decision makers and society as a whole that “absolute security” is a fallacy that can never be achieved, even in return for giving up all […]
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Report on Snowden – Government apathy but increased public concern
In the wake of the first anniversary of Edward Snowden’s first revelations, a global analysis was published, assessing the international impact of those disclosures. The report, “A crisis of Accountability” revealed not only that had most governments entirely ignored the Snowden revelations, but that some governments including the US and the UK have been actively […]
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Anniversary of Snowden revelations: The year we fight back
On 5 June 2013, the Guardian published Edward Snowden’s first documents. These showed that the NSA was using a secret court order to collect millions of customers’ phone calls of the US company Verizon. Snowden’s subsequent disclosures confirmed what many privacy activists were suspecting for a long time: that the US government and its allies […]
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UK government must justify its large-scale surveillance activities
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) asks the UK government to justify how GCHQ’s practices comply with the right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention. The ECtHR’s action follows a case brought by Big Brother Watch, the EDRi member Open Rights Group, English PEN and the German Internet activist Constanze Kurz […]
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