Privacy
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2021: Looking back at digital rights in the year of resilience
We started 2021, hoping to leave the tremendously challenging year of 2020 behind. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on our societies, causing unprecedented harm to people and economies. If 2020 was the year of the pandemic shock, 2021 was the year of resilience. We had to learn to live in a constant uncertainty of what it would take to keep defending human rights: Could we work and walk down the streets without being constantly surveilled? Would efforts to tackle disinformation distort legitimate content, or would they bring down Big Tech instead? Will 2022 be 2021 2.0?
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EU: Data retention strikes back? Options for mass telecoms surveillance under discussion again
In June 2021 the European Commission sought the views of member states on ways to reintroduce the bulk retention of telecoms traffic, location and internet connection data on everyone in the EU. Responses from seven member states, published here, show a divergence of views on what data to retain and when, but a majority in favour of new EU legislation.
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Italy introduces a moratorium on video surveillance systems that use facial recognition
On 1 December 2021, the Italian Parliament introduced a moratorium on video surveillance systems that use facial recognition technologies. This law introduces, for the first time in an EU Member State, a temporary ban for private entities to use these systems in public places or places accessible to the public. This moratorium is an important achievement: it recognises the dangers posed by technologies such as facial recognition to people's rights and freedoms. The moratorium will be in force until 31 December 2023 at the latest, unless a new law is introduced on the subject of biometric surveillance before that date.
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No biometric surveillance for Italian students during exams
In September 2021 the Italian Data Protection Authority (DPA) fined Luigi Bocconi University €200 000 for using Respondus, a proctoring software, without sufficiently informing students of the processing of their personal data and, among other violations, for processing their biometric data without a legal basis. Bocconi is a private University based in Milan and during the COVID-19 pandemic introduced Respondus tools to monitor students during remote exams.
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Booklet: Demonstrating gaps in the e-Evidence Regulation
The Regulation on cross border access to data by law enforcement (so-called “e-Evidence” Regulation) threatens to put the rights of journalists, lawyers, doctors, social workers and individuals in general at great risk. EDRi and 13 civil rights organisations have just launched four scenarios that clearly depict how our future could enfold if the Regulation is approved.
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Press “Accept” to let companies know every step you take
When you download a free app and accept their privacy statement, did you know that you may just have allowed data about your movement to be sold freely to anyone who’s willing to pay? EDRi's member Elektronisk Forpost Norge (EFN) shares more.
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Why you shouldn’t buy Facebook Ray-Ban smart glasses
Imagine that you are strolling along a tranquil beach in your swimsuit. Suddenly, a stranger walking toward you takes out their phone and starts recording you. You might work up the courage to ask how they dared to invade your privacy, and demand they delete the footage.
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The terrifying expansion of Sweden’s state surveillance
For the last couple of years the Swedish parliament has been expanding the surveillance capabilities of law enforcement. After the European Court of Justice struck down Sweden's data retention law, the national parliament passed a replacement that did nothing to address any of the issues criticized in the first law. If telecom providers were to challenge it, which no one has shown any willingness to do, it would most likely be struck down again.
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Total surveillance law proposed in Serbia
The public debate on the Draft Law on Internal Affairs has officially introduced into legal procedure provisions for the use of mass biometric surveillance in public spaces in Serbia, advanced technologies equipped with facial recognition software that enable capturing and processing of large amounts of sensitive personal data in real time. EDRi's member the SHARE Foundation has used the opportunity of the Draft Law public debate to submit its legal comments on the provisions regulating mass biometric surveillance in public spaces, demanding from the authorities to declare a moratorium on the use of such technologies and systems in Serbia without delay.
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What’s up with WhatsApp encrypted backups
WhatsApp is rolling out an option for users to encrypt their message backups, and that is a big win for user privacy and security. The new feature is expected to be available for both iOS and Android “in the coming weeks.” EDRi's member Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has pointed out unencrypted backups as a huge weakness for WhatsApp and for any messenger that claims to offer end-to-end encryption, and we applaud this improvement. Next, encryption for backups should become the default for all users, not just an option.
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Register research turned privacy disaster. Epicenter.works nominates Sebastian Kurz for a Big Brother Award
Research is important. Using research as a cover to obtain unchecked access to sensitive official data is not. At the beginning of July, the Austrian chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, submitted to pre-parliamentary consultation a bill that would cause a seismic shift in how the government treats its citizens’ data. EDRi's member epicenter.works shares that from a privacy perspective the present bill is fundamentally flawed and places an enormous amount of data covering the entire population at risk for abuse.
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How a rotten Apple (and bad legislation) could spoil our private communications
In August 2021, Apple announced significant changes to their privacy settings for messaging and cloud services, only to “pause” it in early September. Earlier this summer, the European Parliament adopted in a final vote the derogation to the main piece of EU legislation protecting privacy, the ePrivacy Directive, to allow Big Tech to scan your emails, messages, and other online communications.In August 2021, Apple announced significant changes to their privacy settings for messaging and cloud services, only to “pause” it in early September. Earlier this summer, the European Parliament adopted in a final vote the derogation to the main piece of EU legislation protecting privacy, the ePrivacy Directive, to allow Big Tech to scan your emails, messages, and other online communications.
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