surveillance
Filter by...
-
Irish High Court refers the Facebook/PRISM case to the CJEU
On 18 June 2014 Ireland’s High Court referred the request to investigate Facebook’s international headquarters in Ireland over its involvement in the PRISM scandal to the European Court of Justice (CJEU). CJEU was asked to review the case and to clarify whether the social network’s actions are compatible with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. […]
Read more
-
Romania: No communication without registration
Two bills initiated during the past month by the Romanian Government, with the direct and open support from the Romanian Secret Service (SRI), are attempting to kill any kind of electronic communication without prior identification and to expand dramatically the legal access to computer systems. The first bill aims to make the registration of all […]
Read more
-
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 […]
Read more
-
Germany opens investigation on Merkel’s phone tap
Germany’s federal prosecutor annouced on 11 June 2014 that it has opened a formal investigation into the alleged monitoring of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s mobile phone by the US’s National Security Agency (NSA). The German government has reportedly announced its support to the investigation. Although Chancellor Merkel has asked the US President Barack Obama in person […]
Read more
-
Citizens demonstrate against data retention in Switzerland
On 31 May 2014, several hundred demonstrators gathered in front of the Swiss parliament in Berne to protest against mass surveillance by means of the so-called “data retention” of communications metadata. A legislative proposal that would significantly expand state powers of surveillance has already been approved by the Council of States (the smaller chamber of […]
Read more
-
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 […]
Read more
-
We promised to recruit digital rights-friendly MEPs – we delivered
WePromise.eu was an innovative campaign that sought to bring digital rights to the agenda of the European elections. It gathered wide support from throughout the political spectrum as well as from civil society and citizens, exceeding all expectations. With 434 candidates having signed up to the Charter of digital rights – including two top EU […]
Read more
-
Belgian Big Brother Awards 2014: The nominees
On 4 June 2014, the Belgian EDRi member Liga voor Mensenrechten will organize the 4th edition of the Big Brother Awards (BBA) in Belgium. The general public can decide on the person or organisation that will be “awarded” prizes for attacking citizens’ right to privacy. In the name of a greater “perception of security for […]
Read more
-
Swiss data retention visualisation
The Swiss civil society group Digital Society Switzerland is working on building opposition to the practice of the “data retention” – the requirement for telecommunications companies to store for six months meta-data (such as information on who emailed or called whom, and where the telephones were located) and to make it available for law enforcement […]
Read more
-
Finishing my internship with EDRi
The last three months have provided a great opportunity to get first-hand experience observing digital policy in the European decision-making process. I have worked on a number of topics and assisted with the launch of the WePromise.eu campaign. By far the most memorable (and successful) thing I’ve worked on has been the Telecoms Single Market […]
Read more
-
Is Commissioner Malmström accusing herself of violating EU law?
On the 8th of April, the European Court of Justice ruled that Data Retention Directive was incompatible with European law and declared it invalid. Recent comments by Commissioner Cecilia Malmström (whose Home Affairs portfolio covered the Directive) appear to claim that she was always aware of the incompatibility of the Directive with European law. Addressing journalists […]
Read more
-
ECJ: Data retention directive contravenes European law
On 8 April, the European Court of Justice ruled that the EU legislation on mass surveillance contravenes European law. The case was brought before the Court by EDRi member Digital Rights Ireland, together with the Austrian Working Group on Data Retention. While it will take some time to get a clear view of what is […]
Read more