terrorism
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Hungary: New government proposals raise concerns
The Hungarian government is ramping up its “terrorist” measures; a constitutional amendment that establishes a new state of exception is one of the measures it foresees as necessary to keep the population safe. The threat of terrorism in Hungary is considered to be low by the UK Foreign Office, the CIA, and Hungary’s Strategic Defense […]
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Countering terrorism, a.k.a. the biggest human rights threat of 2016
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and Human rights, Ben Emmerson said “the central challenge for human rights in 2016 [is] ensuring governments continue to support a human rights agenda” while seeking to end terrorism. The European Union is also faced with this challenge. In the EU, there is currently a proposal for a […]
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EU Internet Forum against terrorist content and hate speech online: Document pool
Since last year, we have been reporting on the “EU Internet Forum” set up by the European Commission to fight terrorism and hate speech online. In reality, the IT-Forum gathers two initiatives: one run by the Home Affairs Directorate General of the European Commission, on “terrorism”; and one run by the Justice and Consumers Directorate […]
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ENDitorial: Progress for encryption & rule of law
In times of crisis, it appears that critical, evidence-based policymaking goes out the window in favour of direct emotional reassurance. This became apparent after the 9/11, Madrid and Charlie Hebdo attacks, and once again after the Paris attacks of November 2015. Regrettably, it is as if political judgement is impaired after such events, with proposals […]
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France enacts sweeping legislation limiting fundamental freedoms
On 13 November time stopped in France and around the world as the heart of Paris was attacked. One hundred and thirty people were killed while enjoying dinners with friends, celebrating birthdays, and dancing at a concert. The French government, with the support of most of the population and political groups, rapidly declared a state […]
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ENDitorial: After Paris – selling freedom for security
Shortly after the Paris attacks on 13 November 2015, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjørn Jagland stated: “Terrorists can’t destroy our democracies, only we can do that”. Shortly after the Paris attacks, European Parliament adopted amendments to its Report on “the prevention of radicalisation and recruitment of European citizens by terrorist organisations”, demanding […]
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EU Parliament to vote on contentious anti-radicalisation Resolution
On 25 November 2015, the European Parliament is expected to vote on a controversial but important political statement, aimed at preventing terrorist radicalisation and the recruitment of EU citizens by terrorist organisations. Since June 2015, EDRi has been working hard with politicians and advisers to improve this timely political statement. Our objective has been to […]
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Turkey: New attempts to limit online access and freedom of speech
The Turkish government has been heavily critised for implementing censorship on the Internet and other media. Currently, over 100 000 websites are officially blocked in the country. Additionally, popular websites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have been frequently blocked with or without a court order. Other than officially blocking websites, Turkish Internet Service Providers […]
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EP Committee adopts short-sighted anti-”radicalisation” report
On 19 October 2015, after months of discussion, the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) adopted an extremely incoherent and short-sighted anti-“radicalisation” report. The text is very-wide ranging, covering everything from prisons and schools to the Internet. Regarding the measures related to the Internet, there is a complete lack of […]
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EU secret profiling of air passengers nominated for “big brother awards”
Over the past 15 years, human rights, including the right to privacy, have been traded away to create ever-more invasive measures designed sometimes as tools to protect society against possible terrorist threats and sometimes as a means of being seen to be doing “something” in a show of security theatre. The leitmotif: “Safety First”. The […]
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ENDitorial: European Parliament – translating freedoms into Chinese
In the autumn 2015, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament (LIBE) will resume its discussions of a draft resolution on “radicalisation”, led by Rachida Dati, a French conservative member. Her draft includes several bizarre statements, but one on Internet “giants” stands out as being particularly extreme. The proposal […]
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EU Commission set to re-brand the failed CleanIT project
Every once in a while, the European Commission launches talks with the Internet industry to encourage companies to take voluntary actions in response to a very diverse range of possibly illegal or unwanted online activity. Past initiatives have not been hugely successful, and they have frequently raised concerns regarding their vagueness, their lack of transparency […]
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