Our work
EDRi is the biggest European network defending rights and freedoms online. We work to to challenge private and state actors who abuse their power to control or manipulate the public. We do so by advocating for robust and enforced laws, informing and mobilising people, promoting a healthy and accountable technology market, and building a movement of organisations and individuals committed to digital rights and freedoms in a connected world.
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EDRi-gram, 18 March 2026
What has the EDRi network been up to over the past few weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: To scan or not to scan, EU lawmakers ask
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Five lessons from three years of risk assessments under the Digital Services Act
Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), Big Tech platforms are required to annually assess systemic risks tied to their services and implement measures to mitigate them. EDRi member, the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ECNL) analysed the first three rounds of these risk assessments, spanning from 2023 to 2025, and identified five major gaps. In their current form, these assessments are unlikely to provide meaningful transparency or accountability for decisions affecting millions of internet users, raising fundamental questions about their usefulness and future direction.
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Artificial Insecurity: how AI tools compromise confidentiality
Whatever you think about the promises or perils of AI, it’s becoming increasingly impossible to ignore that these tools are beset by glaring security vulnerabilities. From exposing user data to facilitating hacks, from undermining information integrity to creating supply chain vulnerabilities, AI tools are underpinned, and undermined, by dodgy security practices. As we’ll explore in this series, this has grave consequences for the confidentiality of our data, for information integrity, and for access to and availability of systems — all problems that a human rights-respecting approach can help solve.
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DSA vs. Reality: Are children safer online?
How can social media be safer for people of all ages? During the hearing held in the European Parliament on 24th February, civil society experts led by Panoptykon debated possible solutions with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and officials from the European Commission. Yet YouTube, TikTok, and Meta dodged having to answer difficult questions.
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Court again rules in favour of Bits of Freedom: freedom of choice for Instagram and Facebook users remains intact
On 11 March, the Dutch Court of Appeal ruled on Meta's appeal against an earlier verdict brought by Bits of Freedom. The judgment was in favour of the digital human rights organisation. This is good news for Facebook and Instagram users in the Netherlands: they will continue to have the freedom to chose over what information appears on their feed.
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The Digital Omnibus: A step back from the brink, but the risks remain
A first Council compromise on the Digital Omnibus removes several of the most dangerous changes that were originally proposed to the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive. This is a welcome development, however, important risks remain. Some amendments could still weaken safeguards in practice, while new provisions on AI development and access to terminal equipment remain unresolved. Simplification should strengthen rights, not dilute them. The safest way to protect Europe’s digital rulebook is to reject the Digital Omnibus entirely.
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Civil society calls for an ambitious Digital Fairness Act on World Consumer Rights Day
On World Consumer Rights Day, EDRi and dozens of other civil society organisations have signed a joint letter urging the European Commission to adopt a strong Digital Fairness Act (DFA). The coalition calls for rules that address manipulative digital business models and protect people from harmful online practices. The letter echoes the recommendations set out in EDRi’s recent policy paper on a rights-based approach to digital fairness.
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Fewer rules, more innovation? The miscalculation of the new Brussels
Is European regulation really holding back innovation, or is it a strategic asset that we are about to sell off? This piece debunks the official narrative of a European Commission that claims to be “learning to regulate better”. Through incisive analysis, it warns that the fear of falling behind in the artificial intelligence race is pushing Brussels to sacrifice fundamental rights in the name of a misunderstood competitiveness.
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The eID Wallet still doesn’t deserve your full trust
Despite its imminent deployment, the EU’s new eID Wallet is not yet fit for purpose in terms of safeguarding the rights of its users. EDRi and nine CSOs urge the European Commission to amend the draft implementing acts to ensure that users cannot be tracked, forced to share sensitive data nor to provide their legal identity where this is not required by law.
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EDRi files DSA complaint against YouTube for undermining user autonomy
EDRi has filed a complaint with the Belgian Digital Services Coordinator against YouTube under the Digital Service Act (DSA), challenging the legality of the recommender system options offered by the platform. EDRi requests a thorough investigation and effective enforcement measures.
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EDRi-gram, 4 March 2026
What has the EDRi network been up to over the past few weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: Chat Control in final stretch, breaking extractive business models with Digital Fairness Act, & more!
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Outsourcing crime control: How EU anti-money laundering rules threaten financial privacy
Privacy First is drawing attention to the risks to financial privacy and fundament rights arising from the European Union’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) framework. Over the past decade, the EU has increasingly shifted the responsibility of detecting financial crime from public authorities to banks, bookkeepers and other companies (called“obliged entities”). With a completely revised AML Package set to enter into force in mid-2027, this system will expand further, turning ordinary citizens and civil society organisations into subjects of systems of financial surveillance.
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