LIBE vote on Europol reform blow to the Commission, but still legitimises an expanding surveillance regime
European Parliament's LIBE committee vote on a reform of the Europol Regulation was a mixed bag. Although it was a blow to the European Commission's original proposal, it still legitimised an expanding surveillance regime thanks to Europol's ever-growing power and resources. Read the Protect Not Surveil coalition’s statement.
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LIBE vote on Europol reform blow to the Commission, but still legitimises an expanding surveillance regime
European Parliament's LIBE committee vote on a reform of the Europol Regulation was a mixed bag. Although it was a blow to the European Commission's original proposal, it still legitimised an expanding surveillance regime thanks to Europol's ever-growing power and resources. Read the Protect Not Surveil coalition’s statement.
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Croatia in preparation for AI Law: Activists warn of risks to rights and call for safeguards going beyond EU AI Act
EDRi affiliate Politiscope recently hosted an event in Croatia for journalists and activists to discuss human rights impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI), raise awareness about AI related harms, and to influence future national policy to incorporate safeguards for people’s rights.
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When technology is the problem, not the solution: Lessons from harmful consequences of techno-solutionism in digital surveillance
AI-powered surveillance systems are being deployed globally - from Israel and Russia to EU member states. These systems target marginalised communities under the guise of improving security and efficiency. To rectify these harms, we must challenge techno-solutionist narratives and rethink why and how technology is used, and center human rights.
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Hungary’s new biometric surveillance laws violate the AI Act
This blog post is a legal analysis of new legislation in Hungary that uses facial recognition technology in a manner that violates the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Such use of this technology risks discouraging people from exercising their fundamental rights undermining their trust in democracy.
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Civil society to European Commission: Act now to defend fundamental rights from Hungary’s Pride ban and the use of facial recognition against protesters
EDRi, along with a broad coalition of civil society organisations, demands urgent action from the European Commission on Hungary’s new law banning Pride marches and permitting the use of live facial recognition technology targeting protesters.
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Surveilling Europe’s edges: when research legitimises border violence
In May 2024, EDRi member Access Now’s Caterina Rodelli travelled across Greece to meet with local civil society organisations supporting migrant people and monitoring human rights violations, and to see first-hand how and where surveillance technologies are deployed at Europe’s borders.
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Protect Not Surveil position paper: Stop Europol’s expanding digital surveillance against migrants!
EDRi and the Protect Not Surveil coalition published position paper today to call for the rejection of the Europol reform. The proposed legislation would expand Europol’s surveillance powers, put lives at risk, and criminalise migrants and solidarity organisers.
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Pre-travel controls: Digitalising travel documents
We are responding to a public consultation on the European Commissions’ digitalising travel documents proposal. This proposal promises convenience in travel but could pave the way for biometric mass surveillance and automated discrimination.
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Non-fitted devices in the UK Home Office’s surveillance arsenal: Investigating the technology behind GPS fingerprint scanners
Privacy International’s technical research on the so-called non-fitted devices (NFDs) used by the UK Home Office to track migrants shows that these devices are intrusive and stigmatising by design. The use of NFDs is an expansion beyond the use of GPS ankle tags of the UK’s surveillance of migrants who are on immigration bail and subject to electronic monitoring conditions.
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German federal health minister, Shein and Deutsche Bahn ‘awarded’ for worst privacy and data protection offences
In October 2024, EDRi member Digitalcourage held the annual gala for the German BigBrother Awards. The unfortunate “winners” included a minister in the federal government, the police and interior minister in one German state, two international online retailers, a fundamental infrastructure provider and a trend.
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EDRi and members take EU decision-makers through 20 years of digital policy
This September, EDRi, Access Now and ARTICLE 19 took Parliamentarians through a rollercoaster ride of all things digital policy in the European Union. From the early internet and initial experiments in platform regulation, through more recent regulatory innovations, and finally to questions of security and surveillance, we shared a digital rights perspective of the good, the bad and the ugly of digital policy in the EU.
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Biometric surveillance in the Czech Republic: the Ministry of the Interior is trying to circumvent the Artificial Intelligence Act
EDRi-member Iuridicum Remedium draws attention to the way biometric surveillance at airports should be legalised in the Czech Republic. According to the proposal, virtually anyone could become a person under surveillance. Moreover, surveillance could be extended from airports to other public spaces.
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