Policing: Council of the European Union close to approving position on extended biometric data-sharing network
The Council of the European Union is close to reaching an agreement on its negotiating position on the 'Prüm II' Regulation, which would extend an existing police biometric data-sharing network to include facial images and offer the possibility for national authorities to open up their databases of "police records" for searches by other member states.
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Policing: Council of the European Union close to approving position on extended biometric data-sharing network
The Council of the European Union is close to reaching an agreement on its negotiating position on the 'Prüm II' Regulation, which would extend an existing police biometric data-sharing network to include facial images and offer the possibility for national authorities to open up their databases of "police records" for searches by other member states.
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“E-evidence” negotiations: European Parliament must stand its grounds
The European Parliament and the Council have tremendous difficulties to agree on the issue of cross-border access to data by national law enforcement authorities. While the Parliament is trying to maintain as many fundamental rights safeguards as possible in the so-called “e-evidence” Regulation, the Council is stubbornly sticking to its position. If the Council’s vision overrides the Parliament, the legislation would seriously threaten free speech, privacy rights and the right to a fair trial. A coalition of digital rights, lawyers, journalists, media organisations and internet service providers associations are calling on the Council to show a greater spirit of cooperation and urge the Parliament to not excessively deviate from its original position.
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Policing: France proposes massive EU-wide DNA sweep, automated exchange of facial images
The French Presidency of the Council is seeking EU-wide comparisons of every DNA profile held by police forces against all those held by other national police forces, as well as EU policing agency Europol, as part of plans to upgrade the ‘Prüm’ network of police databases. It also hopes to automate the police exchange of facial images by eliminating requirements for human review.
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New Cybercrime Protocol will undermine our privacy to compensate for the rising powers of law enforcement authorities
This new international agreement raises serious concerns as its shortcomings promise to undermine the safeguards to our fundamental rights, including our privacy and procedural rights.
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UK can join EU surveillance schemes with no parliamentary scrutiny, warns new report
The UK can join intrusive EU surveillance schemes including a pan-European network of police facial recognition databases with no need for parliamentary debate or scrutiny, says a new report published by EDRi member Statewatch.
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Cross-border access to user data by law enforcement in 2021: A year in review
Law enforcement agencies around the world are getting their holiday wish list, thanks to the Council of Europe’s adoption of a flawed new protocol to the Budapest Convention, a treaty governing procedures for accessing digital evidence across borders in criminal investigations.
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Austrian DSB: EU-US data transfers to Google Analytics illegal
In a groundbreaking decision, the Austrian Data Protection Authority ("Datenschutzbehörde" or "DSB") has decided on a model case by noyb that the continuous use of Google Analytics violates the GDPR.
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EDPS sanctions the European Parliament for illegal EU-US data transfers – among other violations
In January 2021, noyb filed a complaint against the European Parliament on behalf of six Members of the European Parliament over an internal corona testing website. The issues raised were deceptive cookie banners, vague and unclear data protection notices, and the illegal transfer of data to the US.
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E-evidence regulation: Why it matters for medical confidentiality?
Access to health data by foreign authorities in the context of a criminal investigation – be it intentional or not – needs to be carefully regulated as it also impacts doctors’ legal and ethical duties.
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Nearly 130 public interest organisations and experts urge the United Nations to include human rights safeguards in proposed UN Cybercrime Treaty
Today, EDRi, our member Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and Human Rights Watch, along with nearly 130 organizations and academics working in 56 countries, regions, or globally, urged members of the Ad Hoc Committee responsible for drafting a potential United Nations Cybercrime Treaty to ensure human rights protections are embedded in the final product. The first session of the Ad Hoc Committee will begin on January 17th.
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Press release: European Commission jumps the gun with proposal to add facial recognition to EU-wide police database
The European Commission has put forward a proposal to ‘streamline’ the automated sharing of facial recognition images and other sensitive data by police across the EU. What will be discarded in order to ‘streamline’ the process? Vital safeguards which are designed to protect all of us from state over-reach and authoritarian mass surveillance practices.
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EU ropes in intelligence agencies for enhanced border checks targeting Afghan nationals
Intensified border security checks targeting Afghan nationals have been agreed by the Council of the EU, with the procedures requiring the extraction of mobile phone data and significant coordination with national intelligence agencies – despite the EU having no competences in the realm of “national security”.
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