Putting the brakes on Big Tech’s uncontrolled power
Will 2022 go down as the year the EU tamed Big Tech? In the very early morning hours of Saturday, 23 April, after 16 hours of final negotiations, EU lawmakers reached an agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA), which is certainly a watershed moment for our digital future. As the deal reached is a top-level political agreement, the final text of the law is yet to be released.
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Putting the brakes on Big Tech’s uncontrolled power
Will 2022 go down as the year the EU tamed Big Tech? In the very early morning hours of Saturday, 23 April, after 16 hours of final negotiations, EU lawmakers reached an agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA), which is certainly a watershed moment for our digital future. As the deal reached is a top-level political agreement, the final text of the law is yet to be released.
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EU negotiators approve good DSA, but more work is needed to build a better internet
Friday night’s political agreement on the Digital Services Act (DSA) is a good first step towards protecting people’s rights on the internet and to some extent limiting the immense power that Big Tech companies have over people and democracies.
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A new crisis response mechanism for the DSA
EDRi is one of 38 civil society organisations jointly raising our voices to the DSA negotiators to stop negotiating outside their respective mandates and respect the democratic process of the EU. We demand concrete improvements necessary for the Crisis Response Mechanism (CRM) to respect international human rights law and prevent the future abuse of those emergency powers. Add your voice now!
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Get your extra reading on “cookie consent” and AdTech done
On 22 February, the Belgian Data Protection Authority (DPA) made a decision regarding complaints about the Internet Advertising Bureau Europe (IAB Europe) "consent framework". This is a commonly used cookie pop-up asking for "consent" to be tracked.
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EDRi statement: the fundamental rights consequences of the EU media ban
European Digital Rights (EDRi) is appalled by the illegal and atrocious invasion of Ukraine by Russia’s totalitarian regime. We stand with the people of Ukraine who are forced to live in fear and flee from their homes while enduring war crimes and other large-scale human rights violations, including cyberattacks. Democratic societies that respect the rule of law should stand in solidarity with the deep suffering of people in Ukraine on many levels.
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France must not betray European citizens on the DSA at the 11th hour
As civil society, we welcomed Minister Cedric O’s commitment on Friday to prohibit targeted advertising to minors as well as the use of sensitive data for ad targeting in the DSA. Now the French Council Presidency must follow through and protect citizens, 35 NGOs write in an open letter.
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The Digital Markets Act promises to free people from digital walled gardens
Last night, 24 March, the European Union made a great step forward to better protecting our rights online as it approved the political trilogue compromise for the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This decision promises to challenge the strongly centralised environment of Big Tech platforms exerting too much power over our rights and over the flow of information in society. Tech companies like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple will have to start following strict rules that ensure free and fair competition in the digital markets.
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Cyberattacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and civil society violate human rights
Alongside Russia’s eight years of armed aggression against Ukraine and its ongoing threats of large-scale invasion, cyberattacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and civilian services are putting people’s human rights at risk. We call on the international community to provide the necessary support to Ukraine and its human rights defenders to ensure people are protected from cyber threats.
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Open Letter: Abolish manipulative dark patterns and creepy online ads, ask 72 civil society organisations
Ahead of the upcoming Digital Services Act (DSA) trilogue meeting on 15 March, EDRi, Liberties and Amnesty International and 69 other civil society organisations have sent a joint open letter to 20 ministers and state secretaries in 9 EU Member States. On Tuesday 1.03.2022, several organisations in the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg, Austria, Croatia delivered the letter to relevant decisionmakers responsible for their country's position in the EU negotiations.
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Belgian authority finds IAB Europe’s consent pop-ups incompatible with the GDPR
Following a number of complaints filed in 2018 and 2019, including by EDRi-members Panoptykon and Bits of Freedom, and coordinated by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, the Belgian Data Protection Authority has found that the consent system developed and managed by the adtech industry body IAB Europe, and used by many websites in the EU, is illegal under the GDPR.
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The EU Parliament takes strong stance against surveillance ads
The Platform Power campaign, alongside many civil society organisations, raised its voice for stronger laws against the business model of Big Tech online platforms and succesfully pressured law-makers to put people at the center of the debate.
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Framing the future of the internet
The European Parliament has just voted on the Digital Services Act, crucial for internet regulation.
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