The “Chat Control 1.0” saga: Big Tech can scan our private messages again – but Parliament sent a strong signal against mass surveillance
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted on a derogation of the EU’s ePrivacy Directive for the third time in 4 months. While the proposal passed, the vote nonetheless remains a triumph because it reinforces the Parliament’s position against mass surveillance on the more dangerous CSA Rregulation, and because it enshrines the protection of encryption.
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The “Chat Control 1.0” saga: Big Tech can scan our private messages again – but Parliament sent a strong signal against mass surveillance
Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted on a derogation of the EU’s ePrivacy Directive for the third time in 4 months. While the proposal passed, the vote nonetheless remains a triumph because it reinforces the Parliament’s position against mass surveillance on the more dangerous CSA Rregulation, and because it enshrines the protection of encryption.
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What’s behind the EU’s digitalisation push? Surveillance, control and exclusion
The EU institutions have been engaged in a broad and wholesale digitalisation project but underneath the rhetoric of efficiency, modernisation, and citizen empowerment lies a more troubling reality. It is not a mere technical upgrade of public services, but a political choice, long in the making, to forego care and rights of individuals in favour of normalising surveillance, control and exclusion of the most marginalised. This blog explores the various facets of the EU’s digital welfare state push, and what it means for the relationship between people and the state.
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Research study: Evaluation of EU’s Law Enforcement Directive shows implementation still fragmented and insufficient
This study commissioned by EDRi analyses the implementation of the Law Enforcement Directive (LED) in five EU Member States. It shows that even eight years after the LED’s entry into application, the implementation of this crucial instrument for digital rights remains fragmented and insufficient.
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Did the EU Parliament really vote not to protect children online?
In April 2026, negotiations on the ‘interim ePrivacy derogation’ fell apart, with several stakeholders claiming that the European Parliament stopped the EU from protecting children. In reality, however, the Parliament’s position aimed to ensure the protection of all fundamental rights without leading to mass surveillance – whereas EU Member States and the Commission proved unwilling to move even an inch on safeguards.
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How can the EU protect children online while dismantling the very rules designed to keep them safe?
Protecting children online has become one of the most powerful political narratives in Brussels, yet proposals like the Digital Omnibus risk weakening the very safeguards that make this protection possible. This is a contradiction: can children truly be protected if the rules designed to keep them safe are being dismantled?
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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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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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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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Chat Control is in the final stretch – but it could be a marathon, not a sprint
With final negotiations on the controversial CSA Regulation underway, you’d be forgiven for thinking that our digital rights are out of the woods. However, even though the recently-agreed position of EU Member States is a cautiously optimistic step, we are still far from a final deal. Perhaps the most worrying issue that remains is the threat of age verification becoming mandatory across all digital methods of private communication – a hugely disproportionate limitation on our privacy and free speech.
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US pressure on the Digital Services Act in the Netherlands
On 3 February 2026, the United States House Committee on the Judiciary launched a report in which EDRi member Bits of Freedom and Justice for Prosperity, among others, are called "censorous NGOs". In response, Bits of Freedom and Justice for Prosperity are issuing the following statement.
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Reopening GDPR and ePrivacy through the Digital Omnibus: a risky path for EU digital rights
EDRi has assessed the Digital Omnibus proposals affecting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the ePrivacy framework. While presented as simplification, the changes amount to deregulation in effect, weakening fundamental rights safeguards, increasing legal uncertainty, and advancing through a process that falls short of democratic lawmaking standards.
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