Will the Brussels spyware scandal finally convince the EU to act?
In February, Brussels was rocked by reports of phone hacking and spyware attacks on members of the European Parliament’s defence and security committee. Such intrusions are a huge threat to EU democracy — interfering with decision-making and allowing obstructive disruptions to public debate. Three weeks on, nothing seems to have changed with the EU’s approach to spyware.
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Will the Brussels spyware scandal finally convince the EU to act?
In February, Brussels was rocked by reports of phone hacking and spyware attacks on members of the European Parliament’s defence and security committee. Such intrusions are a huge threat to EU democracy — interfering with decision-making and allowing obstructive disruptions to public debate. Three weeks on, nothing seems to have changed with the EU’s approach to spyware.
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Press Release: Brussels rocked by major spyware scandal: Urgent call for ban
Now, when push has come to shove, policymakers at the European Union (EU) must act to ban spyware in Europe. Yesterday, the media reported a major attack on EU democracy with members of the European Parliament Defense Committee being the target of phone hacking.
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When law enforcement undermines our digital safety, who is looking after our interests?
Imagine your friend sent you a private DM on Twitter. Now imagine, instead of the content remaining for your eyes only, Twitter letting the police also take a peek at it. Such intrusive practices of state actors accessing private messages have grave consequences for our lives. Some people can be physically harmed, and for some, it can mean that their families and friends could get prosecuted. At a collective level, the harm this does to our communities and society at large is immeasurable.
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Health & digital rights organisations and trade unions to the Council of the EU: Uphold patients’ fundamental rights in the EHDS!
The Council of the EU must uphold European patients’ fundamental rights and agree on a right to ‘opt-out’ of the use of patient medical records in the final negotiations on the European Health Data Space (EHDS).
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Irish Media Regulator must address dangerous age verification in its new online safety code
On 30 January 2024, EDRi submitted its comments on the Irish Media Regulator’s (Coimisiún na Meán) new Online Safety Code in a public consultation, highlighting significant concerns about age verification.
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European Commission discusses “Going Dark”: Behind closed doors
EDRi and 20 organisations call on the High Level Group on Access to Data for Effective Law Enforcement for greater transparency and participation of all stakeholders.
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2023: A good year for privacy, a bad year for chat control
With 2023 coming to a close, where does that leave the draft EU Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) Regulation?
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Spyware attack attempts on civil society in Serbia
On 30 October 2023, two members of civil society from Serbia received an alert from Apple that they were potential targets of state-sponsored technical attacks. They immediately contacted EDRi member SHARE Foundation after receiving the warning, in order to check if their devices were attacked by any known spyware. These were the first documented cases of attempted sophisticated spyware attacks known to us in Serbia.
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CSAR: European Parliament rejects mass scanning of private messages. Here is why
On 22 November, the European Parliament officially adopted its position on the draft ‘Regulation laying down rules to prevent and combat child sexual abuse’ (CSAR). With strong support for this position from all seven European political groups, this marks a positive development for human rights in one of the most controversial draft European Union (EU) laws in recent memory.
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EU Parliament committee rejects mass scanning of private and encrypted communications
On 14th November, Members of the European Parliament’s ‘Civil Liberties’ committee voted against attempts from EU Home Affairs officials to roll out mass scanning of private and encrypted messages across Europe. It was a clear-cut vote, with a significant majority of MEPs supporting the proposed position.
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A coalition of six organisations takes EU’s dangerous terrorist content regulation to court
On 8 November 2023, a coalition of six organisations filed a complaint before the French supreme administrative court, the Conseil d’État, against the French decree implementing the Regulation on addressing the dissemination of terrorist content online.
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If the Commissioner isn’t responsible for DG HOME’s alleged unethical and unlawful actions, who is?
Serious concerns have been raised about the EU CSA Regulation by technologists, lawyers, NGOs, EU institutions, some child protection advocates and survivors and more. Recent allegations suggest that not only have these stakeholders been ignored - but that there may have been attempts by the EU Commission to manipulate the democratic process. The head of the Commission's Home Affairs unit has been grilled by MEPs about these allegations
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