Mapping the impact of biometric surveillance and social media platforms on civic space
The European Center for Not-for-Profit Law is concerned about safeguarding human rights and limiting the negative impacts of security technology on civil society. Therefore, they launched a report with partners as a step to investigate how technologies introduced in the name of security and counter-terrorism will impact civil society.
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Mapping the impact of biometric surveillance and social media platforms on civic space
The European Center for Not-for-Profit Law is concerned about safeguarding human rights and limiting the negative impacts of security technology on civil society. Therefore, they launched a report with partners as a step to investigate how technologies introduced in the name of security and counter-terrorism will impact civil society.
Read more
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Protect My Face: Brussels residents join the fight against biometric mass surveillance
The newly-launched Protect My Face campaign gives residents of the Brussels region of Belgium the opportunity to oppose mass facial recognition. EDRi applauds this initiative which demands that the Brussels Parliament ban these intrusive and discriminatory practices.
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Poland: the government declares no further extension of data retention obligation
Data retention obligation will not be further extended in Polish law on electronic communication. However, the current, unlawful scope of telecommunication data retention remains unchanged.
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TikTok’s “Focused View”: the creepy new feature aims to monetise your emotions
Ever heard of TikTok’s “Focused View”? With this new feature launched in October 2022, TikTok claims it can track your emotions to sell ads. We have our doubts if that’s even possible – but it certainly is invading your privacy to drive profits. Here is why, and what it means for users in Europe.
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Emotion (Mis)Recognition: is the EU missing the point?
The European Union is on the cusp of adopting a landmark legislation, the Artificial Intelligence Act. The law aims to enable an European AI market which guarantees safety, and puts people at its heart. But an incredibly dangerous aspect remains largely unaddressed - putting a stop to Europe’s burgeoning 'emotion recognition' market.
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Member States want internet service providers to do the impossible in the fight against child sexual abuse
In May 2022, the European Commission presented its proposal for a Regulation to combat child sexual abuse (CSA) online. The proposal contains a number of privacy intrusive provisions, including obligations for platforms to indiscriminately scan the private communications of all users (dubbed ”chat control”). There are also blocking obligations for internet services providers (ISPs), which is the focus of this article.
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The UK will treat online images of immigrants crossing the Channel as a criminal offence
On 17 January, the United Kingdom (UK) government announced that online platforms will have to proactively remove images of immigrants crossing the Channel in small boats under a new amendment to be tabled to the Online Safety Bill. The announcement, intended to bolster the UK’s hostile immigration policy, has been met with concern among the British public and charities working with people on the move.
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Update: UK’s Online Safety Bill heralds a trio of surveillance
The UK’s Online Safety Bill was back in the Westminster Parliament in December It had been stalled for five months whilst the new British government made a few changes. A Parliamentary debate on Monday (5 December 2022) revealed the shift in policy direction for the first time. It’s a relatively small change with big implications. Read more about the changes.
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Back to the Future: Activism, the copyright Directive and lessons for the present
The Copyright Directive marked a key moment in internet history. Civil society, and EDRi in particular, have reflected on the role we played in the political debate and what would that mean for future digital policy fights. In this blogpost, we look back to assess the success of the strategies we adopted and what are the takeaways we should keep in mind when challenging current human rights threats like chat control and facial recognition.
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Reclaim Your Face movement gathered in Brussels
Between 6 and 9 November 2022, more than 20 activists from across Europe gathered in Brussels to celebrate the successes of the Reclaim You Face movement. We got to meet each other in real life after months of online organising, reflected on our wide range off decentralised actions, and learned from each other how to couple grassroots organising with EU advocacy aimed at specific events and EU institutions. Read on to see what we did.
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The AI Act: EU’s chance to regulate harmful border technologies
The AI Act will be the first regional mechanism of its kind in the world, but it needs a serious update to meaningfully address the profileration of harmful technologies tested and deployed at Europe’s borders.
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Europol’s reform: A future data black hole in European policing
The European Parliament is soon due to vote on the powers expansion of the European Union’s law enforcement agency, Europol. Civil society has been extremely critical of Europol’s mandate revision, raising many concerns with regards to the lack of fundamental rights protections and policymakers’ blind and absolute trust in how the agency will use its new powers. All the more reasons to be worried: the result of the trilogue negotiations with the Council of the EU made it even worse.
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