Surveillance and data retention

January 29, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Biometrics

Stalked by your digital doppelganger?

In this fourth installment of EDRi’s facial recognition and fundamental rights series, we explore what could happen if facial recognition collides with data-hungry business models and 24/7 surveillance.

January 29, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Surveillance and data retention

Data retention: “National security” is not a blank cheque

On 15 January, Advocate General (AG) Campos Sánchez-Bordona of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered his opinions on four cases regarding data retention regimes in France, Belgium and the UK, in the context of these Members States’ surveillance programmes.

January 15, 2020 · Highlights | Privacy and data protection | Surveillance and data retention

ECtHR demands explanations on Polish intelligence agency surveillance

January 15, 2020 · Blogs | On the ground | Privacy and data protection | Surveillance and data retention

ECtHR demands explanations on Polish intelligence agency surveillance

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has demanded the Polish government to provide an explanation on surveillance by its intelligence agencies. This is a result of complaints filed with the Strasbourg court in late 2017 and early 2018 by activists from EDRi member Panoptykon Foundation and Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights as well as […]

January 15, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Biometrics

Your face rings a bell: Three common uses of facial recognition

Not all applications of facial recognition are created equal. In this third installment, we sift through the hype to analyse three increasingly common uses of facial recognition: tagging pictures on Facebook, automated border control gates, and police surveillance.

January 15, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Artificial intelligence (AI) | Biometrics | Data protection standards | Equal access to the internet | Online tracking industry / AdTech | Platform regulation | Profiling practices | Surveillance and data retention | Transparency

Our New Year’s wishes for European Commissioners

EDRi wishes all readers a happy new year 2020! In 2019, we had a number of victories in multiple fields. The European Parliament added necessary safeguards to the proposed Terrorist Content Online (TCO) Regulation to protect fundamental rights against overly broad and disproportionate censorship measures. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled […]

January 15, 2020 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Surveillance and data retention

Indiscriminate data retention considered disproportionate, once again

EDRi’s initial reaction on the press release of the AG Opinion on data retention Today’s Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) Advocate General’s Opinions continue the firmly established case-law of the CJEU considering mass collection of individuals communications data incompatible with EU law. The Advocate General reaffirms that blanket retention of telecommunication data […]

December 18, 2019 · Highlights | Privacy and data protection | Surveillance and data retention

Austrian government hacking law is unconstitutional

On 11 December 2019, the Austrian Constitutional Court decided that the surveillance law that permits the use of spying software to read encrypted messages violates the fundamental right to respect for private life (article 8 ECHR), the fundamental right to data protection (§ 1 Austrian data protection law) and the constitutionally granted right that prohibits unreasonable searches (Art 9 Austrian bill of rights – Staatsgrundgesetz).

December 18, 2019 · Blogs | Open internet and inclusive technology | Privacy and data protection | Data protection standards | Equal access to the internet | Freedom of expression online | Online tracking industry / AdTech | Surveillance and data retention

Bits of Freedom celebrates its 20th anniversary

EDRi member Bits of Freedom celebrates its 20 year anniversary. Bits of Freedom believes an open and just society is only possible when people can participate in public life without fear of repercussions. For this, every person needs to be free to share information and their private life needs to be respected. The right to […]

December 18, 2019 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Biometrics | Privacy and confidentiality | Surveillance and data retention

The many faces of facial recognition in the EU

In this second installment of EDRi's facial recognition and fundamental rights series, we look at how different EU Member States, institutions and other countries worldwide are responding to the use of this tech in public spaces.

December 18, 2019 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Cross border access to data | Data protection standards | Privacy and confidentiality | Surveillance and data retention

Casual attitude in intelligence sharing is troubling

A recent report by Dutch Military Intelligence and Security Service CTIVD shows that the Dutch secret services regularly violate the law when sharing intelligence with foreign services. For the sake of privacy and freedom of communication, it is crucial that data sharing safeguards are both tightened and more strictly enforced.

December 4, 2019 · Blogs | Privacy and data protection | Biometrics

Facial recognition and fundamental rights 101

This is the first post in a series about the fundamental rights impacts of facial recognition. Private companies and governments worldwide are already experimenting with facial recognition technology. Individuals, lawmakers, developers - and everyone in between - should be aware of the rise of facial recognition, and the risks it poses to rights to privacy, freedom, democracy and non-discrimination.