Indiscriminate messaging and #chatcontrol: Last chance to protest (1/July/2021)
The date for the vote on the chat control regulation has been set: On 6 July, all Members of the European Parliament will…
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#Chatcontrol vote scheduled: Last chance to act (11/June/2021)
The date for the vote on the chat control regulation has been set: On 6 July, all Members of the European Parliament will…
Germany’s push for tighter tech regulation | Euractiv [external] (26/July/2021)
netzdg,dsa,german,illegal content,network enforcement act,germany’s push,digital services act,tighter tech regulation,push for tighter,told euractiv,european,tech giants,taming of tech,ballon
Pirate MEP: EU attack on cash and virtual cash results in financial paternalism (22/July/2021)
The EU Commission wants to ban cash payments above 10,000 euros and anonymous payments with “virtual cash” (cryptocurrencies). MEP and digital freedom fighter…
„Pegasus” spy software: Pirate MEP wants to hold device manufacturers accountable (20/July/2021)
On Sunday, it became known that with the help of the Israeli technology company NSO‘s spy software “Pegasus”, about 50,000 mobile phones of…
Pirates present game on biometric mass surveillance (16/July/2021)
Brussels, 16/07/2021 – Today, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament launches the social impact video game ‘The Biometric Outrun’ to raise awareness…
Pirate Party MEPs on the CJEU upload filter opinion: Freedom of expression shall prevail over profits! (15/July/2021)
In reaction to the Advocate General’s opinion on the compatibility of Article 17 of the Copyright Directive with fundamental rights published today, MEP…
Breyer: Stop the return of indiscriminate and general communications data retention! (15/July/2021)
According to a leaked discussion paper, the European Commission is working on scenarios to reintroduce indiscriminate and general retention of traffic, location and…
Digital Services Act: Civil Liberties Committee pushes for digital privacy and free speech (14/July/2021)
Today, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) adopted its Opinion on the EU‘s upcoming Digital Services Act.[1]…
EU Passes Emergency Law Allowing Tech Companies To Screen Messages For Child Abuse | Forbes [external] (7/July/2021)
European flags in front of the Berlaymont building, headquarters of the European commission in Brussels. getty. The European Parliament has approved emergency measures…
Chatcontrol: European Parliament approves mass surveillance of private communications (6/July/2021)
Today, the European Parliament approved the ePrivacy Derogation, allowing providers of e-mail and messaging services to automatically search all personal messages of each…
Media sector fears EU ban on targeted advertising | Euractiv [external] (5/July/2021)
Media representatives fear a ban on targeted advertising would undercut their business model already hurt by the COVID crisis, with potentially dramatic consequences…
Chat control: Final vote on EU regulation on blanket and indiscriminate searching of electronic messages (5/July/2021)
After a debate tonight, the European Parliament will vote tomorrow (6 July) on the Chat Control Regulation, which will allow e-mail and messaging…
“Artificial intelligence” for law enforcement? European Parliament‘s Home Affairs Committee calls for ban on biometric mass surveillance (29/June/2021)
Today, the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) adopted a report on the use of artificial intelligence by police and…
Internship in Brussels: My Experience (29/June/2021)
Between April and June 2021, we were very honoured to welcome Henning to our team as a trainee in public communications and administration.…
Konec soukromí digitální komunikace – ChatControl (11/June/2021)
EU chce, aby byl ve všech soukromých chatech, zprávách a e-mailech automaticky a bez rozdílu vyhledáván podezřelý obsah. Stanovený cíl: trestně stíhat dětskou…
Pirates hail Parliament’s call to waive COVID-19 vaccine patents (10/June/2021)
The European Pirates Delegation in the Greens/EFA group supported a TRIPS waiver for Covid-19 vaccine patents in yesterday’s vote. The MEPs have decided…
EU Parliament approves privacy-friendly deal on COVID Certificates (9/June/2021)
With a broad majority in the final vote, the European Parliament ratified the regulation on COVID-19 travel certificates, aiming at restoring freedom of…
Pirates: European Commission fails to protect fundamental rights in Article 17 Guidance (4/June/2021)
Three days ahead of the implementation deadline, the European Commission published its guidance on the application of Article 17 of the Directive on…
First glimpse of EU’s new ‘digital identity wallet’ | EUObserver [external] (4/June/2021)
Among its uses, the commission cited accessing public services such as requesting birth certificates, medical prescriptions, reporting a change of address, opening a…
Pirates: European Digital Identification needs to be decentralised and privacy-friendly! (3/June/2021)
Today, the EU Commission proposed a single “European Digital Identity” with which EU citizens would be able to access public and private digital…
Digital Services Act: LIBE Rapporteur Patrick Breyer wants to tackle surveillance capitalism (3/June/2021)
Today (starting at 9.25 a.m.), the European Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee will discuss the amendments to the EU‘s Digital Services Act proposed by…
Communications and Administration traineeship (31/May/2021)
Would you like to join my team for and experience the day-to-day work of a Member of the European Parliament? In support of…
Chat control: Home Affairs Committee approves regulation on indiscriminate searching of private communications (27/May/2021)
On 26 May, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) approved a regulation that will allow e-mail, messaging…
Commission’s guidance to Disinformation: We need legislation and oversight, not co-regulation (27/May/2021)
Today, the Commission published its guidance on how the Code of Practice on Disinformation should be strengthened to become a more effective tool…
Chat Control: Civil Liberties Committee to vote on searching all private messages for allegedly illegal material (25/May/2021)
Tomorrow, the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) will vote on a legislative proposal that would allow e-mail,…
ECHR ruling: Mass surveillance legislation violates human rights (25/May/2021)
Today, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the U.K. and Sweden‘s legislation on mass surveillance programmes violate human rights. In…
MEPs urge Commission to tackle illegal online sports broadcasts | Euractiv [external] (22/May/2021)
European lawmakers on Wednesday (19 May) adopted a resolution urging the European Commission to combat illegal online broadcasts of sports events and strengthen…
Pirates: Deal on COVID certificate guarantees privacy (21/May/2021)
After weeks of negotiations, the EU Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on COVID-19 travel certificates, aiming at restoring freedom of movement…
ePrivacy regulation: Trilogue negotiations start today (20/May/2021)
The negotiations on the EU‘s ePrivacy regulation on data protection in telecommunications and on the Internet are entering the next round after years…
Unauthorized livestreams of sports events: European Parliament calls for radical measures endangering fundamental digital rights (19/May/2021)
Yesterday, the European Parliament by a large majority called for stricter measures against unauthorised livestreams of sports events (e.g. football matches) (479+/171-/40 abstentions).…
AI proposal: Commission President Von der Leyen rejects critism of MEPs about biometric mass surveillance in public spaces (11/May/2021)
In April, 40 Members of the European Parliament called on the European Commission to include in its AI regulation a ban on the…
EU-Deal on Chatcontrol: Indiscriminate analysis of all private communications contents becomes law (29/April/2021)
EU Council and Parliament agreed tonight to allow providers to automatically search all personal electronic mail and messages of each citizen for presumed…
Digital Covid Certificate: Parliament wants discrimination and privacy concerns addressed (29/April/2021)
The European Parliament finalised its official position on the „EU Covid-19 Certificate”, which aims at ensuring freedom of movement within the EU during…
Authoritarians will be allowed to suppress freedom of expression. European Pirates criticize approval of controversial TERREG regulation (29/April/2021)
An EU regulation to prevent the dissemination of the terrorist content online (TERREG) threatens freedom of expression, warns Vice-President of the European Parliament,…
Pirates: Mandatory Transparency Register for lobbying in EU institutions doesn’t live up to its name (28/April/2021)
Yesterday evening, the European Parliament endorsed an Interinstitutional Agreement for a Mandatory Transparency Register, aiming at implementing stricter rules for lobbying within Parliament,…
Poll: 72% of citizens oppose EU plans to search all private messages for allegedly illegal material and report to the police (28/April/2021)
A great majority of EU citizens oppose the EU‘s plans for blanket messaging and chat control. This is the result of an opinion…
Controversial EU anti-terror Internet regulation TERREG adopted (27/April/2021)
After the European Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) agreed to a new EU regulation to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online (TERREG)…
Big brother „video lie detector“: EU research funds are misused to lobby for legislative changes (27/April/2021)
Part of the EU-funded “iBorderCtrl” research project was about lobbying for new legislation required for the deployment of the highly controversial system that…
French clinging to indiscriminate communications data retention violates fundamental rights (21/April/2021)
The French “Conseil d’Etat” court decided today to uphold the collection of information on everybody’s contacts and movements for 12 months due to…
Pirates: Commission’s proposal for regulation on AI opens door for biometric mass surveillance in public spaces (21/April/2021)
Today, the European Commission published its proposal for a regulation on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). While the Pirate Delegation in the…
EU seeks global standards for AI, civil rights groups fret | Reuters [external] (21/April/2021)
The European Commission on Wednesday announced tough draft rules on the use of artificial intelligence, including a ban on most surveillance, in an…
Controversial EU anti-terror Internet regulation TERREG about to be adopted (20/April/2021)
Today, the European Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) agreed to a new EU regulation to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online (TERREG).…
Majority of Respondents to European Poll and Greens/EFA Call on Commission to Ban Biometric Mass Surveillance in Public Spaces (20/April/2021)
Tomorrow the European Commission will propose legislation to regulate artificial intelligence technology. According to a leaked draft of the legislation obtained by POLITICO,…
MEPs call on European Commission to ban mass surveillance in Artifical Intelligence Regulation (16/April/2021)
In a cross-party letter 40 Members of the European Parliament call on the European Commission to revise the proposed regulation on Artificial Intelligence…
Unauthorized livestreams of sports events: Parliamentary committee votes for radical measures and against fundamental digital rights (13/April/2021)
Today, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee adopted a call to crack down on unauthorised live streams of sports events (e.g. football games).…
EU Parliament Wants Pirated Sports Streams Taken Down Within 30 Minutes | Torrentfreak [extern] (9/April/2021)
The European Parliament is considering a draft resolution that requires online services to take pirated sports streams offline within 30 minutes. This includes…
Have your say! Public Consultation on #chatcontrol plans open until 15 April (8/April/2021)
The EU Commission is drafting permanent legislation on the automatic searching of all online activities, including personal electronic mail and messages of each…
Doubts about European Parliament’s ideas to crack down on illegal live streams of sports events (8/April/2021)
On Monday, the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee will vote on a call to crack down on unauthorised live streams of sports events…
Brexit: Why the EU’s plans to allow personal data to continue to flow to UK will likely not withstand court scrutiny (31/March/2021)
The EU plans to allow to continue the free transfer of personal data from EU countries to the UK after having concluded that…
EU data watchdog has ‘critical concerns’ with Parliament’s biometric register | Euractiv [external] (31/March/2021)
The European Union’s institutional data protection watchdog has voiced ‘critical concerns’ about the European Parliament’s plans to install a biometric register that will…
Data watchdog calls into doubt plans to fingerprint all Members of the European Parliament for preventing fraud (31/March/2021)
There has been some harsh criticism of plans by the European Parliament‘s Bureau to fingerprint all Members of Parliament in order to register…
Former ECJ judge: EU plans for indiscriminate screening of private messages („chat control“) violate fundamental rights (26/March/2021)
In search of “child pornography”, the EU wants to have all private digital communications automatically analysed and, in case of a suspicion, reported…
Controversial EU anti-terror internet regulation TERREG: Civil society protest ahead of plenary vote (25/March/2021)
At the end of April, the European Parliament will vote on the regulation to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online (TERREG). In…
Digital Brief: Digital Green Pass, Irish DPC spat, EUCO data spaces | Euractiv [external] (19/March/2021)
Digital Green Pass raises privacy concerns. The Commission’s plans this week to establish a Digital Green Pass in order to help lift coronavirus…
Digital vaccination certificates: Proposal insufficient regarding data protection and non-discrimination (17/March/2021)
Today, the European Commission presented its draft regulation on digital vaccination and testing certificates to restore freedom of travel in the EU in…
MEPs call for further improvements to the GDPR implementation and strengthened enforcement (16/March/2021)
The MEPS adopted on Tuesday the draft resolution evaluating the functioning of the GDPR and called for effective enforcement, and adequate resources for…
World Day against Cyber Censorship: Don‘t let machines decide on our knowledge and thinking! (12/March/2021)
The Internet used to be considered a place of free expression, allowing for unhindered communication across national borders. Today, these freedoms are being…
EU ministers want EU-wide data retention. Breyer: Never again surveillance state! (12/March/2021)
The great majority of EU justice ministers yesterday once again called a new Europe-wide, suspicionless collection of traffic and location data of the…
Pirates: Commission must rethink vision on COVID-19 vaccine passport (9/March/2021)
The Commission’s plan to introduce a “Digital Green Pass” for EU citizens threatens fundamental rights in several respects. While the European Pirates in…
„Urgently needed“: France, Spain push for new EU data retention law | Netzpolitik [external] (5/March/2021)
In spite of repeated rulings by the European Court of Justice against data retention, a group of EU governments insist that new legislation…
Google whitewashing error-prone “incrimination machines” (25/February/2021)
Member of the European Parliament Patrick Breyer (Pirate Party) accuses Google of misleading the public in a recent communication[1] on its approach to…
Geo-blocking: “The video is unfortunately not available in this country”. (24/February/2021)
The term “geo-blocking” refers to a technique used on the internet to block online content regionally by the provider. Geo-blocking thus means that,…
Controversial EU plans for blanket message and chat control: second trilogue takes place today (23/February/2021)
The second trilogue negotiation between Parliament, Commission and Council on the planned e-privacy derogation, which would allow providers of e-mail, messaging and chat…
A Spanish rapper insulted the King. His arrest became a free speech rallying cry | NBC News [external] (21/February/2021)
and lyrics came back to haunt him, as the anti-establishment musician was imprisoned last Tuesday on charges of insulting Spain’s monarchy and glorifying…
Mass facial recognition is the apparatus of police states and must be regulated | Euronews [external] (17/February/2021)
Naively at best, our governments are setting up the perfect conditions for the anti-democratic mass surveillance of entire populations. Now, Europeans are fighting…
“Reclaim Your Face”: European Citizens’ Initiative against biometric mass surveillance launched today (17/February/2021)
Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer calls for signing the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Reclaim Your Face”. The initiative advocates for a ban on…
Political stand-off over controversial EU e-Privacy directive | Brussels Morning [external] (16/February/2021)
Brussels (Brussels Morning): Last week, the Portuguese EU presidency resuscitated the dormant debate on the protection of privacy and confidentiality in the use…
EU plans for blanket message and chat controls violate fundamental rights | Newseurope.eu [external] (12/February/2021)
An expert assessment published on February 8 by the European Parliamentary Research Service found that the automated screening of private emails and messages…
France ‘got its way’ as Portugal ends e-Privacy deadlock | EU Observer [external] (12/February/2021)
The new regulation also extends confidentiality rules for traditional telecommunications providers, to internet-based services such as WhatsApp or Zoom, and services involving an…
Democratic scrutiny of social media: Let democracy reign the digital age, not corporations and machines! (10/February/2021)
Today, the European Parliament debated the democratic scrutiny of social media and the protection of fundamental rights. The power of social media platforms…
Attack on digital privacy: Council position on ePrivacy does not deserve its name! (10/February/2021)
Today’s agreement by EU governments on a position on privacy in electronic communications (ePrivacy) is met with sharp criticism by MEP Dr. Patrick…
Safer Internet Day: Education is the key for young generations to user the Internet safely, not surveillance (9/February/2021)
On 9 February, the world is celebrating Safer Internet Day (SID). The MEPs of the European Pirates fully support the annual initiative, which…
European Parliament Research Service: EU plans for blanket message and chat control violate fundamental rights (9/February/2021)
The indiscriminate and error-prone automated screening of private emails and messages in search of child pornography and grooming by US corporations such as…
Show documents on public funding for biometric lie detector system, EU lawmaker demands in court | Biometricupdate.com [external] (8/February/2021)
A lawsuit to force the European Union’s Research Executive Agency (REA) to release documentation for the funding of a trial of face biometrics-based…
Transparency lawsuit on secretive EU sci-fi surveillance research: Judges question non-disclosure (5/February/2021)
Today, the European Court of in Luxembourg heard a case brought by MEP and civil liberties activist Patrick Breyer (Pirate Party) against the…
Data Protection Day: Pirate MEPs present 7 privacy tools for daily use (28/January/2021)
Happy Data Protection Day! This international day was established in 2007 in order to raise awareness for how our personal data is used…
Act now: Unprecedented EU plans to indiscriminately screen private correspondence online (27/January/2021)
The EU wants private e-mail, messaging and chat conversations to be screened for suspicious content generally and indiscriminately. On the eve of tomorrow’s…
Dating apps and videoconferencing could be monitored in new EU data rules @euractiv [external link] (25/January/2021)
Dating apps and videoconferencing tools could come under the scope of new EU efforts to monitor online communications in a bid to stamp…
Data transfers to the US and insufficient cookie information: noyb files complaint on behalf of six MEPs against the European Parliament (22/January/2021)
Today, noyb files a complaint against the European Parliament on behalf of six MEPs – including Patrick Breyer of the Pirate Party. The…
Privacy complaint targets European parliament’s COVID-19 test-booking site | Techchrunch.com [extern] (22/January/2021)
The European Parliament is being investigated by the EU’s lead data regulator over a complaint that a website it set up for MEPs…
EU Parliament under fire over ‘illegal US data transfers’ from COVID website | Euractiv [extern] (22/January/2021)
European Parliament services are coming under pressure from a group of lawmakers working with privacy activist Max Schrems over allegations that the institution’s…
Chat control: Suspension of Facebook‘s „incrimination machine“ protects the innocent and supports law enforcement! (22/January/2021)
The number of EU Facebook users reported to the police for allegedly sharing illegal depictions of minors declined by 46% (from 1,100 a…
Pirates: Flawed report on artificial intelligence recommends use of error-prone technology in judicial procedures and public spaces (20/January/2021)
Today, Members of the European Parliament will vote on a report by the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) on artificial intelligence (AI) in…
Controversial EU anti-terror internet regulation TERREG adopted: Freedom of expression and press in danger (12/January/2021)
Last night the European Parliament’s Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) adopted the regulation to prevent the dissemination of terrorist content online (TERREG).[1] Committee Member…
Transparency lawsuit against secretive EU sci-fi surveillance research: date for court hearing set (5/January/2021)
With a supposed “video lie detector”, the EU has funded the testing of “artificial intelligence” on travellers. The technology claims to detect deception…
Mass screening of electronic mail: Facebook suspends controversial ‘incrimination machine’ (4/January/2021)
Member of the European Parliament Patrick Breyer (Pirate Party) welcomes the decision by Facebook to suspend the error-prone mass screening of all private…
Pirates: New Digital Services Act (DSA) is disappointing (15/December/2020)
Today, the European Commission presented the Digital Services Act (DSA), proposing the biggest revision of internet rules in 20 years. The DSA will…
Digital Brief, powered by Facebook: Indian disinfo, French data fines, Romanian CyberSec | Euractiv [extern] (11/December/2020)
on in November, revealing that large gatekeepers that violate Digital Service Act rules will lead to fines up to 6% of their total…
New cross-border online terrorist content rules sparks rights concerns | Euractiv [extern] (11/December/2020)
EU lawmakers from the European Parliament and the Council signed off on new rules to police online terrorist content Thursday (10 December), in…
Scepticism at plans to turn Europol into EU-wide law enforcement agency | Brussels Morning [extern] (10/December/2020)
Brussels (Brussels Morning) The European Commission aims to turn Europol , the EU’s police cooperation agency, into a law enforcement agency with real…
TERREG regulation on deleting terrorist content adopted (10/December/2020)
Today, the final trilogue negotiations on the TERREG regulation concluded. The results are a major threat to fundamental rights in the EU with…
Sci-fi surveillance: Europe’s secretive push into biometric technology [extern] (10/December/2020)
Millions in EU science funding is being used to develop new tools for policing and security. But who decides how far we need…
Scepticism at plans to turn Europol into EU-wide law enforcement agency | Brussels Morning [extern] (10/December/2020)
Brussels (Brussels Morning) The European Commission aims to turn Europol , the EU’s police cooperation agency, into a law enforcement agency with real…
Europol and counterterrorism: Commission calls for biometric mass surveillance and attacks encryption (9/December/2020)
Today, the European Commission presented new proposals for the reform of Europol and a strategy to combat terrorism. Europol has just been reprimanded…
Europol reform and counter-terrorism agenda must protect people, preserve rights | GreensEFA [extern] (9/December/2020)
The European Commission presented, on 9 December, two new proposals, on the revision of Europol’s mandate and the new counter-terrorism strategy. Saskia Bricmont…
The Risks of Discrimination of Biometric Mass Surveillance – Watch the Recording (8/December/2020)
We need to talk about biometric surveillance technologies Throughout the European Union, governments are experimenting with highly intrusive systems of facial recognition and…
“Denunciation machine”: EU Parliament supports mass surveillance of e-mail, messengers and chats (7/December/2020)
Today the European Parliament’s Civil liberties Committee voted to restrict the ePrivacy Directive which aims at protecting private communications. The Parliament accepts for…
The European Pirates in favor of whistleblowers’ protection and support of Julian Assange (26/November/2020)
On Tuesday, the European Parliament voted on the Report on the situation of fundamental rights in the European Union 2018-2019. The Pirates supported…
Call for “self-empowerment of Internet users“ (26/November/2020)
Digital experts are calling for taking control away from excessively powerful Internet companies and placing it in the hands of the users themselves.…
