Policy Observatory
Home
About
News & Views
Suggest
Startups
Privacy
Data retention legislation in Europe
Personal data breaches
Personal data security
Intellectual Property Rights
Basic Intellectual Property Legislation
EU Orphan Works directive implementation
Internet blocking or filtering following IPRs enforcement measures
Internet Governance
European ccTLDds Management
European actors in Internet Governance discussions
Net Neutrality Policies
Policy Overview:
Overview
Country
IG
IPR
Privacy
Global
World Wide Web Consortium abandons consensus and decides to standardize DRM
September 19, 2017
Canada's top court backs order for Google to remove firm's website from global searches
June 29, 2017
Wikipedia blocked in Turkey
May 2, 2017
more »
The fight for patent-unencumbered media codecs is nearly won
January 8, 2018
US court grants ISPs and search engine blockade of Sci-Hub
November 6, 2017
Should robot artists be given copyright protection?
June 26, 2017
more »
New U.S. CLOUD Act is a threat to global privacy
February 7, 2018
Facebook beats privacy lawsuit in U.S. over user tracking
July 3, 2017
Global civil society groups call for suspension of the EU-US Privacy Shield
March 3, 2017
more »
EU
Leaked document: Does the EU Commission really plan to tackle illegal content online?
September 21, 2017
European Commission fines Google for abusing dominance
June 27, 2017
MEPs back end-to-end encryption for all citizens
June 20, 2017
more »
EU Council legal services unclear about censorship filters
October 18, 2017
Civil society calls for the deletion of the #censorshipmachine
October 16, 2017
Leaked document: EU Presidency calls for massive internet filtering
September 6, 2017
more »
EU court rules against Facebook class action
January 25, 2018
MEPs votes on e-Privacy
October 20, 2017
European court halts retention, bulk transfer of passenger data
July 26, 2017
more »
Ireland
Web Summit in Ireland and tax loophole
November 9, 2014
iCloak gadget aims to boost Internet Privacy
July 17, 2014
Irish Broadband providers ordered to block illegal streaming sites
April 25, 2017
Ireland: 6.25 percent corporate tax on intellectual property
November 15, 2014
Irish court reviews U.S. surveillance developments
June 9, 2017
Irish police phone tapping undermines citizens’ rights
May 31, 2017
US government asks to join key EU privacy case on transatlantic data flows
June 14, 2016
more »
Spain
Catalonian website on independence referendum shut down after judge ruling
October 2, 2017
Spanish police raid .Cat domain name registry offices
September 20, 2017
Spanish Constitutional Court kills the Catalonian digital tax
July 25, 2017
more »
Spanish Guardia Civil blocks access to 23 webs that provided movie downloads
February 20, 2018
Spain is removed from the US content piracy blacklist
May 3, 2017
Spanish Supreme Court rejects the request of the content creators industry to be compensated for digital canon
April 26, 2017
more »
Spanish Data Protection Agency fines Whatsapp and Facebook for sharing and processing personal data without consent
March 19, 2018
Spanish Court recognizes an individual's right to be forgotten against Google
November 28, 2017
Spanish DPA fines Facebook 1,2 million euro
September 11, 2017
more »
Lithuania
No items.
No items.
Firsts conference on data protection in Lithuania
October 11, 2016
Safe Harbor decision and possible consequences for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
October 27, 2015
Malta
No items.
Malta and China sign MoU on intellectual property
July 8, 2015
Malta - a new Intellectual Property Hub
November 24, 2014
Orphan works directive implemented into Maltese law
November 7, 2014
No items.
Belgium
Belgian regional parliament asks for suspension of TTIP talks
November 3, 2015
Belgian coalition demands suspension of the TTIP negotiations
July 2, 2015
Brussels Court of Appeal: the word ‘ius’ is descriptive and can not be registered as a trade mark
February 23, 2015
EU Commission to keep watch on Belgium’s rights-harming, disproportionate Passenger Name Record system
February 27, 2017
Facebook wins privacy case against Belgian data protection authority
June 29, 2016
Belgian court orders Facebook to stop tracking non-members
November 10, 2015
more »
Italy
Italy proposes regulation for government hacking
May 4, 2017
Censorship in Italy: Child protection is the excuse again
October 19, 2016
AVMSD Refit or Reform? Audio Visual Media Services in the Digital Era
September 12, 2016
more »
Towards the end of the monopoly of SIAE?
June 6, 2016
Operation against IPR violation promoted by FIEG
March 30, 2016
The Guardia di Finanza blocked 87 pirate websites
March 25, 2016
more »
Italy extends data retention to six years
November 29, 2017
Italy plans to extend telecoms data retention and increase censorship powers
August 1, 2017
Google meets Italy's demands on data use practices
July 29, 2016
more »
Austria
New law speeds up recall of "spying hardware"
April 11, 2017
Austrian parliament urges action against illegal surveillance
March 20, 2015
Austrian Internet users to pay for intransparent web blocking scheme
March 11, 2015
more »
Austria refers Facebook ‘Hate-Speech’ case to the CJEU
January 30, 2018
France: 13 million in damages awarded for linking to downloadable copyright works
July 31, 2017
Google News Spain closes after AEDE tax approval
December 18, 2014
more »
CJEU hate speech case: Should Facebook process more personal data?
January 24, 2018
Success Story: A win on Austrian surveillance legislation
October 18, 2017
Proposed surveillance package in Austria sparks resistance
February 8, 2017
more »
Slovakia
No items.
No items.
The Slovak Constitutional Court cancelled mass surveillance of citizens
April 30, 2015
Bulgaria
The process of drafting a Cybersecurity Act commenced
February 16, 2018
Cybersecurity policies will be part of the updated Strategy for National Security
December 14, 2017
Bulgaria improves access to Open Government Data and its re-use with further legislative measures
August 6, 2016
more »
Amendments in the Bulgarian Copyright and Neighboring Rights Act
January 26, 2018
Bulgaria: Website blocking of 39000 unlicensed literary works ordered by the cybercrime division
December 15, 2017
Personal data breach of 10.000 students, parents and teachers in Bulgaria
December 20, 2017
Key amendments to the Electronic Government Act passed by the Bulgarian Parliament
July 4, 2016
e-ID will soon be available to Bulgarian citizens after the adoption of an Electronic Identification Act
May 11, 2016
more »
Portugal
No items.
Portugal passes bill to restrict use of DRM
April 17, 2017
Portugal becomes 8th contracting state to formally ratify the Unified Patent Court Agreement
September 4, 2015
Voluntary agreement against copyright infringements
August 12, 2015
more »
Portuguese Government authorizes sound recordings using public surveillance cameras in Lisbon
October 3, 2017
Finland
Legal challenges for digital services in Finland
September 22, 2015
Finns show industrial internet expertise at Slush conference
November 21, 2014
Finnish court demands strong proof for copyright infringements
June 28, 2017
Finnish Supreme Court: unauthorized copying of employer's databases and files is a copyright offence
September 21, 2015
Finland’s Citizen Copyright Initiative Fails: A Sad But Necessary Win for Cross-Border Online Copyright Enforcement?
October 17, 2014
more »
Finnish PM urges fast-track of intelligence law
August 22, 2017
Finland: Web service to request verifying of secret registry data
November 5, 2014
Poland
Ceta, Poland and human rights on the agenda this week
October 24, 2016
Poland: Consequences of proposed amendment to Polish Gambling Act for foreign operators
November 17, 2014
Intellectual property
November 25, 2014
Copyright: Commission asks FRANCE, POLAND and ROMANIA to apply EU rules
July 10, 2014
Poland: New project on public institutions’ surveillance practices
November 5, 2014
Poland: Wojciech Wiewiórowski will remain DPC for the second term
August 1, 2014
Netherlands
Dutch NRA: T-Mobile may continue to violate net neutrality
October 18, 2017
Dutch court approves zero rating offer of telecom operator
April 20, 2017
Dutch Smart City strategy under development
March 20, 2017
more »
Premier League obtains injunction in the Netherlands
January 31, 2018
Unauthorized subtitles for movies & TV shows are illegal, Dutch court rules
April 25, 2017
Dutch copyright enforcement body is pushing developers to take down open source software
December 2, 2015
more »
Test at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: quick and easy boarding using facial recognition
February 19, 2018
Corporations use facial recognition for marketing and profiling
February 19, 2018
Dutch police increasingly using facial recognition technology
February 19, 2018
more »
Germany
Federal Network Agency prohibits parts of Telekom’s “StreamOn” service
December 15, 2017
Germany: draft hate crime legislation
June 27, 2017
Internet companies can’t be judges of free speech
April 18, 2017
more »
Coalition agreement of CDU/CSU and SPD asks to consider modern ways of IPR utilization and ancillary copyright for press publishers
February 9, 2018
German opposition calls for abolition of online hate speech law
February 7, 2018
German ‘hate-speech’ law tries to regulate Facebook and others - will it work?
January 3, 2018
more »
Germany: Constitutional complaint against intelligence agency BND
February 7, 2018
WhatsApp security flaws could allow snoops to slide into group chats
January 10, 2018
German DPA prohibits mass data sharing between WhatsApp and Facebook
April 27, 2017
more »
Czech Republic
Czech Republic is closer to blocking of gambling websites
April 20, 2016
Czechs reluctant to implement IDN
June 1, 2015
Digital agenda should be dealt by one agency, advises the National Convent to the Czech Government
May 28, 2015
more »
No items.
Proposal to revoke data retention filed with the Czech Court
January 10, 2018
Czech police want more information on citizens’ digital communication
May 28, 2015
Czech Big Brother Awards shine light on privacy invasions
March 11, 2015
more »
Estonia
Estonia First Country to Offer E-Residency Digital Citizenship
November 15, 2014
New Estonian Presidency “compromise” creates copyright chaos
November 3, 2017
Estonia loves digital – why is it supporting the #censorshipmachine?
September 7, 2017
Estonia same-sex law breaks taboo in former Soviet states
October 9, 2014
Spain is up for UN Human Rights Council country review
January 21, 2015
Estonia First Country to Offer E-Residency Digital Citizenship
November 15, 2014
Hungary
18 year old man arrested for reporting abug in the new Budapest e-Ticket system
July 24, 2017
No items.
No items.
Greece
No items.
New administrative notice-and-takedown procedure in Greece
August 4, 2017
No items.
Sweden
Swedish Supreme Court confirms that domain names constitute property that can be seized by the state
January 13, 2018
The Pirate Bay domains targeted in legal action
February 12, 2015
Crazy Swedish bill makes sharing TV as bad a "crime" as manslaughter
February 21, 2018
Swedish Supreme Court confirms that domain names constitute property that can be seized by the state
January 13, 2018
Founder of fan-made subtitle site convicted for copyright Infringement
September 15, 2017
more »
Sweden accidentally leaks personal details of nearly all citizens
July 26, 2017
The right to be forgotten may apply all over the world
May 9, 2017
Camera spy-drones banned by Sweden’s highest court
October 25, 2016
UK
UK plans age verification for porn websites from 2018
July 17, 2017
Digital Economy Act 2017 — UK Parliament
May 9, 2017
BSG Publishes New Open Internet Code of Practice
May 9, 2017
more »
Open Rights Group response to public consultation on copyright infringement sanctions
August 6, 2015
Over 500 websites blocked by order of UK courts
July 30, 2015
UK online piracy sentences under review
July 18, 2015
more »
Facebook fined for data breaches in Cambridge Analytica scandal
July 11, 2018
Labour bought data on 1m mothers and their children
July 11, 2018
EU judges may be asked to rule on legality of UK surveillance powers
June 5, 2017
more »
Denmark
New Danish law can lead to substantial internet censorship
January 25, 2017
Danish anti-terror proposal expands surveillance
March 11, 2015
Denmark: Another round of website blocking
March 27, 2015
Danish court orders a UK company to block Danish IP addresses
December 3, 2014
Denmark: Targeted ANPR data retention turned into mass surveillance
September 6, 2017
Dutch Senate votes in favour of dragnet surveillance powers
July 26, 2017
Oversight Board report: Illegal surveillance of Danish citizens
July 26, 2017
more »
France
France tables new 'fake news' law
February 5, 2018
France plans internet ombudsman to safeguard free speech
December 19, 2016
Open data: mandatory for local authorities’ data
July 29, 2016
more »
The new French law targeting "automated image referencing services": does EU law allow it?
October 23, 2016
Data mining: the law should not hinder French research
April 25, 2016
Reconciling digital and intellectual property issues
October 16, 2015
more »
French DPA issues formal notice to Microsoft to comply with data protection rules
July 25, 2016
CNIL orders Facebook to stop tracking non-users
February 9, 2016
France approves surveillance bill despite UN concerns
July 31, 2015
more »
Slovenia
Slovenian Internet Governance Forum 2017: public education and awareness are key for the future Internet
October 23, 2017
No items.
No items.
Romania
Romanian National Authority for Regulation in Communications is investigating zero-rating offers
August 9, 2017
FOIA requests for blocking porn websites in Romania
July 28, 2017
Human Rights Court: Romania breached journalist's right to freedom of expression
June 28, 2017
more »
România to define its national position on the EU copyright proposal
January 22, 2018
Copyright Directive discussed in Romania
July 26, 2017
Largest football club in Romania loses its brand in court
December 4, 2014
more »
Human Rights Court sets limits on right to monitor employees
September 20, 2017
New draft law on national e-identity cards in Romania
March 21, 2017
Romania: Mass surveillance project disguised as eGovernment
August 24, 2016
more »