Policy Observatory

Citizens’ Security Bill demands to keep ID records

Fri 1 Aug 2014, 18:32

On 11 July 2014, the Spanish Council of Ministers adopted the Bill on the Protection of Citizens’ Security. The Government’s proposal has been strongly criticised. Restrictions to the freedoms of assembly and expression in protests received a lot of attention in the media, but EDRi says some provisions of the bill have barely been discussed. Measures which have been overlooked in the media include Article 25, which would oblige cybercafés and similar establishments to keep records of their clients’ IDs because these establishments “exercise activities which are relevant for citizens’ security”.

Tags: data retention, surveillance, Internet, Free, Wifi, Spain, Bill on the Protection of Citizens’ Security, proposal, law, cybersecurity, access

Criticism to the Republican net neutrality proposal

Wed 21 Jan 2015, 23:00

A Republican net neutrality proposal in the U.S. Congress would not fully protect broadband customers because it would prohibit the Federal Communications Commission from enacting new rules against selectively blocking or throttling traffic, critics said Wednesday. The Republican draft legislation would kill the FCC’s ability to act on schemes that prioritize some traffic over others, witnesses told a congressional committee. The proposal “would strip the county’s expert communications agency of authority to protect consumers on the communications platform of the 21st century,” said Jessica Gonzalez, executive vice president of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Tags: net neutrality, consumer protection, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), broadband, criticism, proposal

Access comments the EU revised proposal on airline passenger data sharing

Tue 21 Apr 2015, 14:40

On 26 February 2015, MEP Timothy Kirkhope presented to the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) a revised draft of the European Union Passenger Name Records proposal (see revisions here).

Unfortunately, this latest revision to the PNR proposal doesn’t make many improvements when it comes to protecting private information. To make matters worse, several MEPs have proposed extending this type of data collection to other means of transport. This reinforces our concern that adoption of the PNR proposal could lead to the normalisation of mass surveillance, spreading to other areas of EU citizens’ personal life.

Tags: flight data, passenger name records, EU PNR proposal, anti-terrorism, fundamental rights, LIBE Committee, mass surveillance, personal data, privacy, EU, proposal, revision

Trade secrets could undermine fundamental rights

Fri 19 Jun 2015, 12:40

The European Parliament’s Legal Affairs committee on Tuesday voted on draft legislative proposals on the protection of trade secrets. The European Commission states that its proposals were necessary because of the need to harmonise rules across the EU, without creating new intellectual property rights.

Despite the statements, Julia Reda believes that this new legislation would introduce substantial changes into European law, which currently does not protect trade secrets. While the member states have national legislation regarding the protection of trade secrets, their definition of what can be considered a trade secret is often much more narrow. The adoption of the European directive could therefore significantly broaden companies‘ abilities to keep certain information away from the public eye.

Tags: EU legislation, IPR, fundamental rights, vote, proposal, trade secrets

Privacy groups criticize latest EU data protection proposals

Tue 16 Jun 2015, 12:46

The EU's Justice Council yesterday agreed on a definitive proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation that would replace the old 1995 Data Protection Directive.

Privacy campaigners have dismissed the latest proposal for new pan-European data protection laws as “meaningless”, saying the rules will not strengthen individuals' rights over their personal information.

Tags: proposal, fundamental rights, privacy, Internet, GDPR, EU, data protection

ICANN meeting report: new domains process under review and names proposal for IANA transition ready

Sun 28 Jun 2015, 17:20

Experts at last week’s meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in Buenos Aires reached a milestone with a final proposal from the ICANN working group for the transition of internet control away from the United States. But global governance without oversight remains difficult, as the ongoing review of the introduction of new generic top-level domains aptly illustrates.

Tags: proposal, Internet Governance, review, new gTLDs, policy, Internet, IANA transition, ICANN meeting