Policy Observatory
The Finnish parliament decided to continue the expert hearings for the citizens’ initiative on an update to the copyright legislation. The initiative is called “Common Sense For Copyright” and its goal is to correct exaggerated interpretations of the current copyright laws, especially regarding network monitoring and compensation.
Between 15th-19th of September, in the week leading up the first year anniversary of the 13 Necessary and Proportionate Principles, EDRi, the EFF and the coalition behind the Principles will be conducting a Week of Action explaining some of the key guiding principles for surveillance law reform.
The Court decision highlights the urgency of reform. The ruling on the right to be forgotten is a milestone in the enforcement of European citizens' fundamental right to data protection. The Court had to step in and take a stance because Europe lacks modern data protection rules that are fit for the internet age.
The recent ruling by the European Court of Justice on the right to be forgotten does not give the all-clear for people or organisations to have content removed from the web simply because they find it inconvenient. Far from it. It calls for a balance between the legitimate interests of internet users and citizens' fundamental rights. A balance that will have to be found in each case.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has reauthorized the NSA program for another 90 days at a request from the government. The order expires on 27 February 2015. However, President Barack Obama announced reforms to the program earlier this year, including a plan to stop NSA from collecting and holding the data from operators in bulk.
Obama instructed that other than in an emergency, phone metadata could only be queried after a judicial finding that there was a reasonable, articulable suspicion that the selection term was linked to an approved international terrorist organization. The two changes to the program have been made since February this year, according to officials.
Last month, the USA Freedom Act ran into difficulties in the Senate, and could not be moved towards a final vote. The setback could delay any NSA reform until next year.
The Spanish Senate just approved the new Intellectual Property Law Reform, including the new AEDE tax in its 32.2 article.