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Deutsch: Entwicklerrechte schützen!

The European Parliament is preparing to discuss the European Commission's proposal on a draft Directive on Attacks Against Information Systems. EDRi-member Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has submitted its remarks urging the legislators not to create legal woes for researchers who expose security flaws.

EFF is concerned with the Commission's attempt to criminalize what it determines to be attacks on information systems. EFF believes the text is largely duplicative of the Convention on Cybercrime, which itself is riddled with problems.

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Deutsch: ACTA & die Entscheidungen zu Netlog und Scarlet/Sabam – was wir ...

There has been a great degree of noise around the recent Netlog/Sabam ruling from the European Court of Justice and what this may prove or disprove about ACTA. This article will seek to separate fact from fiction.

In both cases, Sabam had asked for an injunction requiring suspicionless and open-ended filtering of citizens' use of Internet services (web hosting for Netlog and peer-to-peer networks for Scarlet), paid for by the Internet service provider.

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Deutsch: ENDitorial: EU-Entwurf zur Datenschutzverordnung – Französische Dat...

The French CNIL was one of the first national Data Protection Authority (DPA) to react to the publication, by the European Commission, of its Data Protection Framework Proposal on 25 January 2012.

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Deutsch: Roadmap der Kommission für die Überprüfung der Urheberrechtsrichtli...

The European Commission recently published a "roadmap" to the review of the Directive on Intellectual Property Enforcement (2004/48/EC). As it is becoming traditional, the Commission neatly mixes up all kinds of infringements, from dangerous fake medicines to illegal downloads and seeks a "one size fits all" solution.

What better way to raise awareness on private policing on the Internet than to organise a workshop in the European Parliament and let the stakeholders answer the question: "Self-regulation: Should online companies police the internet?" On 7 December 2011 MEP Marietje Schaake organized, with support from EDRi, an event on this issue.

On 8 December, the Council of Europe launched a very important Declaration on "the protection of freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association with regard to privately operated Internet platforms and online service providers." The text picks up many of the themes and priorities of EDRi's study, published in January of this year, on the "Slide from Self-Regulation to Corporate Censorship".

The text explains that "although privately operated, they are a significant part of the public sphere through facilitating debate on issues of public interest; in some cases, they can fulfil, similar to traditional media, the role of a social "watchdog" and have demonstrated their usefulness in bringing positive real-life change".

In the context of the positive obligations o

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Deutsch: Zwei Jahre Stockholm Programm: Europa auf dem Weg zu einer elektronisc...

It has been two years now since the Stockholm Programme - a 5-year plan for Justice and Home Affairs - was adopted. On 24 November 2011, an experts' and activists' round table, organised in the European Parliament, raised the question whether Europe was on its way to an e-Fortress.

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Deutsch: EU-US Gipfel: Gemeinsame Erklärung missachtet Europäische Bürgerrec...

A common statement issued at the EU-US summit that took place on 28 November 2011 at the White House in Washington included several aspects with direct impact on digital civil rights that shows the US have succeeded again in obtaining what they wanted, while the European Union representatives have failed to protect the EU citizens fundamental rights, especially the right to privacy.

The statement clearly states that while the PNR agreement was negotiated, there is still no deadline for an