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Despite compromising hearing, Cecilia Malmström gets green light to become EU Trade commissioner
The E.U.’s current Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, was confirmed this morning as Commissioner for Trade during a vote in the International Trade (INTA) Committee of the European Parliament. This vote follows a hearing that took place on Monday September 29th during which Members of the European Parliament (MEP) questioned the Commissioner-designate for three hours. …
2 October 2014
Blog
NGOs and industry join forces in an open letter sent to the Council of Ministers on Net Neutrality
Today, Access together with several NGOs, consumer groups, and industry representatives sent an open letter to the Council of the European Union, calling for Telecoms ministers to support strong net neutrality rules in the E.U.. The Council is currently reviewing the proposal of the Telecoms Single Market Regulation, voted on by the European Parliament in April. …
1 October 2014
Press Releases
Access sends open letter to Commissioner Malmström seeking clarifications on claims from yesterday’s hearing
In an open letter sent today to Commissioner Malmström, Access requests the Commissioner-designate for Trade for immediate feedback on the aspersions she placed on the validity of the acquired document during yesterday’s hearing in the European Parliament.…
30 September 2014
Press Releases
Document shows Commissioner Malmström secretly working with the U.S. to undermine data protection regulations
The former Home Affairs Commissioner has been systematically undermining the work of her own commission, and would be unfit to defend EU citizens’ interests as Trade Commissioner.…
28 September 2014
Blog
Big brother’s little helper inside the European Commission
Through a Freedom of Information Request, Access has acquired an important document that sheds light on the Home Affairs department of the European Commission’s relationship with the U.S. administration on the EU Data Protection Reform effort.…
27 September 2014
Blog
Blanket data retention: Law enforcement wants it, but they don’t need it
On April 8, 2014, Europe’s highest court, the ECJ, released a long-awaited decision on the controversial Data Retention Directive, confirming what we all knew: the blanket surveillance mandated by the Data Retention Directive is neither necessary nor proportionate.…
15 September 2014
Blog
Civil Society Groups Set the Record Straight on “Right to be Forgotten”
On September 9, Access, together with a coalition of 10 European and international digital rights groups submitted a letter to the Google Advisory Council to set the record straight about the so-called “right to be forgotten” and to address misrepresentations of a recent European Court of Justice ruling. …
10 September 2014
Press Releases
Civil Society Groups Set the Record Straight on “Right to be Forgotten”
A coalition 11 European and international digital rights groups submitted a letter to the Google Advisory Council to set the record straight about the so-called “right to be forgotten” and to address misrepresentations of a recent European Court of Justice ruling.…
9 September 2014
Blog
EU Commission takes note of NGO letter highlighting DRIP’s violations of EU law
This month, the European Commission responded to a letter sent on behalf of 21 digital rights organisations – including Access, Foundation for Information Policy Research (FIPR), EDRi, Initiative für Netzfreiheit, AKVorrat, and EFF – outlining several violations of E.U. law in the passage of the Data Retention and Investigatory Powers Act (DRIP) in the United Kingdom.…
22 August 2014
Blog
Commission seeks praise for its work on CSR in public consultation
For the past four months, the European Commission has been conducting a public consultation on corporate social responsibility (CSR) to which Access responded. Unfortunately, we found little to praise in the Commission’s efforts on CSR thus far, and have many qualms with the limited consultation process. …
21 August 2014