Tomorrow, the EU Court of Justice will determine whether the national Data Protection authority can conduct an independent assessment of a decision in the so-called Schrems case, which deals with Facebook’s transfer of user data between its subsidiary in Ireland and the parent company in the United States. …
5 October 2015
Earlier this month, negotiators from the United States and the European Union reached a preliminary deal on the so-called Umbrella Agreement. The Umbrella agreement is a transatlantic deal that sets standards for protecting personal data when it is transferred for law enforcement purposes. Notably, these rules do not apply to the transfer of commercial or employee data by companies like Google, Apple, Facebook, or Verizon. These companies must abide by a separate set of rules, the data sharing agreement called the Safe Harbour principles (see our recent press release on the Safe Harbour).…
24 September 2015
The U.S. government does not protect the privacy rights of non-citizens beyond its borders. That’s the message it will deliver at the U.N. Human Rights Council tomorrow in its official response to the 348 recommendations received during the second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the U.S. human rights record in Geneva.…
23 September 2015
Today Yves Bot, Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), released his opinion in the EU-US Safe Harbor case, which addresses a controversial transatlantic data sharing agreement. Advocate General Bot recommends that the Court rule to recognise the duty of national data protection authorities to conduct independent assessment of the Safe Harbor in light of evidence of abuses brought by the Snowden’s revelations. Based on a large number of hearings, AG Bot considers European Commission’s earlier decision, holding that the protection of personal data in the United States is adequate, to be invalid.…
23 September 2015
Negotiators from the United States and the European Union recently reached a preliminary deal on the so-called Umbrella Agreement, a transatlantic deal that sets standards for protecting personal data when it is transferred for law enforcement purposes. However, one key hurdle remains before the agreement will get sign off: the U.S. must grant a right to remedy for E.U. citizens who suffer privacy violations. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. will follow through on providing that protection, and whether it will be meaningful enough to meet E.U. standards.…
10 September 2015
In late July, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the “Smart Borders” package, a programme of the EU Migration Agenda that poses a serious risk for the fundamental rights to privacy and data protection. While the EU must take urgent action to improve its treatment of refugees and other migrants, this package of proposals would adversely impact the privacy of everyone living in or traveling to Europe.…
25 August 2015
On Monday, July 20th, the U.S. State Department held a consultation with civil society to discuss the recommendations that the U.S. received during a U.N. review of its human rights record. Access participated remotely, and asked representatives of the Obama Administration to accept 16 recommendations regarding the right to privacy and unlawful surveillance. The recommendations include conducting a review of U.S. national laws and policies in order to ensure that all surveillance of digital communications is consistent with international human rights obligations.…
21 July 2015
On Wednesday, July 15, Access took the floor at a UN event to discuss candidates for the Human Rights Council. In response, six out of eight participating candidate countries echoed the importance of prioritizing the right to privacy at the Council.
…17 July 2015
Today the European Parliament’s trade committee is expected to decide whether to give the European Commision carte blanche to continue negotiations on a mechanism that would make it easier for foreign corporations to influence legislation in Europe. …
29 June 2015
Since last February, the civil liberties committee of the European Parliament (LIBE) has been discussing a legislative proposal for airline passenger data sharing called the EU Passenger Name Record Directive (EU-PNR). As negotiations proceed, Access and EDRi are contacting members of the LIBE Committee to remind them not to make the same mistake that the EU did in adopting the Data Retention Directive: passing legislation that violates fundamental human rights. …
3 June 2015