CDT has signed a joint open letter together with other civil society organisations expressing concern over the European Commission’s copyright proposal, in particular its upload filter obligation provision. Article 13 of the proposal forces internet intermediaries to use content identification technology to prevent users from uploading unlicensed copyrighted content. This is a dramatic erosion of the liability protections in the E-Commerce Directive and would negatively impact the free speech of citizens who would see their content blocked even if it is a legal use of copyright content under a copyright exception.
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CDT joined in filing an intervention with the French High Court today, arguing that the CNIL’s order for Google to apply delisting of search results globally under the EU’s “Right to be Forgotten” is a dangerous move that imperils freedom of expression and access to information online.
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On July 8th, CDT submitted a third party intervention (amicus brief) to the European Court of Human Rights in the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Alice Ross v. United Kingdom case. The journalist applicants challenged the United Kingdom’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, Tempora program, and surveillance practices generally. They argued that blanket surveillance had a chilling effect on their profession, and did not satisfy the Court’s standards for compatibility with Articles 8 (privacy) and 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights. CDT drew attention to similarities to US surveillance practices, which undoubtedly fail to satisfy the Court’s standards, and argued that the receipt of US intelligence alone makes the UK’s practices incompatible with the Convention.
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CDR submitted the a letter to Commissioner Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumer, and Gender Equality in the European Commission. The letter addresses the recently announced Code of Conduct for “illegal” hate speech online.
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Following the 2014 decision of the Court of Justice of the EU to strike down an EU-wide mandatory data retention scheme because it breached privacy rights, the national data retention laws of a number of EU Member States have also come under scrutiny. CDT and Privacy International have now intervened in a case against France to argue that the country’s sweeping data retention requirements violate EU law, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights.
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