Data protection and digital regulation developments, collected automatically from 17+ sources.
Get this as an email digestThe Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) today publishes two new documents to assist organizations in the responsible development and deployment of…
Legal intern Suzanne Castillo co-authored of this post. Playstation’s decision to kill physical game discs is the latest attack on our diminishing rights to access and engage with…
Moscow's Federal Security Service is behind the cyber espionage and sabotage campaigns, EU says.
BRUSSELS — The European Union will set a minimum age at which young internet users can access social media without parental supervision, the Commission President announced on…
This post is part 2 in a series about automated content moderation. Read the first post here. When whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked a set of documents from Meta in 2020, among…
In my first weeks as Executive Director of EFF, I’ve been reminded every day how consequential this moment is in determining what kind of future we will have. We are on the edge.…
Companies can more frequently act collectively when entering into contracts with IT providers. This is essential to strengthen their digital autonomy. Furthermore, governments and…
The CNIL invites you to explore a topic or current event related to data protection through a series of webinars. Check out this new episode dedicated to the CNIL’s new health and…
As of August 2, 2026, providers and users of AI systems are required to make it clear when people are interacting with artificial intelligence (AI). On June 10, the European…
Last week, the House voted on the KIDS Act, a disjointed package of legislation that seeks to control Americans’ web browsing and private messaging. The package combines a revised…
Last May, EFF reported that a sheriff’s office in Texas searched data from more than 83,000 automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras to track down a woman suspected of…
Users are always seeking more control over their social networking experience to make it better, whether to improve privacy or enhance flexibility. Interoperability between social…
Business in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) moves with dizzying speed. More powerful models launch regularly, bringing new opportunities and risks. Fresh use cases emerge…
Google owes its existence to the open web, but today, its technological “innovations” have much to do with locking users into a “walled garden.” The latest of these is “reCAPTCHA…
On July 7, 2026, the EDPS adopted guidelines on anonymization and guidelines on data harvesting in the context of generative AI. It also adopted the final version of its…
An employer has the authority to supervise and monitor employees’ work activities and their use of equipment at work. This is a normal and inherent part of the employment…
Brussels, 8 July– During its latest plenary, the EDPB has adopted guidelines on anonymisation and guidelines on web scraping in the context of generative AI. In addition, the…
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) increases the dangers of cyberattacks. There are rising risks of phishing and data breaches. This is the warning issued by the…
The ruling by the General Court strengthens the European Commission’s enforcement of the Digital Markets Act.
Does your organization currently deal with, or will it in the future, deal with the AI Act? And do you have questions, for example, regarding how to comply with this regulation in…
Session description: The rise of the anti-rights movement is accelerating the criminalization of LGBTQ+ people and identity in Africa. In Senegal, the government’s amendment of…
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) has published an advisory notice regarding the processing of personal data in response to signals and reports of…
In the global race to build and dominate the AI industry, it can sure seem like the interests of ordinary people sit last on the agenda. It's just the opposite for EFF. While…
This blog post is part 1 of a 2-part series. The second part sets out recommendations for companies and policymakers.Six years ago—one month into a global pandemic—we argued that…
BRUSSELS — The EU’s biggest lenders should set out how they will tackle risks from cutting-edge artificial intelligence models by the end of October, the bloc’s top banking…
Weather, sports, and dating apps often use your location. But do you know who can access this data and why? The CNIL helps you understand the issues and stay in control of your…
Geolocation has become a key feature of mobile apps. However, the collection and reuse of geolocation data raise significant concerns regarding the protection of personal data.…
Excessive video surveillance, cookies, violations of individuals’ rights, and failure to cooperate with the CNIL: Since January 2026, 23 new penalties have been imposed under the…
A joint statement with civil society organisations and individual signatories is calling on the EU institutions to regulate spyware technologies after the 2026 Citizen Lab…
Access Now joins more than 20 human rights organizations and individuals in condemning Pegasus spyware attack against Stelios Kouloglou, Greek journalist and then-Member of the…
The new photo and fingerprint requirements are designed to stop criminals and visa overstayers — but they have left thousands stuck in line.
The integration of AI into professional practices and the implementation of the AI Regulation are creating new challenges for DPOs and their organizations. To better understand…
This Pride, we’re answering all your digital rights questions in season two of our initiative, LGBT Q&A. You Asked: Is there a way for me to wipe data about me online that could…
The National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties met on Thursday, July 2, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. with the following agenda:
X Corp. should not be able to escape privacy compliance because it changed its name. On May 15, X Corp. filed a petition before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to set aside or…
Gambling operators must reconcile the requirements of the GDPR with their industry-specific obligations. To assist industry stakeholders in this process, the ANJ, in consultation…
Brussels/Frankfurt, 1 July – The EDPB and the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) are working together to bring greater clarity to a question of growing importance for industry…
The European Union has pledged billions to establish itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI). However, there is a significant transparency gap between the…
Following the March 2026 elections, Slovenia's newly appointed right-wing coalition government – led by Janez Janša in his fourth term – has launched an aggressive crackdown on…
Europe is developing a Digital Euro to reduce its reliance on US-controlled payment systems and give citizens a privacy-friendly digital payment option. Epicenter.works and other…
What has the EDRi network been up to over the past few weeks? Find out the latest digital rights news in our bi-weekly newsletter. In this edition: The heat is on
This Pride, we’re answering all your digital rights questions in season two of our initiative, LGBT Q&A. You Asked: I live in the UK, and we have age verification now on a bunch…
The Bitkom Privacy Conference brings together leading privacy experts from supervisory authorities, companies, academia, and start-ups to discuss current regulatory developments…
The first re:publica Vienna brings Europe's leading festival for digital society, politics, technology, and culture to Austria.
On 9 and 10 October 2026, re:publica x New Fall Festival will transform the NRW-Forum and the Ehrenhof in Düsseldorf into a place for exchange about the digital society, politics,…
Marking its 10th anniversary edition, the Brussels Privacy Symposium celebrates a decade of examining, unpacking, and driving substantive data protection scholarship and thought…
Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, the Chaos Computer Club hosts its annual Chaos Communication Congress, a Europe-wide renowned gathering attracting more than 17,000…
The 21st annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, marking the first gathering of the global multistakeholder community since the UN General…
Following a public consultation, the CNIL has published its recommendations on the use by businesses of location data from connected vehicles (cars, bicycles, scooters, etc.). The…
Connected vehicles collect location data to provide certain entertainment- or safety-related services. This information can reveal very personal details about your private life.…
Data Transfers On Monday, the US Supreme Court decided in Trump v. Slaughter that the US Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) may not be independent anymore. Since 2000, the EU has…
You have an expectation of privacy in location data that reveals your movements in the physical world, and even short-term surveillance of these movements is a search subject to…
The Illinois legislature recently passed House Bill 5511, which imposes a sweeping, device-level age-gating framework across nearly all internet-enabled hardware, operating…
In 2025, the EU entered an era of deregulation in which hard-fought digital rights protections are being diluted. With our long-term vision for digital futures in mind, EDRi's…
Ignoring EFF’s warnings about the dangers and impossibility of implementing a new mandate for 3D print surveillance software, the California State Assembly has signed off on…
This is not science fiction. It’s not premature. If towns, cities, states, or the federal government want to act to rein in the emergence of armed police drones and robots, we…
Poke your head into just about any online social network—or any general conversations about internet culture—and you’ll likely find a boogieman: the algorithm. Since at least the…
This Pride month, we’re calling on the dating app Grindr to prioritize LGBTQ+ user safety by making privacy the default across its platform. That means no more sharing personal…
Data protection authorities from the G7 countries met in Paris on June 25 and 26 at the invitation of the CNIL as part of France’s G7 presidency. They adopted a declaration on…
Brussels, 25 June - The EDPB has published an update of the One-Stop-Shop (OSS) case digest on right to object and right to erasure. This project has been developed in the…
A Citizen Lab investigation confirms evidence Russian authorities used Cellebrite tool to hack prominent Russian activist Andrey Pivovarov after the Cellebrite claimed to have…
Within the next week, Congress is preparing to vote on the KIDS Act, a sprawling package of legislation that seeks to control Americans’ web browsing and private messaging. The…
When a car passes an automated license plate reader (ALPR), its plate is captured and instantly compared against a list of vehicles that police are actively looking for or that…
The Federal Communications Commission wants to require telecommunications providers to collect vast amounts of personal information from every person who wants a phone number in…
This week marks four years since Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade’s constitutional protections for people seeking abortion care. Anniversaries…
Seeking transparency and accountability in Paraguay’s use of facial recognition, EFF, the Association of Technology, Education, Development, Research, Communication (TEDIC), and…
Time and time again, researchers have found numerous compromised Android devices for sale at large online retailers like Amazon. When these devices get individually reported, we…
On June 25, 2026, Aleid Wolfsen was appointed Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau. He received this special decoration from Claudia van Bruggen, State Secretary for Justice and…
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens) has compiled a list of types of processing for which a 'data protection impact assessment' (DPIA) is not…
Sold to the public as a foreign surveillance tool, Section 702 is the law has let intelligence agencies spy on millions of Americans’ private conversations without a warrant.…
Victims of personal data breaches are receiving emails offering assistance in having their information removed from the internet. The CNIL urges caution regarding these…
During Privacy Research Day on June 24, 2026, the CNIL and Inria awarded the 2026 Privacy Protection Prize to a team of international researchers for their paper on the…
This page lists the CNIL's public information (documents, videos, open data).
During Privacy Research Day on June 24, 2026, Gabriel Lima, Gustavo Gil Gasiola, Frederike Zufall, and Yixin Zou received the 2nd CNIL/EHESS Prize for their paper on the…
Brussels, 24 June – The EDPB has launched a dedicated contact form for stakeholders to report possible inconsistencies in how the GDPR is interpreted across Europe. This…
GDPR Policy For years, users and many companies have been complaining about cookie banners. Even though this understandable frustration is mostly caused by misleading dark…
On 23 June 2026, 13 civil society organisations – including EDRi – launched “Make It Real: Calls to Action for a Flourishing and Just Digital Europe”, a publication outlining…
When electronic voting is to be used in civil service union elections, the voting system must undergo an independent audit. In this context, the audit reports must now be…
Brussels, 22 June - Since its establishment in 2018, the core mission of the EDPB has been to uphold and safeguard the right to data protection. Over the years, the EDPB has…
This week, politicians in the UK pushed forward with plans to eviscerate privacy and free speech on the internet by announcing a ban on social media for users under 16 that is set…
This week, EFF joined Foxglove, Human Rights Watch, and 60 other organizations in writing to the UK’s Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum, Alex Norris, raising…
Digital technology offers opportunities to grow your business, but it also comes with risks regarding the security of the data you hold, whether it is personal (customer and…
The Commission’s Digital Omnibus proposal reopens an important debate on ePrivacy and how choices are made when browsing the internet. With this leaflet, we cut through the jargon…
The launch of LatamGPT, a natural language processing system built by and for Latin America, prompts us to analyze where we stand and what steps we should prioritize in this…
The Trump administration’s approach to AI safety, particularly the generative AI models that regularly grab headlines, has been haphazard at best. At worst, it’s unconstitutional.…
Late last year, as part of our annual “Year in Review” series, we summarized our efforts providing digital privacy and security advice to at-risk communities. OPSEC trainings…
Court records belong to the public. Yet anyone seeking access to federal court filings through PACER, a government software system that stands for Public Access to Court…
Last week, Senators Ted Cruz and Ron Wyden introduced the Justice Against Weaponized Bureaucratic Overreach to Networked Expression, or JAWBONE Act. The bipartisan legislation…
This Pride season, join EFF and the Queer Arts Collective in building a creative space at the intersection of digital justice and artistic expression. We’re looking for fresh,…
EFF is grateful for SerpApi’s generous support, helping us fight for your rights to speak and access information online. SerpApi has been giving to EFF every year since 2018, and…
With no serious debate, including on proposed amendments, Canada is blazing full speed ahead with Bill C-22, which would threaten encryption and increase surveillance. Also known…
The National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties met on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. with the following agenda:
We, the undersigned civil society organizations, condemn in the strongest possible terms the cyberattack on the World Food Programme (WFP) that took place on May 14, 2026,…
The NO FAKES Act is supposed to target harmful AI-generated impersonations. But in reality, it will make it easier to suppress commentary, satire, and other lawful speech. That's…
The ability to access publicly available information using automated tools is a central value and benefit of a free and open internet. Automated access—often called crawling or…
After 26 years, today is my last day at EFF. It's been a terrific and wild ride — the organization has grown from a tiny band of fighty people trying to plant a flag for freedom…
LGBTQ+ communities are facing an escalating wave of censorship and targeted surveillance, but we can push back through mutual solidarity. Join us live to learn how safer virtual…
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, are deeply alarmed by the rapid militarization of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. AI systems embedded into military…
As AI-accelerated warfare is rapidly becoming a means of rubber-stamping killing at unprecedented speed and scale, Access Now, Amnesty International, and more than 200 civil…
Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act lets US intelligence agencies collect communications from foreigners abroad without a warrant, and routinely sweeps in…
Brussels, 12 June – As of today, coordinated supervision of the European Union’s asylum and migration database (Eurodac) will be carried out by the Coordinated Supervision…
Corporations harvest and monetize ever-growing amounts of our personal data, such as our browsing history and physical location. One bitter fruit of this poisonous tree is known…
Last June during Pride, we launched a new initiative—LGBT Q&A—where we answered your most pressing queer-related digital rights questions on EFF’s Instagram and TikTok accounts.…
What do EFF staffers Sarah Chen, Javier Morales, Caitlin Chin, Emma Rodriguez, and Mikko Kopponen have in common? For one thing, they don’t exist. For another, all have been…
On 7 May 2026, EU institutions reached a final deal on the AI Omnibus, a file presented as technical simplification of the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). In practice, the…
Brussels, 10 June – During its latest plenary, the EDPB met with Michael McGrath, Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection. In addition, the…
Across the country, surveillance companies have spun a vast web of tens of thousands of license plate cameras. The people selling this tech want you to believe that it's for your…
Enshittification isn't just a sweary word to describe the accelerating decay of the online platforms, apps, and services that we rely on. It's a framework for understanding the…
For months now, Congress has been kicking the ball down the road—temporarily postponing the expiration of the mass surveillance authority Section 702 of FISA in hopes that some…
In a voice vote earlier this week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6028, the “Legislative Branch Agencies Clarification Act.” The legislation is presented as a technical…
Several U.S. states are pushing to ban young people from social media entirely. This marks the latest wave of censorship bills masquerading as “children’s online safety” measures,…
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to consider and vote on the Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act (NO FAKES). Instead of targeting the real privacy…
Credit Scoring CRIF is one of the largest credit reference agencies in Austria. It has built up a largely unknown "shadow registry" containing the names, dates of birth and…
Just days after a damning WIRED report exposed that Meta had quietly embedded facial recognition technology (FRT) code into millions of phones, the tech giant has quietly…
On a warm June evening in San Francisco, attorneys and other legally-minded friends of EFF gathered for our 18th Annual Cyberlaw Trivia Night, an annual test of tech-related legal…
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) received over 13,500 complaints and tips regarding potential violations of privacy legislation in 2025. The number of complaints rose by…
Last year during LGBTQ+ Pride month, we launched an LGBT Q&A where we answered your most pressing digital rights questions on EFF’s Instagram and TikTok accounts. Ahead of LGBT…
The internet is an essential resource for young people and adults to access information, explore community, and find themselves—both inside countries and across continents. Yet…
Update, June 8, 2026: Following widespread public scrutiny and WIRED’s critical reporting, Meta has stripped the unactivated facial recognition code from its latest Meta AI app…