Policy Advisor at @edri
Digital rights (all of them and for all)
Usual caveats
📅 February 26, 2025 | 12:45 - 1:45pm CST
Join EDRi’s @itxaso alongside Thobekile Matimbe, Dionysia Peppa & Franco Giandana Gigena, as they explore how to reimagine privacy and data protection beyond individual rights. This discussion will examine how existing frameworks fail to address collective harms, the structural inequalities reinforced by data-driven systems, & strategies to empower vulnerable communities against commercial & state surveillance.
@ilumium Not just that. They aim to rely on Legitimate Interest as a legal basis without adhering to the criteria established by the GDPR. This includes disregarding the required three-step process—where we know data minimisation and purpose limitation play a crucial role—and falsely framing compliance with GDPR rights as part of the balancing exercise to serve as safeguards. Alarmingly, this narrative is gaining traction, posing significant risks.
OK so the tech #industry now calls for the abuse of people's data for #AI training to be allowed under legitimate interest as legal basis under #GDPR. They really have no shame.
Quote: "The training of AI models should be able to rely on a legitimate interest basis, as provided for in the EU’s data protection regime GDPR, #IBM’s Chief Privacy Officer Christina Montgomery told Morning Tech."
@jim (apologies for the delay)
@DaraghOBrien @neil it will, indeed, I am afraid!
@jim No input from DPAs, EDPB was ‘just’ a moderator (imposing the framing, though) + the presentation of takeaways from the event was abysmal.
Thrilled by the Italian DPA fine on Glovo for violating GDPR and Labour Law. Kudos to the investigative team whose reverse engineering set a new standard for accountability. This case shows the power of intersectional digital rights advocacy, protecting workers and vulnerable groups from data-driven exploitation. It’s a call to hold companies accountable EU-wide and beyond, fighting discriminatory systems and championing justice for all. https://algorithmwatch.org/en/glovo-tracking-riders-location-infringements/
I attended the EDPB event on #PayorOkay models and left deeply concerned. The discussion lacked acknowledgment of data protection as a fundamental right and ignored clear GDPR principles making the model unlawful. Instead, it conflated ads with core services, sidelining fairness and rights. Surveillance ads harm individuals and society, yet their ‘value’ is overstated. We must reclaim the debate: data protection is key to human dignity and a rights-respecting digital future.
9/9 👎🏽 Overall, this hearing did NOT deliver the democratic scrutiny we were hoping for - our takeout had more spice 🌶️🌶️🌶
8/9 The biggest loser of the night was arguably the planet, with "clean & green" being the new buzzwords 🌎
The appetite for more data & more processing was clear, with markets put ahead of climate goals.
"Innovation" is built on the graveyard of climate justice 🪦
7/9 Despite a push, we also missed out on strong commitments to protect digital and technological fundamentals like #encryption, the #GDPR or the #OpenInternet (#NetNeutrality) 😬
6/9 #HumanRights & #democracy were missing in action, with most MEPs not even considering this relevant to Virkkunen's portfolio.
We need a vision for tech that centers justice and people, not bits and bytes ✊🏽
5/9 Still keeping our fingers crossed that Virkkunen's commitment to the protection of minors is as balanced, holistic and as super, as she hyped it to be #SuperTuesday for minors🤞
4/9 The focus on the enforcement of the Digital Services Act #DSA was a silver lining ⛅️ to an otherwise CLOUD-y hearing when it comes to #DigitalRights topics ☁️
3/9 Deregulation will be the order of the day with Virkkunen.
Important #HumanRights-based digital rules may be slashed in the name of "innovation" and fighting "red tape" ❌
2/9 Apparently #AI, quantum and chips will save the world 🙄 - but only if the EU pours huge amounts of money into the pockets of companies 💸💸💸
(of course, no mention of money for public services 🤷🏽♀️)
1/9 After 3+ hours of a fairly predictable hearing of future Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen yesterday, here are our key takeaways about implications for our #digital #HumanRights ... 🧵
Round of applause for 'progress' (no): #Meta, offers the EU a discount on #PayOrOkay and a 'less personalised' ad option—while still processing personal data without consent. Some institutions may cheer this as a win for data protection and competition, but it feels more like a cleverly priced workaround. When will regulators and legislators see through these superficial fixes and demand real compliance and digital rights protections? https://about.fb.com/news/2024/11/facebook-and-instagram-to-offer-subscription-for-no-ads-in-europe/
Keynote confirmed:
We are proud to announce that Ella Jakubowska, head of policy at EDRi, will join the opening of Freedom Not Fear 2024 as keynote speaker on Friday!
@ella @edri
We are looking forward to reconvene in Brussels for #FNF24 this weekend November 8-11.
You can find a preliminary programme here:
https://freedomnotfear.org/2024/preliminary-programme
#FreedomNotFear
