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Surveillance

Technological progress in the last few decades have made monitoring, tracking and profiling techniques easier, cheaper and more accurate. As a result, surveillance has increased in both the public sector (for law enforcement purposes and public security for example) and in the private sector (for targeted advertising for example). These practices can profoundly affect how individuals think and act, as well as other personal rights (such as freedom of expression or association). Any form of surveillance is an intrusion on the fundamental rights to the protection of personal data and to the right to privacy.  It must be provided for by law and be necessary and proportionate.

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28
Aug
2020

EDPS comments on draft Implementing Regulation amending Implementing Regulation 2015/2447

Formal comments of the EDPS on the draft Implementing Regulation amending Implementing Regulation 2015/2447 as regards formats and codes of common data requirements and certain rules on surveillance

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21
Jan
2020

EDPS-Civil Society Summit 2020

The EDPS-Civil society summit is an annual meeting between the EDPS and civil society organisations organized to discuss the state of data protection and privacy in the EU.

The 2020 edition will focus on a number of issues relating facial recognition, biometric surveillance technologies and its effects on activists
in the EU.

The Summit is part of Privacy Camp 2020.

Register here.

You can follow the event on our Twitter account and participate in the conversation using the hashtag #PrivacyCamp20.

19
Mar
2018

2017 Annual Report - Data Protection and Privacy in 2018: going beyond the GDPR

The GDPR is an outstanding achievement for the EU, its legislators and stakeholders, but the EU's work to ensure that data protection goes digital is far from finished. The majority of the world population now has access to the internet, while tech giants now represent the six highest valued companies in the world. With this in mind, in 2017 the EDPS issued advice to the legislator on the new ePrivacy Regulation, as well as pursuing his own initiatives relating to the Digital Clearinghouse and Digital Ethics, the latter of which will be the main topic of discussion at the 2018 International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners, co-hosted by the EDPS.

Finalising and implementing a revised version of the current legislation governing data protection in the EU institutions and bodies as soon as possible is also a priority, if the EU is to remain a credible and effective leader in the protection of individuals' rights. The EDPS intends to exercise the powers granted to him in the revised Regulation efficiently and responsibly, in order to ensure that the EU's institutions and bodies set an example for the rest of the EU to follow. For this reason, the EDPS has invested a lot of effort in preparing the EU institutions for the new rules and will continue to do so throughout 2018.  

In 2017, the EDPS also contributed to ongoing discussions on the Privacy Shield and on the free flow of data in trade agreements, which will remain on the EU and EDPS agenda throughout 2018. With the fight against terrorism still a pressing concern for the EU, the EDPS continues to advocate the need to find a balance between security and privacy in the processing of personal data by law enforcement authorities. As the new data protection supervisor for Europol, the EU’s police authority, he is determined to ensure that the EU sets an example in achieving this balance.

 

Full text of Annual Report:
Available languages: English
Summary:
Available languages: Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, Estonian, Greek, English, Spanish, French, Croatian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Maltese, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Finnish, Swedish
E-book (e-pub):
Available languages: English