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Welcome to our last issue before we take a break over the summer. The bulletin will return in early September, but we will continue to publish on our website, and to share news and information on our social media accounts - you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Mastodon and LinkedIn.
In this issue:
- UK “extinguishes” right to asylum
- Digital infrastructure for migration control
- Police plans for massive expansion of data access
And: Campaign in Senegal against Frontex deployment; Key Europol documents only made public following access request; AI Act "trilogue" negotiations must prioritise rights; EU Long-term Residents Directive.
UK “extinguishes” right to asylum
On Tuesday, the UK government’s Illegal Migration Bill passed through parliament and will shortly become law. The UNHCR and UN Human Rights Office have said bluntly that it “extinguishes access to asylum for anyone who arrives in the UK irregularly.” Anyone deemed to have passed through another safe country will be subject to detention and deportation – to Rwanda, if the government has its way.
The passing of the Illegal Migration Bill marks a new low for this government. Attempting to implement it will see them sink even lower: mass detention in what is almost certain to be squalid, unsuitable “accommodation”; the denial of rights to people who are simply seeking safety and a better life; and the continued demonisation of asylum-seekers and refugees, fuelling racism and the far-right.
A statement published to mark the passing of the Bill, signed by representatives of almost 300 organisations (including Statewatch) makes clear that:
“…our fight is not over. As caring people, we will continue to fight for the right for people to seek safety and a better life without being forced to take dangerous journeys and without being punished for how they enter the UK. We will keep holding those in power to account for upholding the UK’s international obligations. We will strive for an asylum and immigration system that treats everyone with dignity and respect. We will stand in solidarity with and fight alongside everyone who makes the UK their home and build a society that treats everyone with compassion.”
The full statement is available here.
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Europe’s techno-borders: digital infrastructure for migration control
Our new report with EuroMed Rights analyses the past, present and future of Europe’s “techno-borders”. This extensive infrastructure of surveillance systems, databases, biometric identification techniques and information networks has been put in place over the last three decades to provide authorities with knowledge of – and thus control over – foreign nationals seeking to enter or staying in EU and Schengen territory.
You can read a summary here and find the full report here. You can also find a recording of the launch event here.
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Within devices, across borders: police data demands
It is by now a cliché to say that data is the new oil. At the risk of wearing out the metaphor, it seems that the police want to fill their tank to the brim.
In two pieces published this week, we examine a UK-EU plan to set up a new international data-sharing system that would encompass the UK, the EU’s 27 member states, Interpol, and be open to other “partners”; and a paper produced by the Swedish police and security service calling for new international standards on police access to digital data – from potentially any connected devices.
The UK-EU plan aims to replace the data-sharing abilities that were provided by the Schengen Information System before Brexit, whilst leaving open the possibility for other non-EU states to participate. More details on the plan should emerge later this year with an EU legislative proposal, but on the face of it there appear to be implications for the rights to protest, to asylum, as well as to privacy and data protection.
The Swedish plan, meanwhile, is a rehash of a 30-year old process that saw law enforcement demands incorporated into international telecommunications technical standards. This time, however, the demands are far broader: whereas in the 1990s and early 2000s there was a focus on mobile telecoms networks, there is now a far, far larger number of devices to which the police would like the possibility of “lawful access” – from phones and computers to cars, watches, televisions, fridges, toys, and much, much more.
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Our reports
EU: Law enforcement data access demands could encompass any connected device
Key Europol documents only made public following access request
UK: Joint civil society statement on the passage of the Illegal Migration Act
EU: Civil society calls for rights to be prioritised in secret AI Act "trilogue" negotiations
“PUSH BACK FRONTEX”: campaign in Senegal targets deployment of EU border agency
Europe’s techno-borders: digital infrastructure for migration control
Tracking the Pact: Latest Council documents on the Long-term Residents Directive
International police data-sharing: what are the UK and EU cooking up?
News
20 JulyEU: Law enforcement data access demands could encompass any connected device
Law enforcement officials are meeting today and tomorrow in Logroño, Spain, to discuss "access to electronic communications and digital data as a premise for law enforcement." The Spanish Council Presidency published a discussion paper prior to the meeting, but a document obtained by Statewatch offers far more information on current plans.
18 JulyKey Europol documents only made public following access request
None of the decisions adopted by the policing agency's management board since the entry into force of the revamped Europol Regulation last summer were made public, in breach of Europol's own transparency commitments, until Statewatch filed an access to documents request.
18 JulyUK: Joint civil society statement on the passage of the Illegal Migration Act
A statement signed by representatives of almost 300 organisations from across the UK, including Statewatch: "We all deserve to live safe from harm. But this senselessly cruel Act will have a devastating impact on people’s lives. It turns our country’s back on people seeking safety, blocking them from protection, support, and justice at a time they need it most."
12 JulyEU: Civil society calls for rights to be prioritised in secret AI Act "trilogue" negotiations
Secret negotiations between the Council of the EU, European Parliament and European Commission on the Artificial Intelligence Act have begun, more than two years after the legislation was proposed. A statement signed by more than 150 civil society organisations, including Statewatch, calls for fundamental rights to be put at the centre of the talks.
10 July“PUSH BACK FRONTEX”: campaign in Senegal targets deployment of EU border agency
A campaign against the deployment of Frontex in Senegal is seeking to halt a proposed agreement between the EU and the West African state and to denounce “how the EU collaborates with our complicit regimes killing people in the Mediterranean and in transit countries.”
10 JulyEurope’s techno-borders: digital infrastructure for migration control
A new Statewatch/EuroMed Rights publication analyses the past, present and future of Europe’s “techno-borders” – the extensive infrastructure of surveillance systems, databases, biometric identification techniques and information networks put in place over the last three decades to provide authorities with knowledge of – and thus control over – foreign nationals seeking to enter or staying in EU and Schengen territory.
7 JulyTracking the Pact: Latest Council documents on the Long-term Residents Directive
The proposed recast of the Long-term Residents Directive aims at "attracting skills and talent to the EU."
Analysis
19 JulyInternational police data-sharing: what are the UK and EU cooking up?
For the last few years, British and European officials have been seeking ways to regain the ability to instantly share police data across borders – an ability that was lost after the UK left the EU at the end of 2020. The plan currently under development is to build a new data-sharing architecture encompassing the UK, the EU and other “international partners,” but substantive details of it are being kept under lock and key. The implications go beyond privacy and data protection, and raise questions about the potential uses of a new system to crack down on the right to protest, as well as the right to seek asylum.
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New material
Asylum, immigration and borders
EUobserver, 19 JulyFrontex set to reduce Greek presence amid abuse probe
“The EU's border agency Frontex may shift some of its resources in Greece towards other regions more in demand.
Although not yet confirmed, EUobserver understands that this was discussed between the Warsaw-based agency and Greek authorities.”
DW, 19 JulyEU border pushbacks: A 'shadow' migration policy?
“The word "pushback" has entered the EU's lexicon along with hundreds of thousands of people who have sought asylum in the bloc since 2015. Campaigners say "pushbacks" are now so systematic, they are de facto policy.”
Balkan Insight, 19 JulyHow Smugglers Bring Migrants into EU Despite Poland’s New Wall on Belarus Border
“The business of smuggling migrants across the Belarusian-Polish border is thriving, despite round-the-clock border patrols and a new wall. A BIRN investigation can reveal how a chain of smugglers and associates operates to bring migrants from outside of Europe, via Russia, Belarus and Poland, and then onto Germany and elsewhere in Western Europe.”
“The Illegal Migration Bill, which has now been passed by Parliament in the United Kingdom, is at variance with the country’s obligations under international human rights and refugee law and will have profound consequences for people in need of international protection, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned today.”
EurActiv, 17 JulyEU to pay Tunisia €785m in 2023 as part of ‘cash for migrants’ deal
“The European Commission will provide €785 million to Tunisia this year as part of its new deal to support the North African country’s economy, intercontinental projects and efforts to curb migration, EURACTIV has learned from a senior Commission official.”
See: Mémorandum d'entente sur un partenariat stratégique et global entre l'Union européenne et la Tunisie
Border Criminologies, 14 JulyMigrant solidarity – no longer a minority sentiment across Britain?
“Whilst the story of these anti-immigration efforts has been told many times, the account of those who have acted in solidarity with migrants has not received systematic consideration over these years. Yet activism against the restrictive direction of immigration policy has always existed and deserves more consideration.
It is time to look at this history again.”
Meijers Committee, 14 JulyComment on legal status of refugees from the War in Ukraine after the end of the current Temporary Protection Scheme
“Experiences with refugees from the war in former Yugoslavia demonstrate that many refugees will, in fact, not return. Legal solutions must therefore be in place for the moment the temporary protection schemes expires. As explained in this comment, any such solution likely requires amending currently applicable EU law.”
ECtHR, 13 JulyDeportation from Sweden to Libya would not be in breach of the European Convention
“The case A.A. v. Sweden (application no. 4677/20) concerned the refusal of the applicant’s 2015 asylum claim and the order to deport him to Libya.
In today’s Chamber judgment in the case the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that:
the applicant’s removal would not be in violation of either Article 2 (right to life) and/or Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Court concluded that the applicant had failed to substantiate that he would be at risk of being killed or subjected to ill-treatment upon returning to Libya, either because of the general security situation or because he had personally been at risk for his alleged affiliation with the Gaddafi regime.
It noted in particular that a ceasefire agreement had been signed in Libya in 2020, while the applicant’s statements as to his personal situation had been inconsistent and lacked credibility.”
BBC News, 13 JulyGreek coastguard 'pressured' disaster survivors to blame Egyptian men
“New evidence found by BBC News casts further doubt on the Greek coastguard's version of events surrounding last month's deadly migrant boat sinking, in which up to 600 people died.
Two survivors have described how the coastguard pressed them to identify nine Egyptians on board as traffickers.
A new video of the overcrowded boat foundering at sea also challenges the Greek coastguard's account.”
European Parliament, 13 JulyEuropean Parliament resolution of 13 July 2023 on the need for EU action on search and rescue in the Mediterranean (2023/2787(RSP))
“3. Expresses its concerns that despite the large number of people rescued in recent years, the IOM has recorded 27 633 persons missing in the Mediterranean since 2014; calls on the Commission to assess current Member States’ practices regarding SAR operations and to start work immediately on a new, more sustainable, reliable and permanent approach to them, replacing existing ad hoc solutions, and to provide material, financial and operational support to Member States in order to enhance the overall capacity for saving lives at sea and coordinating SAR operations;
4. Calls, moreover, on the Member States and Frontex to enhance proactive SAR operations by providing sufficient vessels and equipment specifically dedicated to SAR operations and personnel along the routes where they can make an effective contribution to saving lives; calls on the Commission to support such initiatives politically and financially; calls on Member States to make full use of all vessels able to assist in SAR operations, including vessels operated by NGOs; believes that NGO vessels and merchant shipping should not be a substitute for the due fulfilment by the Member States and the Union of their SAR obligations; calls for the establishment of a comprehensive EU SAR mission implemented by the Member States’ competent authorities and Frontex;
(…)
12. Reiterates that safe and legal pathways are the best way of avoiding loss of life and urges Member States to intensify resettlement measures and, where necessary, put in place humanitarian corridors to the European Union;”
The Guardian, 12 JulyUK: First asylum seekers brought to military base as challenges reach high court
“Ministers’ plans to put thousands of asylum seekers into two military bases have been challenged in the high court, as dozens of people were moved to one of the sites.
West Lindsey district council is challenging the government over the plans to move people into the RAF Scampton site in Lincolnshire, while Braintree district council and a local man, Gabriel Clarke-Holland, are bringing a case over moves to Wethersfield airbase in north Essex, where the Home Office started placing asylum seekers on Wednesday.”
Al Jazeera, 12 JulyFrontex: When great power comes with no responsibility
“If they believed in responsibility, EU member states would spend the hundreds of millions they waste on building walls, investing in surveillance, and turning Europe into an impenetrable fortress instead on helping create a world in which everyone can live safely and with dignity. If they believed in responsibility, rather than introducing more and more draconian measures to deter “undesirables” from reaching the EU, they would focus on saving lives. If they believed in responsibility, instead of pushing refugees into dangerous situations, leaving them drowning in the sea and lost in forests, they would be working to eliminate the conditions that force these people to embark on such dangerous journeys in the first place.”
ECtHR, 11 JulyCase of S.E. v Serbia
“Art 2 P4 • Freedom to leave a country • Refusal to issue a recognised Syrian refugee a travel document for seven years due to absence of regulations implementing domestic asylum law • Authorities’ systemic failure to act in accordance with domestic law • Very essence of right to leave the country impaired
Art 46 • Execution of judgment • Respondent State required to take both individual and general measures to address structural problem • Need for statutory and operational measures to complete legislative framework and implementing regulations providing effective right to leave the country”
Security Architectures in the EU, 10 July“Force majeure”: EU tightens laws for migration defence, with even external borders to be sealed
“With a new regulation, the controversial “border procedures” are to be extended in case of a “mass influx of migrants”. The renewed Schengen Border Code could even partially close off Fortress Europe – an absolute novelty in the history of the EU.”
The Guardian, 10 JulyGreek shipwreck: hi-tech investigation suggests coastguard responsible for sinking
“Attempts by the Greek coastguard to tow a fishing trawler carrying hundreds of migrants may have caused the vessel to sink, according to a new investigation by the Guardian and media partners that has raised further questions about the incident, which left an estimated 500 people missing.”
InfoMigrants, 10 JulyMigrants trapped in Libya: 'I'm determined to try again'
“There are roughly 700,000 foreigners living in Libya, many of them migrants who'd like to make their way to Europe. Some of those who were turned back want to try again.”
Security Architectures in the EU, 9 JulyA letter from hell: EU Commission President outlines new border surveillance for North Africa
“The EU is paying hundreds of millions of euros this year to “partner countries” Libya, Egypt and Tunisia for border surveillance. The announcement came just days after the shipwreck off Pylos.”
EurActiv, 6 JulyExclusive: Libyans fired at rescuers while performing a rescue at sea
“The Libyan coastguard fired multiple times while two boats of the NGO SOS Mediterranée were conducting a rescue of eleven people in distress in international waters on Friday (7 July). The shots came from a vessel that the EU donated to the Libyan coast guard in a ceremony on Thursday (22 June). EURACTIV was on scene.”
EuroMed Rights, 5 JulyTunisie : anatomie d’un refoulement forcé vers la Libye
“Un groupe de 20 migrant·es et demandeurs·ses d’asile venant de l’Afrique subsaharienne a été expulsé vers la frontière tuniso-libyenne (proche de Ben Guerdane) le matin du 2 juillet par des militaires et agents de la garde nationale tunisienne.”
EU Law Analysis, 4 JulyEU cooperation on migration with third countries: Time to address the genealogy of informal agreements in EU migration law
“As the EU makes yet another proposal to cooperate with a third country on containing migrants outside its territory, it is urgent to engage with a critical analysis of the EU externalisation policy and the use of informal cooperation informed by the historical, legal and political context underpinning the EU external migration and asylum policy.”
borderline-europe, 4 JulyStudy: A legal vacuum – the systematic criminalisation of migrants for driving a boat or car to Greece
“The fight against migrant smuggling has been a top priority of European migration policy since 2015, with a vast amount of resources being invested into this policy goal. This study gives new and in-depth insights about the criminalisation of people on the move for "smuggling" in Greece, analysing the current legal framework as well as its practical enforcement. It shows that instead of protecting the rights of smuggled migrants and asylum seekers, these policies criminalise them and expose them to long prison sentences with the accusation of smuggling, all simply for having crossed the border by boat or car.”
European Ombudsman, 3 JulyDecision on how the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) ensures respect of the rights of migrants in 'debriefing' interviews (case 1452/2022/MHZ)
“The case concerned debriefing interviews of irregular migrants conducted by Frontex, notably in the context of the Frontex-Spain Joint Operation Indalo at the Spanish-Morocco sea border. Debriefing interviews seek to gather information from migrants after they have crossed the EU external border irregularly. The information collected is used for risk analysis and the identification of cross-border crime suspects.”
And see: Questioning the interviewers: Frontex’s covert interrogations at the Spanish southern border
Caminando Fronteras, JulyMonitoring the right to life on the western euro-african border: January-June 2023
“…we have investigated the 49 tragedies that occurred on the Strait of Gibraltar routes, the Algerian route in the Western Mediterranean, the Alboran Sea and the route to the Canary Islands. We found an increase in the causes linked to migration control policies, to the detriment of those related to the physical difficulties and risks of the routes themselves.”
ECtHR, 30 MarchCase of J.A. and others v. Italy
“Art 3 (substantive) • Inhuman and degrading treatment • Tunisian sea-migrants detained in hotspot centre for ten days in poor material conditions
Art 5 §§ 1 (f) , 2 and 4 • Arbitrary deprivation of liberty to prevent unauthorised entry into country • Detention without clear and accessible legal basis and in absence of reasoned decision • Applicants not informed of legal reasons of detention • Inability to challenge lawfulness of de facto detention owing to lack of sufficient information
Art 4 P4 • Prohibition of collective expulsion of aliens • Removal to Tunisia without proper regard to applicants’ individual situations when issuing refusal-of-entry and removal orders”
Civil liberties
AWO, 17 JulyAWO analysis shows gaps in effective protection from AI harms
“In March 2023 the UK Government published a White Paper setting out an approach to the regulation of artificial intelligence, and invited feedback through a consultation. In contrast to other approaches (such as the EU’s AI Act), the UK proposes no additional specific AI regulation, instead arguing that “AI is currently regulated through existing legal frameworks”.
AWO’s report ‘Effective protection against AI harms’ raises questions about the Government’s position; gaps exist, which prevent the effective protection of individuals against harms flowing from the use of AI tools.”
UN Human Rights, 12 JulyArtificial intelligence must be grounded in human rights, says High Commissioner
“But in order to harness this potential, we need to ensure that the benefits outweigh the risks, and we need limits.
When we speak of limits, what we are really talking about is regulation.
To be effective, to be humane, to put people at the heart of the development of new technologies, any solution – any regulation – must be grounded in respect for human rights.”
EU Fundamental Rights Agency, 11 JulyHow to better support human rights defenders in need of protection
“Across the world, human rights defenders take action to protect and promote human rights. But many of them face persecution in their home countries due to their human rights work. As there is no common, consistent EU approach, it is often difficult for them to find safety in the EU. Lack of information and obstacles in obtaining visa are some of the main challenges they face, finds an EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) report. More flexible relocation programmes and practical support would help.”
UK Home Office, 11 JulyNational Security Bill becomes law
“This new act brings together vital new measures to protect the British public, modernise counter-espionage laws and address the evolving threat to our national security.
With this new legislation, the UK is now a harder target for those states who seek to conduct hostile acts against the UK, which include espionage, foreign interference (including in our political system), sabotage, and acts that endanger life, such as assassination.”
National Union of Journalists, 10 JulyUK government must not aid US in Assange extradition efforts
“The National Union of Journalists is alarmed to learn that UK police officers have approached British-based journalists, apparently seeking evidence intended to aid the prosecution of Julian Assange.”
LDH, 10 JulyEmpêcher l’accès à la bassine quel qu’en soit le coût humain
LDH statement and report of the observatory on civil liberties and police practices on the mobilisation against the mega-reservoir project in Sainte-Soline (24-26 March 2023).
See: French government steps up repression after bloody battle of Sainte-Soline
International Press Institute, 9 JulyAnalysis: A new global cybercrime treaty risks becoming yet another legal instrument to punish and muzzle the press
“For journalists and rights advocates, much is at stake as UN-member states gather in New York next month to hammer out the final points of a new global treaty to combat cybercrime. The treaty being negotiated could hand authorities far-reaching surveillance and investigatory powers both at home and abroad — and give repressive governments even more tools for targeting and muzzling the press.”
Law
The Guardian, 18 JulyUK: Woman jailed for taking abortion pills after time limit to be freed from prison
“A woman who was jailed for terminating her pregnancy after the legal time limit during lockdown will be released from prison and reunited with her children, after winning a court of appeal effort to reduce her sentence.”
Arrested Lawyers Initiative, 13 JulyNew FIDU report exposes the misuse of anti-terror laws in Turkey
“A comprehensive report released by the Italian Federation for Human Rights today sheds light on the alarming misuse of anti-terrorism and security tools in Turkey, particularly in the aftermath of the attempted coup on 15 July 2016. The report, titled “Perils of Unconstrained Prosecutorial Discretion: Prosecuting Terrorism Offences in Post-Coup Turkey” critically examines the adherence of Turkish prosecutors to domestic standards and international legal obligations in terrorism-related prosecutions/investigations in the post-coup period.”
And see: ‘Arbitrary Persecution’: How Turkey Uses Vague Terror Law to Jail its Critics (Balkan Insight, 13 July)
Military
EUobserver, 18 JulyHow the arms industry wins whether Ukraine wins or loses
“Last week the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP), the latest EU measure framed as a response to Russia's war against Ukraine.
The act provides for faster delivery of weapons to Ukraine, the replenishment of EU member states' arsenals and a €500m 'Ramp-up Fund' to incentivise European arms companies to increase production.
In reality though, the ASAP has little, if anything, to do with supporting Ukraine, and everything to do with guaranteeing the profit-driven interests of Europe's highly-lucrative arms industry.”
Foreign Policy, 9 JulyErdogan’s Long Arm Threatens Kurdish Exiles in Sweden
“While signs of increased collaboration between Sweden and Turkey to counter terrorism date back a few years, the trigger event was the Swedish government’s application to join NATO, driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The decision, formalized in May 2022, put a definitive end to the country’s two-century tradition of neutrality.
A longtime NATO member, Turkey posed a series of conditions for ratifying the request, which must be approved by all the parties of the military alliance. At the top of those conditions was the extradition of people linked to the PKK or the movement of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, which Turkey’s authorities consider responsible for a coup attempt in 2016.
As Swedish authorities began to comply with these requests, listed in a trilateral memorandum signed in June 2022 with Finland and Turkey, its Kurdish residents seemed to pay the highest price.”
Policing
UK Home Office, 18 JulyRenewed counter-terrorism strategy to strengthen UK response
“For more than twenty years, the CONTEST strategy has sought to reduce the threat of terrorism in the UK and to its interests overseas.
CONTEST 2023 sets out the UK’s bolstered approach to a domestic terrorist risk that is once again rising and becoming increasingly less predictable. The updated strategy also addresses a persistent and evolving overseas threat from Islamist groups, and exploitation of technology by terrorists.”
euronews, 17 JulyCommissioner Johannson's response to scientists' online privacy concerns goes after straw men
“On 4 July, we released an open letter criticising the proposed European Commission regulation on the detection of Child Sexual Abuse Material, or CSAM.
This letter was originally signed by more than 300 leading scientists from 32 countries; it now has more than 450 signatories.
Last week, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson issued a response.
This response fails to address the issues raised by the letter — instead, it attacks strawmen.”
InfoMigrants, 12 JulyItaly-Slovenia-Croatia join forces against traffickers
“Italy, Slovenia and Croatia have signed a joint commitment to fight human trafficking to prevent migrant deaths at sea and stem the flow of irregular arrivals at a trilateral meeting held this year in Ancona.”
StopWatch, 11 JulyPublic Order Act 2023 factsheet
“Our factsheet provides the law, the history, and the statistics behind the new stop and search powers under the Public Order Act 2023.”
The Guardian, 8 JulyHundreds gather in Paris to honour black man who died in police custody
“Several hundred protesters gathered in central Paris on Saturday despite an official ban – many wearing T-shirts printed with “Justice for Adama”, in honour of Adama Traoré, a 24-year-old black man who died in police custody in 2016.”
UN Human Rights, 7 JulyStatement on France by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
“The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, CERD, today adopted a statement on the situation in France, expressing its concerns and making a number of recommendations to the State regarding racial profiling and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials.”
UK Home Office, 6 JulyUK: More visible policing and swifter consequences for antisocial behaviour
“From this week onwards, 16 police force areas, including Cleveland, Derbyshire and Northumbria, will be launching either ‘hotspot’ policing initiatives or ‘immediate justice’ schemes. These will see offenders of antisocial behaviour made to wear high-vis vests and repair damage they’ve caused to the community – for example washing police cars, cleaning up graffiti and local parks, or litter picking.”
ECtHR, 4 JulyRussia: Use of facial-recognition technology breached rights of Moscow underground protester
“In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of Glukhin v. Russia (application no. 11519/20) the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been:
a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, and
a violation of Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention.”
Prisons
CPT, 11 JulyCouncil of Europe anti-torture Committee (CPT) publishes report on its 2022 visit to Latvia
“The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has today published the report on its May 2022 periodic visit to Latvia, together with the response of the Latvian authorities. The main objective of the visit was to review the treatment and safeguards afforded to persons detained by the police and the Border Guard as well as the treatment and conditions of detention of persons held in prisons. The CPT also examined the situation of patients held in two psychiatric hospitals.”
Privacy and data protection
The Register, 19 JulyEU gives its blessing to reopen data pipelines to the US
“The European Commission has adopted an agreement with the US, reopening transatlantic data flows between America and EU nations as soon as the decision takes effect on July 11.”
CNIL, 13 JulyAdéquation des États-Unis : les premières questions-réponses
“Le 10 juillet 2023, la Commission européenne a adopté une nouvelle décision d’adéquation constatant que les États-Unis assurent un niveau de protection substantiellement équivalent à celui de l’Union européenne, permettant ainsi, sous certaines conditions, le transfert de données personnelles vers ce pays, sans exigences supplémentaires.”
“In his Opinion delivered on 15th June 2023 in the case Kočner v Europol, Advocate General Rantos argued, among other things, that Europol and an EU Member State might be jointly and severally liable for damages caused by the unlawful processing of personal data.”
Racism and discrimination
The Guardian, 19 JulyCaribbean countries poised to seek UN legal advice on slavery compensation
“Caribbean countries are considering approaching the UN’s international court of justice (ICJ) for a legal opinion on demanding compensation from 10 European countries over slavery, as the fight for reparative justice is stepped up, the president of the group of 33 nations in the region has said.”
UN Human Rights, 18 JulyUN experts urge Tunisia to act swiftly to uphold migrants’ rights
“UN experts* today raised concern about Tunisia’s allegedly discriminatory treatment of sub-Saharan migrants, and urged the authorities to take urgent measures to stop collective expulsions and protect the human rights of all migrants.”
Surveillance
EurActiv, 19 JulyEU Commission mulls rules on algorithmic management in workplace for next mandate
“The European Commission is laying the groundwork for a legislative initiative to regulate the use of algorithms for managing, monitoring and recruiting workers.”
Financial Review, 16 JulyFacebook admits it used app to ‘know nearly everything’ about users
“Meta, the operator of social media platform Facebook, has admitted it used data from software marketed to users as a way to keep their personal data safe as a “business intelligence tool” for its own purposes.”
Al Jazeera, 13 JulyFacial recognition surveillance in São Paulo could worsen racism
“As the city of São Paulo prepares to roll out thousands of surveillance cameras with facial recognition, experts are raising concerns on the indiscriminate use of this technology in the Brazilian megalopolis could exacerbate problems such as structural racism and inequality, while also posing risks to data privacy and cybersecurity.”
euronews, 12 JulyAll eyes on EU: Will Europe’s AI legislation protect people’s rights?
“As the EU’s AI Act moves into the final phase of negotiations, key battles arise for the protection of human rights. The rules on the police’s use of AI technology for surveillance are the heart of the issue, Sarah Chander writes.”
Security Architectures in the EU, 11 JulyDrastic increase in automated searches in SIS II presumably due to number plate recognition
“More than half of all searches in the Schengen Information System now take place without human intervention. A striking increase has been observed since 2018. Many Schengen members have introduced number plate recognition during this time.”
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