Human Rights

BBC: UK Prepares to Change Course on 5G Kit Supplier Huawei

July 15, 2020

UK ministers have decided, just six months after agreeing that Huawei would have a limited role, that the Chinese company will be excluded in the future, with no new 5G equipment installed from next year.
ECtHR: Attending a Demonstration is Not Proof of Membership in Terrorist Organization

July 14, 2020

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favor of a Turkish citizen who was convicted on terrorism-related charges for attending, on four different occasions, demonstrations for the pro-Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a recognized terrorist organization, going against the original ruling citing the individuals right to freedom of expression.
Activists Challenge Moscow's Use of Facial Recognition Surveillance at ECtHR

July 11, 2020

Activist Alyona Popova and politician Vladimir Milov have lodged a complaint at the European Court of Human Rights over Russia's use of facial recognition technology during protests, an action their lawyer explained will be the first case in the ECtHR challenging the use of such technology to conduct mass surveillance.
Politico: EU Privacy Enforcer Faces Scrutiny

May 27, 2020

According to Politico.eu, European Union ("EU") data protection officials are concerned about the slow start and early restructuring of Ireland's Data Protection Commission, which, due to the presence of Silicon Valley companies' international headquarters in Dublin, is at the vanguard of the enforcement of the EU's tough privacy standards.
Switzerland Supreme Court Rejects Climate Change Lawsuit

May 27, 2020

Finding that it is too early to claim fundamental human rights violations based on climate change, the Supreme Court of Switzerland has denied an appeal by the Senior Women for Climate Change Protection alleging that Switzerland's government was failing to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions in a way that would correspond with the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global warming well below 2ºC.
Britain Ready to Reject EU Demands on Human Rights Laws

March 04, 2020

According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, Britain is preparing to reject EU demands to guarantee that the country will continue to be bound by European human rights laws once the UK becomes fully independent.
Slovakia Parliament Rejects Women's Rights Treaty

March 03, 2020

Slovakia lawmakers have voted to reject the so-called Istanbul Convention, an international treaty adopted by the Council of Europe in 2011 in a bid to fight violence against women throughout Europe.
Turkey Threatens to Send Syrian Refugees to Europe

March 02, 2020

Frustrated by the failure of leading European nations to intervene in recent military attacks across the Turkish border in Syria, the Turkish government is threatening to send its increasing number of Syrian refugees on the path toward Europe.
Germany Proposes Further Regulation of Online Content

February 19, 2020

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has approved a law that forces social media platforms to proactively report illegal content such as death threats or incitement of hatred to law enforcement authorities.
Facebook Faces Continued EU Scrutiny

February 19, 2020

According to Politico, in a number of high-profile meetings with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, European Union officials urged Facebook “to clamp down on widespread misinformation on its global platform” and “to take greater responsibility for the role that the social networking giant plays in people’s daily lives.”