Human Rights

Guardian: Poisoning of Russian Opponent Navalny May Halt Nord Stream 2 Project

September 08, 2020

The future of the largely contested baltic pipeline, Nord Stream 2, may be in limbo, as political rivals, allies and numerous countries, including the United States, are calling on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to end the the nearly completed project between Germany and Russia after the recent poisoning of Russian opposition leader Navalny.
Victory for Google in German Court Over Right to Be Forgotten

July 29, 2020

In the first ruling since the EU's general data protection regulation came into effect in 2018, giving EU citizens the right to demand deletion of personal data, Germany's highest court agreed with lower courts that placed greater weight on the public's right to know than on the right of the two plaintiffs to wipe entries from search results over privacy concerns.
Poland to Withdraw from the Istanbul Convention Due to Controversial Ideologies About Gender.

July 27, 2020

Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro has announced that Poland will begin withdrawing from the European Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the "Istanbul Convention"), on the grounds that it contains "elements of an ideological nature," which the Government "considers harmful."
TechCrunch: Europe’s Top Court Strikes Down Flagship EU-US Data Transfer Mechanism

July 17, 2020

The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has struck down a flagship EU-US data flows arrangement called Privacy Shield citing that “the requirements of US national security, public interest and law enforcement have primacy, thus condoning interference with the fundamental rights of persons whose data are transferred to that third country”.
Davis: Ignore China's Bullying on Huawei 5G Decisions

July 15, 2020

In response to the comment of Beijing's Ambassador to the UK that Britain would "bear the consequences" of not using Huawei's 5G technology, former Tory Cabinet Minister David Davis explains that bullying is a regular part of the Chinese government's playbook.
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.