Human Rights

Politico: EU's Ability to Implement Privacy Law is in Doubt

December 31, 2019

Writing in Politico, Nicholas Vinocur details how, more than 18 months after the European Union began implementing its model General Data Protection Regulation, lack of enforcement actions and weak cooperation on investigations raises doubts about the EU's ability to reign in Big Tech.
European Commission Communicates a European Green Deal

December 16, 2019

The European Commission has set out a European Green Deal for the European Union (EU) and its citizens, which the Commission describes as “a new growth strategy that aims to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy where there are no net emissions of greenhouse gases in 2050 and where economic growth is decoupled from resource use.”
EU FRA Publishes Guide for Preventing Unlawful Profiling

December 16, 2019

As technological developments have triggered an increased use of profiling in a wide range of contexts by law enforcement and border management officials, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights has published a guide that explains what profiling is, the legal frameworks that regulate it, and why conducting profiling lawfully is necessary to comply with fundamental rights.
Venice Commission and ODIHR Lower "Imminent Violence" Standard for Restrictions on Freedom of Assembly to "Real Risk of Violence" Standard

December 10, 2019

Lowering the standard contained in Paragraph 139 of its 2019 Guidelines on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly recommending that proscribing freedom of assembly on public order grounds must involve "an interest in preventing imminent violent conduct or other conduct creating serious infringements of public order" (a standard comparable to U.S. First Amendment jurisprudence), in Paragraph 78 of a recent joint Opinion, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the "Venice Commission") and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights ("OSCE/ODIHR") opine that "restrictions on content of public assemblies should only occur if there is a real risk of violence or an incitement to violence or other serious threat to public order which cannot be otherwise mitigated and prevented."
Venice Commission Explains Standard for Ukraine's Adoption of State Language Laws

December 10, 2019

In a recent Opinion, the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the "Venice Commission") explains that, in adopting State Language laws impacting the linguistic rights of minorities, Ukraine must comply with applicable international instruments and, to avoid discrimination, must base any distinction among languages on an objective and reasonable justification that pursues a legitimate aim, is proportional to the aim sought to be realized, and falls within a margin of appreciation that will vary according to the national circumstances, the subject matter, and the background.
Social Economy Enterprises: Social Economy Can Address “Ecological Emergency and Social Crisis”

December 04, 2019

Participants in the 4th European Day of Social Economy Enterprises emphasized that the social economy “may be the only viable alternative to a model of production and consumption that threatens the survival of the planet and exacerbates social inequalities, by putting the values of equality, social justice and sustainable development at the core of the economic model.”
New Report Contains Negative Assessment of EU SDG Efforts

November 25, 2019

According to an independent qualitative report assessing the progress of the European Union toward achieving the UN's 2030 Sustainable Development Goals ("SDGs"), every country in Europe is failing against global sustainability targets, a result that is sparking calls for EU political leaders to urgently draw up an ambitious plans to address climate change, pollution, biodiversity and overconsumption across the bloc.
Electronic Frontier Foundation: Second Additional Protocol to Budapest Convention Poses Privacy Concerns

November 25, 2019

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has expressed concern about a proposed Second Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe's Budapest Convention, a major international treaty on cybercrime, that seeks to make it much easier for police in one country to get users' data from companies in another country, typically foreign Internet companies and Internet Service Providers.
European NHRIs Meet to Promote Human Rights-Based Approach to Economic and Social Policies

November 20, 2019

At the Annual Conference of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions, European National Human Rights Institutions ("NHRIs"), regional and international organizations, and civil society organizations met to discuss the role and relevance of NHRIs in the realization of social and economic rights in Europe and to encourage a human rights-based approach to economic and social policies and reforms at the national and European level.
Council of Europe Expert Committee Examines Human Rights Impacts of Algorithmic Systems

November 20, 2019

The Council of Europe expert committee on human rights dimensions of automated data processing and different forms of artificial intelligence has finalized recommendations on the human rights impacts of algorithmic systems.