Human Rights

EU Data-Protection Group Studies Social Media Policies

May 21, 2018

The Working Party 29, an association of national data-protection authorities in Europe, has announced its creation of a Social Media Working Group to develop a long-term strategy on how authorities should respond to the collection and misuse of personal data by tech companies.
EC Seeks to Mandate Biometric ID Cards

May 18, 2018

Reuters reports that the European Commission (EC) has issued a proposal that would require national governments to include their citizens' fingerprints on the identification cards they issue, as a measure aimed at preventing terrorism and transnational crime in the EU.
UK Judge Defines Businessman's "Right to Be Forgotten"

May 18, 2018

The Guardian reports that a British judge recently ordered Google, under EU law, to remove information about the conviction of a businessman in the 1990s for conspiracy to intercept communications, finding the tech giant must respect his "right to be forgotten" because he had shown remorse for his actions and was unlikely to repeat the crime.
Experts Deride EU Plans for "Electronic Person" Status

May 16, 2018

A group of experts has published a letter to the European Commission characterizing the body's plans, under pressure from a European Parliament report, to publish a proposal establishing a new legal status of "electronic persons" as "ideological and nonsensical and non-pragmatic" and as a breach of human rights law.
CoE Body: Europe Must Coordinate Approach to Migrants

May 10, 2018

In a recent report on the status of Italy's efforts in rescuing and supporting migrants arriving via the Mediterranean Sea, the Council of Europe's (CoE) Committee for the Prevention of Torture asserts that there is a human rights-based "need for a co-ordinated European approach and support system to address the phenomenon of mass migratory arrivals."
FRA Warns of Migrant Pushbacks at EU Borders

May 08, 2018

The EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has published a report warning that the "pushback" of migrants at EU member state borders is a "growing concern" and a potential violation of the global right of refugees to apply for asylum.
NGO Calls on ECtHR to Allow Right to Sue in Foreign Courts

May 07, 2018

Amnesty International has criticized a ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) refusing to recognize a right of an alleged victim of torture in Tunisia to seek damages in a Swiss court, arguing that the decision would lead to "impunity" and "deny justice to thousands of survivors."
CoE Body Seeks Repeal of Ukrainian NGO Reporting Rules

April 26, 2018

The Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's (CoE) advisory body for constitutional matters, has called on Ukrainian lawmakers to repeal or limit new financial disclosure requirements for nongovernmental organizations and activists due to their interference with the right to association and their potential chilling effect on civil society activity.
CoE Issues Guidelines on Media "Pluralism"

April 20, 2018

The Council of Europe's (CoE) Committee of Ministers has launched new, "comprehensive" guidelines on how CoE member states should promote media "pluralism" and how they should develop regulations that require transparency in the ownership of media platforms.
ECtHR Rules Against "Formalistic" Russian Judgment

April 19, 2018

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) recently held that a Russian court had violated an appellant's right of access to a tribunal by engaging in a review of his request to reopen a time-barred appeal that the ECtHR considered to be "excessively formalistic" and a "rigid interpretation of domestic law."