The online surveillance by the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) of non-German nationals when not in Germany is unconstitutional in its current form, the German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe has decided.

With digital security threats on the rise as the world grapples with COVID-19, encryption is more important than ever. This global webinar series featuring world-leading security and technology experts will explore how encryption is a critical tool helping people and countries navigate a global health crisis. You’ll learn about dangerous proposals that threaten our digital security, and how we can encourage governments and the private sector to pursue policies that enhance, strengthen and promote the use of strong encryption practices to protect citizens everywhere.

eco draws up a 6-point catalogue of requirements from the Internet industry for the strengthening of Europe as a digital location

eco Chair of the Board Oliver J. Süme assesses the current plans for an obligation to notify for the operators of social networks critically, seeing them as being insufficiently thought through.

eco Comments Final Report of German Data Ethics Commission

The G7 Summit is taking place in Biarritz from 24 to 27 August 2019. The last meeting of the G7 interior ministers saw them commit to encouraging Internet companies to establish exceptional access solutions for encrypted content. The eco Association, together with ISOC, has now written an open letter criticizing the onslaughts on encryption by governments worldwide and, in a background paper, elaborates on the global challenge at the center of the encryption debate.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) is today re-negotiating whether companies may transfer personal data to the US. In this context, the ECJ wants to clarify whether the EU-US Privacy Shield agreement achieves an adequate level of data protection.

Last Thursday, the ECJ ruled that the “Gmail” service should not be treated as a telecommunications service under European law, thus foiling the plans of the German Federal Network Agency to subject web services to the provisions of the German Telecommunications Act.

eco, together with representatives of German and European industry, academia, and civil society, criticizes in an open letter the plans of the German Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) for wanting to legally oblige providers of messenger services to retroactively alter end-to-end encryption.

Oliver Süme, eco Chair of the Board, warns against renewed discussions on European information and retention obligations for the Internet industry: “Any policy to revive blanket data retention is not an option, in any form whatsoever.”