About: Jan Philipp Albrecht
MEPs outraged over Zuckerberg’s EU Parliament show
Tensions soared between a handful of leading MEPs and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg as the 34-year-old billionaire avoided answering detailed questions on the company’s data policies during a meeting in the European Parliament on Tuesday evening (22 May).
After Facebook scandal, MEPs argue the GDPR isn’t enough
The EU needs more legal safeguards to prevent massive privacy breaches like the current scandal over Facebook and British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, MEPs from different political parties argued on Wednesday (18 April).
EU hopes to avoid 1,500 deaths per year with eCall system
From 31 March, all new cars will have to be equipped with the new European eCall device, which automatically calls 112 in the event of a serious traffic accident
Privacy crusader Schrems starts NGO to bring more tech firms to court
The Austrian lawyer whose lawsuit toppled the infamous safe harbour data sharing agreement with the United States has set up an NGO focused on bringing more privacy cases to court.
MEPs push cyber security rules as ‘political message’ before EU overhaul
MEPs are pressuring the European Commission to propose new cyber crime rules on hacking vulnerabilities, encryption and information sharing between EU countries, ahead of a legal overhaul planned for September.
MEPs adopt new laws to stop foreign fighters at EU borders
Lawmakers strongly voted in favour of new anti-terror legislation on Thursday (16 February), in a move to prevent further attacks as the ones carried out in Paris and Brussels in the past two years.
Europe’s rude awakening to big data politics
To many in the Brussels bubble, the big data revolution came as a rude awakening, with revelations of mass-scale eavesdropping by US intelligence. Although EU policymakers have now embraced the economic potential of big data, privacy fears are never far in the distance
Parliament asks Commission to renegotiate Privacy Shield
The European Parliament has asked the Commission to reopen negotiations with the United States and shore up gaps in the Privacy Shield agreement.
Activists wary of ‘data super-authority’ Europol as reform looms
EU police agency Europol wants to track down and delete terrorist propaganda on the internet and have the practice enshrined in EU law. Data protection activists are sceptical. EURACTIV’s partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.
Parliament approves privacy rules after record number of amendments
MEPs approved new EU privacy rules today (14 April), including a regulation on consumer privacy that drew the aggressive ire of lobbyists during its four-year run through negotiations in the European Parliament.
MEPs approve PNR, strengthen data protection
After a series of delays and setbacks, MEPs today (14 April) adopted the controversial European air passenger data directive, though even its supporters accept it is no silver bullet for the EU’s fight against terrorism.
Flight data deal is a reason for UK to stay in the EU, says Tory MEP
Timothy Kirkhope, the British MEP shepherding the controversial passenger name records (PNR) bill through the European Parliament, has named security one of the main reasons for the UK to remain in the EU.
Not so bad: 5 laws the EU nailed down in 2015
Brussels is frequently criticised for wasting time and resources, from banana bends to dim energy-saving lightbulbs. But, this past year, the EU adopted some legislation that benefitted German citizens. EURACTIV Germany reports.
EU data protection reform may promise more than it delivers
Implementing the biggest shake-up to Europe's fragmented data protection laws in two decades may fail to provide companies with the consistency and simplicity that had been promised across the 28-nation bloc.
EU strikes deal on strict new data protection reform
EU negotiators wrapped up talks on a major data protection reform last night (15 December) that will tighten privacy laws and determine how companies handle consumers' personal data.
Tech industry goes for last minute appeal on data protection
Tech industry groups are making a last ditch effort to sway negotiators who have vowed to wrap up talks on data protection regulation this month.
‘Safe Harbour 2’ doesn’t need change on surveillance, top US official insists
A top US State Department official has rebuffed critics who argue that Europe can only seal a new data sharing deal if US laws enabling electronic surveillance are changed.
MEPs fire back at Commission for ‘bad lawmaking’ on Safe Harbour
MEPs in the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Committee lashed out on Monday (12 October) against the European Commission for agreeing to the now-invalid Safe Harbour data sharing deal between the EU and the US.
EU data privacy reforms speed up
Justice and home affairs ministers today (9 October) reached an agreement on the EU data protection directive in a meeting in Luxembourg. The directive will frame how law enforcement agencies in Europe share personal data across borders but negotiations with the European Parliament will be hard-fought.
Irked tech companies set out ‘red lines’ on upcoming privacy law
A group of large tech companies published a list of 'red lines' they say the data protection regulation now in negotiations risks overstepping.
EU legal advisor brands Safe Harbour data sharing with US illegal
An ECJ advocate general issued an opinion this morning (23 September) calling the EU-US Safe Harbour data sharing agreement legally invalid.
Passenger name record law passes first hurdle in Parliament
The European Parliament's Civil Liberties and Justice Committee approved the first EU passenger name record (PNR) bill today (15 July), two years after that same committee rejected an earlier draft of the data sharing law for flight passenger information.
Amnesty International: Surveillance exploding in Europe
There's a worrying trend towards increased surveillance in Europe, says Amnesty International adviser Tanya O'Carroll.