07/09/2021, 19:52

The ePrivacy derogation was passed this week, as expected, with an 80% majority in the EU Parliament.

Meanwhile, our objection was heard. Patrick Breyer held up our open letter to the camera during his speech and made visible that e-privacy is just like postal secrecy. Members of the Greens and the Left also spoke out clearly against the proposal, while among the Social Democrats the field is mixed.

For a good reason we ask you to continue to promote this signature list:
In this fall, the case will go into the second round!

Because then the obligatory version of this regulation is on the agenda. What up to now MAY be done on a voluntary basis by some providers (like Microsoft Teams, Google etc.), will then become a MUST for all relevant messengers and services. So, while now you still have fallback options, in the future confidential communication would be forced into illegality. For this reason, subsequent lawsuits can only be expected after this stage, because the plaintiffs can only then claim that they no longer see any room for their privacy.

It is unclear whether a ban or circumvention of encryption will be addressed in a third stage. Considerations exist, but the breach of the constitution is apparently evident here even for many advocates of surveillance.

We will occasionally update you again as compactly as possible. Until then, all the best!

Peder Iblher, Giordano Bruno Foundation