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Hungary’s new biometric surveillance laws violate the AI Act
This blog post is a legal analysis of new legislation in Hungary that uses facial recognition technology in a manner that violates the EU Artificial Intelligence Act.
HCLU AND THREE PARTNER ORGANISATIONS INTERVENE IN THE POLISH PEGASUS CASE BEFORE THE ECHR
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, together with three other human rights organisations – Data Rights France working at the EU level, the Greek organisation Homo Digitalis, and the Spanish (Catalan) organisation Irídia – has intervened in the case of Brejza v. Poland, currently before the European Court of Human Rights. These organisations are connected by the fact that they all operate in countries where the Pegasus spyware has been misused to surveil political opponents, journalists, and human rights defenders. Their intervention aims to present the Court with the serious human rights consequences of spyware abuse and to assist in establishing appropriate legal standards.
Data-protection-based (GDPR) SLAPP cases in Hungary - HCLU’s report is now available
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU, in Hungarian: TASZ) has been addressing data protection (GDPR) -based SLAPP issues for several years. GDPR based SLAPP cases are legal proceedings, where influential individuals try to stifle journalism with the misuse of data protection. We represent numerous affected editorial offices and actively participate in the dialogue on the anti-SLAPP directive at the European level. It is our primary aim to learn as much as possible about this new phenomenon, and to use this knowledge to facilitate meaningful dialogue between the relevant stakeholders.
According to the latest Freedom House report, internet is "partly free" in Hungary
Internet freedom in Hungary continues to decline. Hungary enjoys high levels of overall connectivity and relatively affordable internet access. While there are few overt restrictions on content in Hungary, the government continues to consolidate its control over the telecommunications and media landscape. During the coverage period, the political opposition experienced significant cyberattacks during their primary elections. Additionally, Parliament extended a “state of danger,” akin to a state of emergency that was originally enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The government also blocked state-owned Russian websites in response to a European Council regulation following the invasion. Additionally, the government admitted to purchasing spyware technology, which was allegedly used to target journalists and lawyers.
Pegasus case: HCLU takes coordinated domestic and foreign legal action
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) is
taking legal action on behalf of six of its clients before the Hungarian
authorities, the European Commission, the European Court of Human
Rights in Strasbourg and in Israel. The organisation aims to expose the
practice of unlawful secret surveillance, to have international fora
declare that the Hungarian regulation of secret information gathering
violates fundamental rights and to prevent politically motivated abuses.
Surveilled but not consulted: Citizens living under constant technological surveillance
Increasingly, and almost always without social debate, facial recognition systems are being used by states to monitor and track their citizens. Inadequate regulation violates fundamental rights, while technological inaccuracies reinforce discrimination. On Data Protection Day, the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO) published its report summarising international experiences, in cooperation with the HCLU – as the problem also affects Hungary.
GDPR weaponized – Summary of cases and strategies where data protection is used to undermine freedom of press in Hungary
Recently, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (hereinafter: HCLU) has represented multiple media outlets in GDPR based civil and administrative procedures in which the right to data protection was invoked to repress the freedom of press.
NGOs in 9 EU Countries Request Information and Impact Analyses of Covid-19 Tracing Apps
Human rights organizations in nine EU countries, members of the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) network, are simultaneously filing freedom of information requests to their national authorities regarding the new contact-tracing, symptom-tracking and quarantine-enforcing applications introduced to control the spread of Covid-19.
Hungarian government plans to enforce encryption backdoors
According to an action plan to fight terrorism being drafted by the Hungarian Ministry of Interior, a person using a service providing encrypted communication could be imprisoned for up to two years.
Judicial Warrants Are Required for Government Surveillance
The Strasbourg court’s decision in a case from Hungary declares once and for all that uncontrolled government surveillance is incompatible with European human rights standards.
NGOs Reject "Safe Harbor 2.0," Urge EU and US to Protect Fundamental Rights
Leading human rights and consumer organizations have issued a letter to urge the US and the EU to protect the fundamental right to privacy.
NGOs Reject "Safe Harbor 2.0," Urge EU and US to Protect Fundamental Rights
Leading human rights and consumer organizations have issued a letter to urge the US and the EU to protect the fundamental right to privacy.
The never ending data retention
Regarding the history of the case it is important to note that in April 2014 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) declared invalid the Data Retention Directive that unified the time frame of the retention of selective data by Internet and telephone services and determined the accessibility of data by authorities in the member states. According to the decision, the directive had exceeded the limits of proportionality concerning the right to privacy and protection of personal data, as it failed to establish guarantees that counterweigh such limitations. Despite the annulment of the directive, the Hungarian act allowing data retention still remained in force. The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) started litigation against Telenor in order to force the Hungarian Constitutional Court (CC) to repeal the unlawful act.
Will Hungary's Constitutional Court Repeal the Data Retention Law?
The Hungarian Civil Liberties Union has filed a complaint against Internet and mobile service provider Telenor in an attempt to have the Constitutional Court annul an unlawful act that allows for the retention of telephone and Internet traffic data (concerning the identity of the calling party, the length of call, frequency of communication, etc.) for 6 months. Such data retention constitutes a severe breach of the fundamental rights to privacy and the protection of personal data.
More:
http://tasz.hu/adatvedelem/egyelore-marad-az-adatmegorzes
International coalition to support the Canadian Civil Liberties Association
The HCLU as a member of International Civil Liberties Organisations (INCLO) endorses the statement of the Canadian human rights NGO against the new Anti-Terror Act.
