Digital rights Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Dialogues on European Digital Transition

Digital Rights Charter: the preamble to reform of the Spanish Constitution?

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom September 22, 2021September 22, 2021Data Protection, Digital rights, Privacy, Spain

Over the past few decades we have witnessed a series of social, economic, and technological changes that are difficult to assess with such little historical perspective. Technology has surely been the most important factor in these processes. The generalisation of computer devices and telecommunications infrastructures has had multiple effects on virtually all aspects of social and economic life, in the private as well as the public sphere. We live in a world that, as expressed by Nicholas Negroponte, has become digital.

Citizen participation and the future of the EU: An opportunity at the Conference on the Future of Europe

European Association for Digital Transition Democratic quality July 20, 2021July 20, 2021Conference on the Future of Europe, Consumers, Digital rights, Digital transformation, health

Two current phenomena – the cyclical change the EU has entered following Brexit and the outbreak of COVID-19 and the need to improve the participatory mechanisms in liberal democracies – largely explain the launch, at the end of 2020, of the Conference on the future of Europe. We can define this as a large forum which, over more than a year, gives European citizens a channel to express their positions and recommendations on major issues that are already marking the future of the Union and of the entire planet. This is a good opportunity, therefore, for citizen’s to participate in EU debates, which are often accused of being removed from societal realities.

Data and digital rights: What you should know about children’s apps

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom July 13, 2021September 22, 2021Childhood, Data Protection, Digital rights, Privacy

Children interact with technology at increasingly younger ages, which raises concerns about protecting their privacy, security, and confidentiality in the digital environment. Although laws have been passed in recent years, incorporating specific articles into existing legislation and creating rules to regulate cookies and illegal advertising, many adults don’t know what rules exist or what they should consider when young children use mobile phones and tablets.

Europe and protection of the digital consumer: A challenge halfway met

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom May 4, 2021June 9, 2021Consumers, Didier Reynders, Digital rights, European Commission, Spain

The standard profile of the European consumer is increasingly digital. This transformation process, which began years ago, has accelerated dramatically with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is precisely in the last year that transformation of the legislative framework that protects the European consumer has sped up. Last November, the European Commission published the New Consumer Agenda, a document defining key actions that need to be taken in this area, both at European and state level, over the next five years.

Europe, facing regulation of the data economy: The dangers of a late, incomplete response

European Association for Digital Transition Democratic quality April 5, 2021June 9, 2021Data Economy, Digital rights, Digital Services Act, Regulation

The regulatory offensive being done by the European Union with the so-called ‘gatekeepers’ of the digital economy – the large Internet platforms – just might be a before and after in the unbalanced market position these enjoy. However, both the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act ignore a key element in regulating the use and exchange of personal data: an economic calculation of the consumer-digital relationship.

World Consumer Rights Day: Do big tech companies respect yours?

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom March 15, 2021June 9, 2021Apple, Consumers, Data Protection, Digital rights, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Privacy

March 15 marks World Consumer Rights Day, a commemoration established by the United Nations in 1983. The choice of March 15 comes from a speech delivered on that day in 1962 by John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Speaking at the United States Congress, the then U.S. president defined the consumer as an essential element in the production process, recognising their political relevance and urging institutions to protect their rights.

Data Protection Day: a date that shouldn’t go unnoticed

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom January 27, 2021June 9, 2021Data Protection, Digital rights, European Council, Privacy

On Thursday, January 28, Data Protection Day is once again being celebrated. The first edition was held in 2007, after the Council of Europe had decided a few months earlier to set the date.

Why this day? On January 28, 1981, the Council of Europe signed Convention 108 in Strasbourg for the protection of personal data in its automated processing. It was the first legally binding international instrument for data protection, and for more than 30 years an important legal reference, in Europe and beyond. Today, Data Protection Day is celebrated all over the globe, and outside our continent is known as Privacy Day.

Our opinion on the Spanish government’s Digital Rights Charter

European Association for Digital Transition Rights and freedom January 26, 2021June 9, 2021Data Protection, Digital rights, Privacy, Spain

How to incorporate the current rights framework into the digital environment? And how to protect these rights in this area? The Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs attempts to answer these two questions in what has been titled the Digital Rights Charter, which it presents as part of its ‘España Digital 2025’ plan. This is a document whose purpose is to guide future policy decisions and actions by public authorities.

The new Digital Services Act takes on the big online platforms

European Association for Digital Transition Democratic quality December 29, 2020June 9, 2021Digital rights, Digital Services Act, European Commission

On December 15, the European Commission presented its regulatory proposal on a single market for digital services (known as the Digital Services Act), a common set of rules on intermediaries’ obligations and accountability across the digital single market.

‘Committees of sages’ and digital rights: how to move from theory to reality

European Association for Digital Transition Democratic quality July 2, 2020June 9, 2021Data Protection, Digital rights, Digital sovereignty, Labor Relations, Spain

Gradually, digitalization, in its broadest sense, is beginning to have a prominent place on the political agenda of governments and institutions. This is a transversal and multidimensional challenge for society as a whole, affecting health, education, wealth creation, mobility, democratic freedoms, the free market, etc. Digital transformation can bring enormous benefits for people, companies – of all sizes – and society overall if the transition process is done in an orderly, rational, and inclusive way. The necessary transition also entails challenges and risks, as adjustments will have to be made and accepted; hence the importance of reaching consensus among all the parties involved. This is why we welcome the launch, by the Spanish Government, of a group of experts who will advise them on the creation of a Digital Rights Charter. Addressed here will be rights already recognized in Spanish legislation – for example, data protection – and more recent realities, such as new labour relations and artificial intelligence.