a gavel on black backround
Article European Court of Human Rights: secret surveillance in Poland violates citizens’ privacy rights According to the precedent judgment announced today by the European Court of Human Rights, the operational-control regime, the retention of communications data, and the secret-surveillance regime under the Anti-Terrorism Act in Poland violate the right to privacy. The activists from Poland’s… Text
Article Anxious about your health? Facebook won’t let you forget There is little point in telling Facebook which posts you do not want to see – it will not listen. Text
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Article Successful advocacy: the government declares no further extension of data retention obligation Data retention obligation will not be further extended in Polish law on electronic communication. However, the current, unlawful scope of telecommunication data retention remains unchanged. Our advocacy effort proved successful. Text
Article No control over surveillance by Polish intelligence agencies. ECHR demands explanations from the government The European Court of Human Rights demanded the Polish government to provide an explanation in the case of surveillance by intelligence agencies. Text
Article First court decision in SIN vs Facebook: the internet giant must not restrict the organisation’s activities in its services The District Court in Warsaw, in its interim measures ruling, has temporarily prohibited Facebook from removing fanpages, profiles and groups run by SIN (a Polish NGO) on Facebook and Instagram, as well as from blocking individual posts. This means that – at least until the case is decided – SIN’s… Text
Article The right to explanation of creditworthiness assessment – first such law in Europe Thanks to Panoptykon’s initiative bank customers in Poland will have the right to receive explanation of their creditworthiness. It’s the first right of this kind in Europe and a higher standard than the one envisioned in the GDPR. Text
Article Personal Democracy Forum 2019: In Whom We Trust Who Targets Me (us) and What Can I (we) Do About It – Katarzyna Szymielewicz's speech at the 2019 edition of Personal Democracy Forum is already available online. Text
Article Will the GDPR serve its purpose? Three difficult lessons after its first year Legal regulations take shape by practice. The GDPR - as a legal document - was born in 2016. After two years of incubation it was thrown into the market. A year later, many are curious to see whether it can swim. But the expectations were higher. We wanted it to change the whole ecosystem, change… Text
Article SIN v Facebook: tech giant sued over private censorship in landmark case in Poland On 7 May 2019 Spoleczna Inicjatywa Narkopolityki (Civil Society Drug Policy Initiative, “SIN”), supported by the Panoptykon Foundation, filed a lawsuit against Facebook in a strategic litigation aimed at fighting private censorship on the Internet. Online platforms act as the ‘gatekeepers’ to… Text
Article Panoptykon’s complaints against IAB and Google referred to lead authorities in Belgium and Ireland The Polish DPA decided that Panoptykon’s complaints against IAB Europe and Google, who are responsible for the functioning of targeted advertising, have a cross-border character, which means that they affect data subjects residing not only in Poland. In order to ensure a consistent application of… Text
Article New chair of the Polish DPA appointed Jan Nowak, previously a general manager at the DPA’s office and a long-term member of PiS, the ruling party, will become the new chair of the Polish Data Protection Authority. The nomination raised controversy as to whether Jan Nowak meets the legal requirements for this position. Text
Article Three layers of your digital profile Your online profile is not always built on facts. It is shaped by technology companies and advertisers who make key decisions based on their interpretation of seemingly benign data points: what movies you choose watch, the time of day you tweet, or how long you take to click on a cat video. Text