The EU continues taking baby steps towards a Digital Single Market, when what we need is a leap: An “anti-geoblocking” regulation that does not cover online video, like the one presented by the European Commission today, misses the mark. The Commission’s sector inquiry and the public consultation on the topic have proven just how widespread digital […]
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10,000 told the EU to keep links free. That got their attention – now it’s your turn!
Publishers want control over how we share news online
Publishers are lobbying hard to get more control over the way we all read and share news articles online. For months now, Digital Commissioner Oettinger has been mulling over whether to give in to their demands and grant them a new kind of copyright for […]
more ›A whistleblower directive for Europe! (Update)
Tomorrow, together with my group in the European Parliament, I will present a draft for a new EU directive on whistleblower protection. The draft directive, which has been launched coinciding with the trial of LuxLeaks whistleblower Antoine Deltour, aims to provide the basis and further impetus for a proposal to this end from the European […]
more ›Android antitrust case: We must prevent user lock-in
Commenting on the Google Android antitrust case, on which Commissioner Vestager today presented a Statement of Objections, MEP Julia Reda states:
I welcome antitrust actions aimed at dismantling user lock-in and limiting choice concerning the devices that influence our lives to an ever larger degree.
Consumers must have full freedom to choose between hardware, firmware, operating systems, […]
more ›New EU Trade Secrets rules open the door to abuses and endanger whistleblowers
European voters will not understand why our reaction to the Panama Papers consists of strengthening corporate secrecy and deterring whistleblowers.
Ignoring urgent warnings by whistleblowers, journalists, trade unions and over 800,000 Europeans, the majority in the EU Parliament today adopted new rules on the protection of trade secrets.
These new rules on ‘trade secrets’ leave the door […]
more ›EU gears up to attack whistleblowers with new trade secret laws
In many of the biggest political scandals of the past months – Luxleaks, Dieselgate and now the Panama Papers – we saw trade secret laws abused as a shield against investigation and exposure of how corporations are harming the public good, avoiding taxes and endangering public safety. Whistleblowers find themsielves fighting for their freedom in […]
more ›Panama Papers: It’s time to protect whistleblowers, not corporate secrecy
Commenting on the Panama Papers released on Sunday, MEP Julia Reda states:
The Pirate Party of Iceland will file a motion of mistrust against the Icelandic government in the Icelandic parliament today, because of the connections revealed by the Panama Papers between Prime Minister Gunnlaugsson as well as members of his cabinet and secret offshore […]
more ›The EU is listening – make your voice heard to prevent copyright from controlling public space and the way we share online
EU copyright reform has been delayed (once again) until September to allow the European Commission to ask for input on two questions it can’t decide on:
Freedom of Panorama: Should you be allowed to take and use photos of public space everywhere in the EU without the risk of you or your photo sharing app […]
more ›Dieselgate under investigation: The emissions scandal has implications about the future of regulating technology
The European Parliament is finally starting its investigation into the Dieselgate emissions scandal, in which millions of cars by VW were found to be cheating on emissions tests, massively exceeding the limits for pollutants in actual driving conditions even after supposedly acing their approval procedures.
The Committee of Inquiry, of which I am a […]
more ›A few EU governments are blocking blind people’s access to knowledge. Here’s why.
Among everything I’ve experienced in politics so far, the squabble over the Marrakesh treaty stands out as a particular letdown. A few European governments – including Germany and the UK – are currently playing a leading role in denying people with visual impairments urgently needed access to knowledge and culture for no defensible reason. Today, the […]
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