FROM:

9. About

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1. EDRi calls for fundamental rights-based responses to COVID-19
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In a recent statement released on 20 March 2020, European Digital Rights
(EDRi) calls on the Member States and institutions of the European Union
(EU) to ensure that, while developing public health measures to tackle
COVID-19, they:

- Strictly uphold fundamental rights;
- Protect data for now and the future;
- Limit the purpose of data for COVID-19 crisis only;
- Implement exceptional measures for the duration of the crisis only;
- Condemn racism and discrimination;
- Defend freedom of expression and information.

EDRi’s Head of Policy, Diego Naranjo, explains that: "EDRi supports
necessary, proportionate measures, fully in line with national and
international human rights and data protection and privacy legislation,
taken in order to tackle the COVID - 19 global pandemic. These measures
must not, however, set a precedent for rolling back the fundamental
rights obligations enshrined in European law."

EDRi recognises that Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease poses a global
public health challenge of unprecedented proportions. The use of
good-quality data can support the development of evidence-based
responses. However, we are witnessing a surge of emergency-related
policy initiatives, some of them risking the abuse of sensitive personal
data in an attempt to safeguard public health. When acting to address
such a crisis, measures must comply with international human rights law
and cannot lead to disproportionate and unnecessary actions. It is also
vital that measures are not extended once we are no longer in a state of
emergency.

EDRi's Executive Director, Claire Fernandez, emphasises that: "In times
of crisis, our authorities and communities must show responsibility,
resilience, solidarity, and offer support to healthcare systems in order
to protect our lives. States’ emergency responses to the COVID-19
pandemic must be proportionate, however, and be re-evaluated at
specified intervals. By doing this, states will prevent the
normalisation of rights-limiting measures, scope creep, data retention
or enhanced surveillance that will otherwise be harmful long after the
impacts of the pandemic have been managed."

In these times of pandemic and emergency measures, EDRi expresses
solidarity towards collective protection and support for our health
systems. We will continue monitoring and denouncing abuses of human
rights in times when people are particularly vulnerable.

Read full statement "EDRi calls for fundamental rights-based responses
to COVID-19": https://edri.org/covid19-edri-coronavirus-fundamentalrights/

EDRi Members and Observers' Responses to COVID-19:

- Active overview of projects using personal data to combat SARS-CoV-2
(by noyb).
https://gdprhub.eu/index.php?title=Data_Protection_under_SARS-CoV-2
- Access Now - "Protect digital rights, promote public health: toward a
better coronavirus response."
https://www.accessnow.org/protect-digital-rights-promote-public-health-towards-a-better-coronavirus-response/
- Article 19 - "Coronavirus: New ARTICLE 19 briefing on tackling
misinformation."
https://www.article19.org/resources/coronavirus-new-article-19-briefing-on-tackling-misinformation/
- Bits of Freedom - "Privacy is geen absoluut recht, maar wel een
noodzaak."
https://www.bitsoffreedom.nl/2020/03/20/privacy-is-geen-absoluut-recht-maar-wel-een-noodzaak/
- Defesa dos Dereitos Digitais (D3) - " A pandemia COVID19 e os direitos
digitais."
https://direitosdigitais.pt/comunicacao/noticias/88-a-pandemia-covid19-e-os-direitos-digitais
- Digitalcourage - "Coronavirus: Tipps fürs Onlineleben und
Grundrechtsfragen." https://digitalcourage.de/corona
- Digitale Gesellschaft - "Menschenrechte gelten nicht nur in „guten“
Zeiten."
https://digitalegesellschaft.de/2020/03/menschenrechte-gelten-nicht-nur-in-guten-zeiten/
- EFF - "EFF and COVID-19: Protecting Openness, Security, and Civil
Liberties."
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/03/eff-and-covid-19-protecting-openness-security-and-civil-liberties

- epicenter.works - "Digital rights implications of the COVID-19
crisis."
https://en.epicenter.works/content/digital-rights-implications-of-the-covid-19-crisis
- GFF - "Corona und Grundrechte: Fragen und Antworten."
https://freiheitsrechte.org/corona-und-grundrechte/
- Hermes Center - "Il Centro Hermes chiede al governo una risposta
all'emergenza COVID-19 nel pieno rispetto dei diritti umani."
https://www.hermescenter.org/hermes-governo-emergenza-covid19-rispetto-privacy-diritti-umani/
- Homo Digitalis - "Homo Digitalis για την πανδημία του Κορωνοϊού."
https://www.homodigitalis.gr/posts/5340
- noyb - "Data protection in times of corona: not a question of if, but
of how." https://noyb.eu/en/data-protection-times-corona
- Open Rights Group - "In the Coronavirus crisis, privacy will be
compromised—but our right to know must not be."
https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog/2020/in-the-coronavirus-crisis-privacy-will-be-compromised-but-our-right-to-know-must-not-be
- Panoptykon - "Wolność i prywatność w dobie koronawirusa."
https://panoptykon.org/wiadomosc/wolnosc-i-prywatnosc-w-dobie-koronawirusa
- Privacy International - "Extraordinary powers need extraordinary
protections."
https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/3461/extraordinary-powers-need-extraordinary-protections
- SHARE Foundation - "Digitalna prava, pandemija i Balkan."
https://www.sharefoundation.info/sr/digitalna-prava-pandemija-i-balkan/

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12. About
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EDRi-gram is a fortnightly newsletter about digital civil rights by
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