35 civil society organisations, including European Digital Rights (EDRi), the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the German Bar Association and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), are raising the alarms on legislation the EU Commission is to present on 30 March. Similar to Apple’s highly controversial “SpyPhone” scheme, the EU Commission intends to oblige all providers of e-mail, chat or message services to search for and report CSAM by bulk intercepting, monitoring and scanning the content of all citizens’ communications – even where they are so far securely end-to-end encrypted.

The human rights watchdogs call on the EU Commission to „ensure that people’s private communications do not become collateral damage of the forthcoming legislation“, to target suspects rather than roll out mass surveillance and to prevent the creation of CSAM in the first place by exploring social and human interventions. In its press release EDRi warns that the proposal „would undermine the essence of end-to-end encryption“ and would „make the EU a world leader in the generalised surveillance of whole populations“. „How, then, would the EU be able to speak out when undemocratic regimes enact the same measures?“

MEP and civil liberties defender Patrick Breyer (German Pirate Party) comments:

“This EU Big Brother attack on our mobile phones by error-prone denunciation machines searching our entire private communications is the first step in the direction of a Chinese-style surveillance state. Will the next step will be for the post office to open and scan all letters? Organised child pornography rings don‘t use e-mail or messengers. Indiscriminately searching all correspondence violates fundamental rights and will not protect children. It actually puts their private pictures at risk of falling into the wrong hands and criminalises children in many cases.“

In an expert opinion a former ECJ judge pointed out last year that the warrantless interception of private communications violates the case law of the European Court of Justice. According to a poll 72% of citizens oppose the indiscriminate scanning of their private communications.

patrick-breyer.de/en/mass-surv…

Member of the European Parliament Patrick Breyer (Pirate Party, Greens/EFA group) is looking for an Accredited Parliamentary Assistant to work in Brussels, with a focus on administration and communications.

Patrick works in the LIBE and JURI committees with a focus on privacy and Internet freedom.

Your tasks will include

• Managing the MEP’s agenda, mailbox and calendar;
• organising events and visits to the EP;
• managing the various budgets;
• supporting and assisting in communications activities;
• coordinating the work with policy advisers in Brussels and local assistants in Berlin and Kiel;
• communicating with institutions and citizens;
• carrying out parliamentary administrative duties.

Requirements

• a general understanding of the European Union and the European Parliament;
• studies or experience in a field relevant to the position;
• organisational skills, flexibility, reliability, proactive approach to work;
• experience with office software;
• fluency in both German and English; proficiency in French, Czech or other languages is an asset;
• an understanding of the core values of the Pirate movement;
• personal integrity and professional approach to work;
• passion for Open Source Software and other open technologies;
• willingness to occasionally travel abroad (mainly to Strasbourg and Germany);
• enthusiasm for working in an international team;
• full support for transparency in public affairs and full respect for privacy in personal matters.

The offer

• Full-time position as Accredited Parliamentary Assistant (APA) in Brussels
• The position will initially be a six months contract as an accredited assistant in the European Parliament, to be extended until the end of the mandate in 2024;
• The salary will depend on experience and will be determined in accordance with parliamentary regulations;
• The opportunity to participate in a meaningful and transparent policy.

See also the brochure “Your job as an Accredited Parliamentary Assistant [en, fr, de]”

Application

• Apply by 28 March 2022 by sending an e-mail to europa@patrick-breyer.de (PGP key), with a curriculum vitae and a cover letter (in English) explaining your motivation and skills. Please use the subject line “Administrative Assistant – YOUR NAME”
• Preferred starting date: 1 May 2022.

patrick-breyer.de/en/job-offer…

Today, the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO) called for a “right to repair”.[1] Software functionality updates should be reversible and not lead to diminished performance of the device, the report says. For MEP Patrick Breyer (Pirate Party), the paper does not go far enough:

“We Pirates want users to have control over the technology they use in their daily lives. Users need the right to modify and repair devices. Copyright and patent rights of manufacturers must no longer stand in the way!

While commercial manufacturers of IT devices must provide updates for a reasonable period of time according to current laws, there is so far no obligation to patch known vulnerabilities in a timely manner. There is also a lack of manufacturer liability for the often devastating consequences of such vulnerabilities.

When a manufacturer decides to abandon a product that is still in widespread use, the source code and development tools should have to be made public to allow the community to maintain it.

Pirates will continue to advocate for the rights of the consumer, something that has long become lost in the intellectual property debate with corporate interests having steamrollered the development of intellectual property law.”

The EU Commission is considering proposing a draft law on a right to repair in the third quarter of 2022. According to a Eurobarometer survey, 79% of EU citizens believe that manufacturers should be obliged to facilitate the repair of digital devices or the replacement of their individual parts, and 77% would rather have their devices repaired than replaced.

[1] Report, press release

patrick-breyer.de/en/pirates-r…