Archive
Austria legalises state spyware amidst strong opposition
Austria is set to legalise the use of highly-intrusive spyware by state authorities. The government has justified the law in the name of monitoring encrypted messaging applications. Opponents warn that there is no way to prevent the authorities accessing reams of sensitive information on targeted individuals, despite official promises to the contrary. Civil society organisations and opposition parties have promised to challenge the law in court. Read More
EU: Travel surveillance: member state comments on “improving compliance” with court ruling
Last June the EU's Court of Justice massively restricted the scope of the Passenger Name Record (PNR) Directive, which allows the mass surveillance and profiling of air passengers. According to the ruling, member states should make substantial changes to their practices in order to uphold fundamental rights. Instead, they would like to find ways to maintain maximum data collection to continue the hunt for "persons of interest" - yet such practices are incompatible with the rule of law. Read More
Austria calls for EU to adopt UK-style Rwanda plan for refugees
A demand for "asylum procedures in safe third countries" is one of five items on a wishlist put together by Gerhard Karner, Austrian interior minister. Read More
Austria: Targeting of Muslims in country’s largest-ever police raid analysed in new report
A new report examines how Operation Luxor, the largest ever peacetime police raid undertaken by the Austrian authorities, "was an unlawful and ideologically-driven targeting of Austrian Muslims," that has been followed by government attempts to "[leverage] its Islamophobic policies to position itself as leader in Europe on ‘counter-terror’ measures." Read More
EU: Austrian proposals on upping Frontex’s role in “voluntary return and reintegration”
"To effectively incentivise voluntary return and promote sustainable reintegration, well-established reintegration programmes are needed. Against this background, the ERRIN take-over by Frontex constitutes big potential but at the same time a major challenge," says a document produced by the Austrian authorities on increasing Frontex's role in "voluntary return and reintegration." Read More
CJEU to look at revocation of a guarantee of the grant of Austrian nationality
"C-118/20 JY concerns the procedure for acquisition of Austrian nationality, and more specifically at which moment during the procedure the previous nationalities have to be lost, and whether this is in conformity with the rules on EU citizenship." Read More
Germany extends internal border controls due to coronavirus and “reasons of migration and security policy”: Letter from Horst Seehofer to EU
"I find myself obliged to extend the temporary border control at internal land and air borders with Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Denmark, Italy and Spain, as well as the sea border with Denmark, effective from 15 April 2020 for an additional period of 20 days..." Read More
Germany extends internal border controls due to coronavirus and “reasons of migration and security policy”: Letter from Horst Seehofer to EU
"I find myself obliged to extend the temporary border control at internal land and air borders with Austria, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Denmark, Italy and Spain, as well as the sea border with Denmark, effective from 15 April 2020 for an additional period of 20 days..." Read More
Brussels considers pan-EU police searches of ID photos
"Ready for your closeup? Your face could soon be included in police databases searchable by law enforcement across the European Union. Read More
Austrian Government Hacking-Law Is Unconstitutional
"The Austrian constitutional court decided on 11.12.2019 that the surveillance law that permits the use of spying software to read encrypted messages violates the fundamental right to respect for private life (article 8 ECHR), the fundamental right to data protection (§ 1 Austrian data protection law) and the constitutionally granted right that prohibits unreasonable searches (Art 9 Austrian bill of rights – Staatsgrundgesetz). Read More