Human rights may now be invoked to strengthen control over the export of Internet surveillance data from the European Union (EU). This possibility is included in rules on the export of dual-use goods – goods that can be used for both civilian and military applications – adopted on Wednesday by the European Parliament, with 571 votes for, 29 against and 29 abstentions. Technology enabling users to intercept and locate mobile phones, circumvent passwords or identify Internet users are covered by the new rules. “Authoritarian regimes too often use European technology…
Read MoreDay: January 19, 2018
Passport fingerprints never checked
In its fight against identity theft, for eight years Belgium has included fingerprints for its citizens within a microchip on their passport. However, as Knack reports on Wednesday, nobody has ever been checked. The Spokesman and Head of Communication at the FPS Foreign Affairs, Didier Vanderhasselt, confirms, “For now, digital fingerprints on e-passports can only be read by the FPS Foreign Affairs.” They cannot therefore be checked at Brussels Airport in Zaventem, by foreign officials at European borders, or even by the Belgian communes, which issue these passports. However, Belgium…
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