Early warnings by German government officials at the Munich Security Conference proved true. On February 3, the International League of Human Rights in Germany, together with the Chaos Computer Club and civic group digitalcourage filed a criminal complaint against the German government for not acting on the mass surveillance by intelligence

On January 23, EU Justice and Home Affairs Ministers met informally to harmonise their positions on the future European Data Protection Regulation. Broad consensus was reached on international aspects. Yet, the group missed a chance to move the package into the fast lane.

It is difficult to argue against measures that could prevent a 9/11-like attack in the US. However, many in the EU remain concerned about privacy and fundamental rights in general after the Snowden revelations. Conclusions from politicians on both sides illustrate the divergence.

The EU Data Retention Directive - which requests the retention of communication data of EU Citizens - is “as a whole incompatible” with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights , determines Europe's top lawyer. What happens now?

“Digital” is written big in the coalition agreement , which was signed to give way to the new German government. Will this propell Germany onto the front seat in international internet politics.

According to the fourth edition of the eGovernment Monitor, released on November 28, the number of users of eGovernment services in Sweden in 2013 was 53 percent, compared to 70 percent in 2012. On average, the decline in all monitored countries was as high as 8 percent.

After a first on Slovenia , here is our second in our series on internet policy innovation in small European countries. Finns are moving fast and experimenting with crowdsourced legislation.