The digital rights coalition EDRi is coordinating a series of awareness-raising activities on 21 October 2026 to mark Global Encryption Day, part of its broader KISS campaign. The initiative brings together partners for events held online, in Brussels and across multiple European capitals.

Recent polling by CDT Europe reveals consistent public backing for encrypted communications across the continent. In France, 92% of survey respondents say they have a right to private online conversations; the figure reaches 94% in Poland, 88% in Sweden and 93% in Ireland.

End-to-end encryption allows individuals to ensure that the substance of their digital exchanges cannot be intercepted, even by the intermediary servers handling transmission.

Campaign activities

Visibility in European cities

EDRi has partnered with the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Féministes contre le cyberharcèlement and Digitale Gesellschaft to deploy illuminated "Encryption trucks" through Paris, Berlin and Dublin. In Prague, the group Iure is running a metro poster campaign to underscore public support for encryption.

Focus on vulnerable groups

The campaign emphasises how encryption serves as a lifeline for those at greatest risk. Women's rights defenders, land defenders from indigenous communities, racial justice campaigners, sex workers and migrant advocates often depend on secure communications for both physical safety and the ability to organise. EDRi has teamed with the European Sex Workers Alliance and Féministes contre le cyberharcèlement to highlight these stakes.

Activist testimonials

During the recent 14th Privacy Camp gathering in Brussels, EDRi collected interviews from participants about why encryption matters to them. Contributors represented causes ranging from civic space protection to digital rights advocacy in the Netherlands, Portugal and Germany. The organisation is also soliciting input from its base of over 35,000 supporters and will share selected responses across its social media presence on Instagram, Mastodon and LinkedIn over the coming weeks.

Global summit participation

EDRi expert Chloé Berthélémy will participate in a panel at the Global Encryption Summit at 4pm CET, an event organised jointly by Internet Society, the Center for Democracy and Technology, Mozilla and Global Partners Digital.

The encryption threat

Law enforcement and Europol are advocating for legalisation of hacking techniques that would undermine encryption strength. These approaches require service providers—those who build or operate software, systems, networks or devices—to introduce deliberate weaknesses. The goal is to grant police and intelligence agencies pathways to user data and the ability to decrypt communications.

Several specific methods are under consideration. Client-side scanning, proposed under the EU CSA Regulation, would scan all content including text, images and video on devices or within communication channels. Key escrows or "key recovery" systems would store decryption keys in a vault controlled by a trusted authority or group of authorities, accessible when decryption is deemed necessary. Ghost proposals would alter encryption systems to allow a third party to join encrypted conversations without the knowledge of participants.

Why encryption matters

In functioning democracies, communication infrastructure underpins daily life and human connection. Secure and trustworthy communications and devices enable work, social interaction, collective organising, self-expression and relationship-building.