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Content Type: Video
Christopher Weatherhead and Eva Blum-Dumontet Discuss the finding of Privacy International's report on the MyPhone MYA2 from the Philippines
Content Type: Long Read
In December 2018, Privacy international exposed the dubious practices of some of the most popular apps in the world.
Out of the 36 apps we tested, we found that 61% automatically transfer data to Facebook the moment a user opens the app. This happens whether the user has a Facebook account or not, and whether they are logged into Facebook or not. We also found that some of those apps routinely send Facebook incredibly detailed and sometimes sensitive personal data. Again, it didn’t matter if…
Content Type: News & Analysis
According to the International Organization for Migration, an estimated 258 million people are international migrants – that is, someone who changes their country of usual residence, That’s one in every 30 people on earth.
These unprecedented movements levels show no sign of slowing down. It is predicted that by 2050, there will be 450 million migrants across the world.
Nowadays, it is politically acceptable to demonise migrants, and countless leaders have spewed divisive and xenophobic…
Content Type: Long Read
Cellebrite, a surveillance firm marketing itself as the “global leader in digital intelligence”, is marketing its digital extraction devices at a new target: authorities interrogating people seeking asylum.
Israel-based Cellebrite, a subsidiary of Japan’s Sun Corporation, markets forensic tools which empower authorities to bypass passwords on digital devices, allowing them to download, analyse, and visualise data.
Its products are in wide use across the world: a 2019 marketing…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Introduction
Acknowledgment
The State of Surveillance in Tunisia is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and partners.
On 14 February 2023, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights voiced concern over the deepening crackdown in Tunisia targeting perceived political opponents of President Kais Saied as well as civil society.
We have updated this page to reflect important changes in the state of surveillance in Tunisia.
Key privacy facts
1.…
Content Type: News & Analysis
In December 2018, we revealed how some of the most widely used apps in the Google Play Store automatically send personal data to Facebook the moment they are launched. That happens even if you don't have a Facebook account or are logged out of the Facebook platform (watch our talk at the Chaos Communication Congress (CCC) in Leipzig or read our full legal analysis here).
Today, we have some good news for you: we retested all the apps from our report and it seems as if we…
Content Type: News & Analysis
Campaigners are today calling for urgent action to allow Palestinians to develop an independent telecommunications infrastructure following the release of a report detailing how the Israeli government exerts its existing control to rule and monitor the online lives of Palestinian people.
‘Connection Interrupted’, produced by Privacy International partner organisation 7amleh, describes how the Israeli government restricts key telecommunications infrastructure in Palestine,…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgement
The State of Privacy in Uganda is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and Unwanted Witness.
Key privacy facts
1. Constitutional privacy protection: The constitution contains an explicit protection of the right to privacy (Art. 27).
2. Data protection law: There is no…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgment
The State of Privacy in South Africa is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and the Right2Know coalition.
Key Privacy Facts
1. Constitutional privacy protections: Section 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa protects the right to privacy.
2. Data protection laws…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgement
The State of Privacy in the Philippines is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and Foundation for Media Alternatives.
Key privacy facts
1. Constitutional privacy protection: The constitution contains an explicit protection of the right to privacy (Art. III, section 3).
2.…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgment
The State of Privacy in Pakistan is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and the Digital Rights Foundation.
Between 2014-2016, Bytes for All contributed to previous versions of the 'Data Protection' sections of this briefing.
Key Privacy Facts
1. Constitutional privacy protections: Article 14(1) of…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgment
The State of Surveillance in Morocco is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and its partners.
Key privacy facts
1. Constitutional privacy protection: The constitution contains an explicit protection of the right to privacy.
2. Data protection law: There is a data…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgement
The State of Privacy in Mexico is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and Red in Defensa de los Derechos Digitales (R3D) in Mexico.
Key Privacy Facts
1. Constitutional privacy protections: The right to privacy is enshrined in article 6 of the Mexican constitution.
2. Data…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgement
The State of Privacy in Kenya is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders - Kenya.
Key Privacy Facts
1. Constitutional privacy protections: Article 31 of the Kenyan Constitution specifically protects the right to privacy.
2. Data…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgement
The State of Privacy in Jordan is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and 7iber.
Key privacy facts
1. Constitutional privacy protections: Article 18 of the Jordanian constitution contains an explicit mention of privacy.
2. Data protection laws: There is currently no data…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgment
The State of Privacy in Indonesia is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and The Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM).
Key privacy facts
Key privacy facts
1. Constitutional privacy protection: The constitution does not explicitly mention privacy.
2. Data protection…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgement
The State of Privacy in India is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and the Centre for Internet & Society.
Key Privacy Facts
1. Constitutional privacy protections: In 2017, the Indian Supreme Court ruled that the Indian constitution guarantees a right to privacy.
2. Data…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Table of contents
Introduction
Right to Privacy
Communication Surveillance
Data Protection
Identification Schemes
Policies and Sectoral Initiatives
Introduction
Acknowledgment
The State of Surveillance in Egypt is the result of an ongoing collaboration by Privacy International and its partners.
Key privacy facts
1. Constitutional privacy protection: The constitution contains an explicit protection of the right to privacy.
2. Data protection law: In August 2018, the Cabinet…
Content Type: State of Privacy
Introduction
Acknowledgement
The State of Surveillance in Chile is the result of an ongoing collaboration between Privacy International and its Chilean partners Derechos Digitales and Fundación Datos Protegidos.
Key Privacy Facts
1. Constitutional privacy protections: Article 19 of Chile's constitution protects the right to a private life. It was reformed in 2018 to add a specific right to the protection of personal data.
2. Data protection laws: In 1999 Chile became the…
Content Type: Case Study
The exclusion caused by ID can have a devastating effect on people, limiting their opportunities and ability to survive.
Names have been changed.
Carolina is in a more privileged position than many other migrants, she admits that. She has a formal job, for one. She is – and has always been – in Chile legally: her previous visa has expired, and her new one is being processed. Under the law, she is permitted to stay and work in the country while this is happening. But she is finding the…
Content Type: News & Analysis
Why is a privacy organisation working with the humanitarian sector, and why does it matter? We may seem like strange bedfellows, but today's ever-growing digital world means that, more and more, people who receive humanitarian assistance are being exposed to unexpected threats.
According to the 2018 Global Humanitarian Overview, there are more than 134 million people across the world in need humanitarian assistance. Of these, about 90.1 million will receive aid of some form. It is…
Content Type: Long Read
Creative Commons Photo Credit: Source
In the midst of continued widespread public outrage at the US government’s brutal ‘zero-tolerance’ policy around immigration – multiple data and analytics companies have quietly avoided answering questions about their role in feeding the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency’s data backbone. These companies are bidding to work with an agency that has time and time again shown itself to be a brutal and problematic.
Privacy International…
Content Type: Impact Case Study
What is the problem
For over two decades we have been documenting an alarming use and spread of surveillance. It is no longer just the wars on terror or drugs or migration that is driving this trend. The management of health crises and distribution of welfare regularly are among others being used to justify this turn to increasingly invasive forms of surveillance. From country to country we see the same ideas and the same profiteers expanding their reach.
When we first released our report on…
Content Type: Explainer
What is the Global Surveillance Industry?
Today, a global industry consisting of hundreds of companies develops and sells surveillance technology to government agencies around the world. Together, these companies sell a wide range of systems used to identify, track, and monitor individuals and their communications for spying and policing purposes. The advanced powers available to the best equipped spy agencies in the world are being traded around the world. It is a…
Content Type: Report
¿Existen ciudades inteligentes? ¿O son un pretexto para recolectar y procesar más datos? Este informe examina la realidad del mercado de las ciudades inteligentes más allá del uso del término de marketing "inteligente" y las iniciativas existentes. También consideramos las consecuencias y las importantes preocupaciones que surgen en términos de privacidad y otros derechos humanos.
Content Type: Long Read
The battle for Kenyan voters’ allegiance in the 2017 Presidential election was fought on social media and the blogosphere. Paid advertisements for two mysterious, anonymous sites in particular started to dominate Google searches for dozens of election-related terms in the months leading up to the vote. All linked back to either “The Real Raila”, a virulent attack campaign against presidential hopeful Raila Odinga, or Uhuru for Us, a site showcasing President Uhuru Kenyatta’s accomplishments. As…
Content Type: Report
When you rent a car at the airport, use a car-share for a family day trip, one of the first things you are likely to do before setting off on your journey, is to connect your phone to the car. You switch on the Bluetooth and see a list of other people’s phones that were previously connected - Mike’s iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Bikerboy_Troi, Dee Dee. You input your journey into the navigation, perhaps noticing stored locations of previous drivers.
Seems fairly innocuous? Wrong. Your name and…
Content Type: Report
Financial services are changing, with technology being a key driver. It is affecting the nature of financial services, from credit and lending through to insurance, and even the future of money itself.
The field of fintech is where the attention and investment is flowing. Within it, new sources of data are being used by existing institutions and new entrants. They are using new forms of data analysis.
These changes are significant to this sector and the lives of people it serves. This…
Content Type: Report
The smart city market is booming. National and local governments all over the world expect their cities to become more efficient, more sustainable, cleaner and safer by integrating technology, increasing data generation and centralising data to provide better services. From large multinationals to small start-ups, companies want their slice of the multi-billion dollars per year pie of municipal budgets and long-term government contracts.
But do smart cities even exist? And are our cities…
Content Type: News & Analysis
October 31st 2017 will mark the 3rd World Cities Day (we will forgive if you did not know that), with the general theme “Better City, Better Life.” On this date, PI will be launching its latest report “Smart Cities: Utopian Vision, Dystopian Reality”. This is an opportunity for us to ask: who exactly are our cities going to become better for?
Technology is often given as an answer when we are not sure what the question is. Cities are no exception to that. The current…