Advocacy

On 11 August 2024, PI delivered an oral statement during the 31st Session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the impact of the use of data & tech on the rights of persons with disabilities.

As negotiations of a UN treaty against cybercrime are coming to a close, Privacy International is concerned that, in its current, almost final form, the draft treaty poses significant risks to both human rights and the security of digital communications.

The Ad Hoc Committee to Elaborate a Comprehensive International Convention on Countering the Use of Information and Communications Technologies for Criminal Purposes is concluding its final negotiating session at UN headquarters in New York City, after over two years of negotiations which exposed deep divisions among states.

Privacy International co-signed a letter, alongside UK civil society organisations campaigning against the use of FRT in the UK, calling on retailers to refrain from the use of FRT in their stores. 

Privacy International, alongside a coalition of UK based NGOs campaigning against facial recognition technology (FRT), co-signed a letter to the Information Commissioner and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (the Met), regarding a report exposing the Met's use of PimEyes, a facial recognition search engine. 

In June 2024, PI filed expert witness testimony before the court to assist the adjudication of the case.

PI responded to the ICO consultation on engineering individual rights into generative AI models such as LLMs. Our overall assessment is that the major generative AI models are unable to uphold individuals’ rights under the UK GDPR. New technologies designed in a way that cannot uphold people’s rights cannot be permitted just for the sake of innovation.

Our submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education on academic freedom and surveillance of educational institutions.

In this briefing, Privacy International outlines its analysis of some key provisions on the Updated Draft of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime, which will be negotiated at the reconvened concluding session of the Ad Hoc Committee in late July. While not aiming to be comprehensive, PI's comments cover the following Articles: 3, 4, 6, 7-11, 23, 24, 28, 29, 30, 35, 36, 47 and 54.

New historic judgment by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights declaring the Republic of Colombia internationally responsible for human rights violations, including privacy, against several members of a human rights defenders groups and their relatives

Privacy International and other CSOs present their main comments and recommendations on the Zero Draft of the UN Global Digital Compact.

PI joins the #ProtectNotSurveil coalition in calling out the EU's New Pact on Migration and Asylum voted on 10 April 2024, a package of reforms expanding the criminalisation and digital surveillance of migrants.

Privacy International submitted its input to the UN Special Rapporteur on racism for their upcoming report which will examine and analyse the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and non-discrimination and racial equality, as well as other international human rights standards.

One of the sectors to integrate AI-powered tools into their day-to-day operations is the employment and recruitment sector. PI has responded to the ICO's recent consultation on its draft guidance for employers and recruiters on deploying AI in recruitment. Our response focuses on the processor/controller designation of recruiters and the third party LLMs they outsource and candidates' employment rights that may be undermined by algorithmic decision-making (ADM).