Litigation is a core component of PI's advocacy strategy. PI files cases, pursues regulatory complaints, and intervenes in worthwhile legal challenges around the world in order to defend and enhance our privacy rights and the rule of law. Below you will find links to our current and past legal work.
Legal Action
Featured Legal Case
Our challenge to both the lawfulness and the secrecy of the legal regime governing Technical
Impact cases
A case that reached the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights analysing the UK’s mass interception program, first exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden in 2013, relating to people’s rights to privacy and freedom of expression.
PI intervened in the case challenging the constitutionality of South African surveillance law.
This legal challenge relates to complaints filed with 5 European data protection authorities against Clearview AI, Inc. ("Clearview"), a facial recognition technology company building a gigantic database of 10 billion + faces.
Privacy International filed complaints with multiple data protection regulators to investigate potential GDPR infringements by data brokers, ad-tech companies and credit referencing agencies.
Privacy International filed a complaint with the UK data protection regulator to investigate potential data protection infringements by a political consultancy.
PI legal challenge before the Court of Justice of the European Union concerning the bulk communications data regime in the UK.
This legal challenge relates to a complaint filed in 2020 with the French data protection authority (CNIL) against Doctissimo, a popular French health site.
PI and 5 other human rights organisations are calling on the European Ombudsman to investigate evidence that several EU bodies are supporting surveillance in non-EU countries in breach of EU rules.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights holds Colombia accountable for arbitrary intelligence activities against human rights defenders. PI filed an amicus in this case challenging the surveillance of human rights defenders in Colombia.
Privacy International, together with Liberty, challenges MI5's data-handling arrangements before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
Our filing in the groundbreaking Kenyan ID case
PI, together with Article19 and EFF intervened to outline how unrestricted surveillance of communications data interferences with the right to privacy and threatens freedom of expression.
In December 2021, PI intervened in a case before the European Court of Human Rights which, among others, deals with a disclosure order that would facilitate “the decoding of communications”.
A landmark case before the European Court of Justice on communications data retention where PI had intervened.
Privacy International led landmark litigation on judicial review principles and their applicability to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal
Past Cases
Exposing and challenging a secret MI5 policy authorising informants to commit crimes in the UK
Privacy International filed a complaint with the UK data protection regulator to obtain the full, unredacted contract between the Department of Health and Social Care and Amazon.
