What Happened On 5 June 2013, The Guardian published the first in a series of documents disclosed by Edward Snowden, a whistleblower who had worked with the NSA. The documents revealed wide-ranging mass surveillance programs conducted by the USA’s National Security Agency (NSA) and the UK’s

PI and our global partners have been at the forefront of challenging communications data retention for over a decade. ## What is the problem Communications data, also known as metadata, tells a story about your digital activity and answers the who, when, what, and how of a specific communication

What happened The Clinton Administration kicked off the cypto-wars in 1993 with the Clipper Chip. The continued application of export controls restrained the deployment of strong cryptography in products at a key moment of internet history: as it began to be embedded in software and networking. What

What is the problem Business models of lots of companies is based on data exploitation. Big Tech companies such Google, Amazon, Facebook; data brokers; online services; apps and many others [collect, use and share huge amounts of data about us](https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4398

What happened In the aftermath of 9/11, Governments across the world rushed to legislate to expand surveillance. Governments Moved to limit debate and reduce consultations as they legislated with speed. Created new systems to collect data on all travellers, for the purpose of profiling and risk

What happened Governments continuously seek to expand their communications surveillance powers. In the 1990s it was in the context of applying telephone surveillance laws to the internet. In the 2000s a spate of new laws arrived in response to 9/11. Expansions were then sought to monitor over-the

What is the problem In the 1990s privacy was often maligned as a ‘rich Westerner’s right’. We were told often that non-Westerners didn’t need privacy and had different cultural attitudes and would greet surveillance policies and technologies — often exported from the West. Global civil society

What happened Since the late 1980s governments across the world have been trying to build identity registries. By the early 1990s, there were similar policies being pursued by a number of governments across the Pacific region, with similar technologies from the same companies. In the mid-90s ID

[ Photo By Ludovic Courtès - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0] Last update: 14 December 2022 What is the problem and why it is important Until the early '10s, the right to privacy had been sidelined and largely unaddressed within the UN human rights monitoring mechanisms, despite being upheld as a fundamental

What happened Strong and effective data protection law is a necessary safeguard against industry and governments' quest to exploit our data. A once-in-a-generation moment arose to reform the global standard on data protection law when the European Union decided to create a new legal regime. PI had