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Content type: Report
Privacy International’s investigation contains evidence of the Syrian government’s ambitious plans and projects to monitor the national communications infrastructure, the technical details of which are revealed for the first time. Hundreds of original documents also highlight surveillance trade in this region leading up to and during the Arab Spring, which involved companies from around the world.
Content type: News & Analysis
Brexit and Privacy
It's as clear as mud, what it means when a country decides to willingly pull out of a trading bloc, a policy coordination mechanism, a relatively democratic network, and a framework for the free flow of people, data, and rights. Meanwhile today the minister in charge of surveillance for the past six years will assume the leadership of the country.
There is much speculation as to what is next. Here's our take. Importantly, there's a lot to be worried about, some to like…
Content type: Press release
For further information please contact PI Legal Officer Millie Graham Wood: [email protected]
For media enquiries please contact [email protected]
Documents obtained by Privacy International reveal the existence of a secret oversight function given to the Intelligence Services Commissioner (ISC), in operation since at least 2014. The details of this function, referred to as the ‘third direction’, remain redacted and only came to light following…
Content type: Long Read
This piece was written by Ashley Gorski, who is an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, and PI legal officer Scarlet Kim and originally appeared in The Guardian here.
In recent weeks, the Hollywood film about Edward Snowden and the movement to pardon the NSA whistleblower have renewed worldwide attention on the scope and substance of government surveillance programs. In the United States, however, the debate has often been a narrow one, focused on the…
Content type: Long Read
This week, Privacy International, together with nine other international human rights NGOs, filed submissions with the European Court of Human Rights. Our case challenges the UK government’s bulk interception of internet traffic transiting fiber optic cables landing in the UK and its access to information similarly intercepted in bulk by the US government, which were revealed by the Snowden disclosures. To accompany our filing, we have produced two infographics to illustrate the…
Content type: Press release
Today, Privacy International, together with five internet and communications providers from around the world, have lodged an application before the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the British Government's use of bulk hacking abroad. Until we brought our original case at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) in 2014, the Government had never admitted that it engaged in hacking. Now we are learning for the first time how far-reaching the Government's global hacking capabilities are…
Content type: Press release
New report entitled Global Surveillance Industry maps out growth and scale of global surveillance industry
Privacy International, in collaboration with Transparency Toolkit, launches searchable database featuring over 1500 brochures and data on over 520 surveillance companies as well as over 600 reported individual exports of specific surveillance technologies taken from open source records, including investigative and technical reports, as well as government export licensing data
The…
Content type: News & Analysis
Privacy International is today proud to release the Surveillance Industry Index (SII), the world's largest publicly available educational resource of data and documents of its kind on the surveillance industry, and an accompanying report charting the growth of the industry and its current reach.
The SII, which is based on data collected by journalists, activists, and researchers across the world is the product of months of collaboration between Transparency Toolkit and Privacy…
Content type: Long Read
Privacy International’s case on Bulk Personal Datasets and Bulk Communications Data comes to a head with a four-day hearing in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal which commenced on 26 July 2016.
The litigation has brought to light significant revelations about the use of section 94 of the 1984 Telecommunications Act to obtain bulk communications data.
Large amounts of disclosure have shed new light on this hitherto secret power and explained confusing aspects of the Government’s Response to…
Content type: News & Analysis
After the adoption of the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Directive for Law Enforcement Agencies, the EU-US Privacy Shield, your understandable EU privacy policy fatigue is excused.
But when a coalition of tech and telecom industries calls for a relatively obscure EU directive to be repealed, it may unintentionally trigger an atypical Streisand effect: if companies, which often so cavalier to individuals’ privacy, want to get rid of the EU e-privacy…
Content type: News & Analysis
The reports of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group for the States under Review at the 24th session in January 2016 were adopted during the last Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, which took place from 13 June to 1 July 2016.
Of the 14 Member States being reviewed, Privacy International with co-submitters presented reports on the right to privacy in Denmark, Paraguay, Belgium, Estonia, Namibia, and Singapore.
The growing number of…
Content type: Press release
Today Sir Stanley Burnton, the Interception of Communications Commissioner, published a highly critical review of the use of Section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 for gathering vast amounts of our communications data in bulk. This obscure clause pre-dates the internet era, but has been used for nearly two decades for mass surveillance. Today is the first time that these powers have been criticised by an independent statutory body. IOCCO is critical of the Government's use of these…
Content type: Press release
Judges of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal visited MI5 in 2007 for a secret briefing. None of the judges hearing the case this week attended the briefing.
At the briefing, MI5 persuaded the judges that MI5 did not usually have to disclose its data holdings in “Bulk Personal Datasets” to the Tribunal. These are highly intrusive datasets that have details of a vast number of people's location, internet use, financial information and telephone records.
This meant that, as complaints were…
Content type: Press release
Tomorrow, on 26 July, the main hearing will begin in Privacy International's legal challenge against MI6, MI5, and GCHQ's collection of bulk communications data and bulk personal datasets. Previously secret documents will be made public at the hearing, and Privacy International will brief attending journalists about the significance of the disclosed documents.
The hearing will include references to important documents detailing the collection of data on every citizen in the…
Content type: Press release
Harmit Kambo, Campaigns Director, Privacy International said
"The overwhelming vote by MPs last night in favour of massively intrusive new state surveillance powers represents both a failure of the democratic process and a grim watershed moment for the privacy of every one of us.
Over the course of the Bill Committee stage, Privacy International, alongside experts from academia, technology firms, the legal profession, human rights organisations, and civil liberties groups have proposed over…
Content type: Press release
Privacy International releases previously confidential correspondence between lawyers for MI5 and GCHQ and the former Interception of Communications Commissioner, highlighting problems with the relationship between the two bodies
The correspondences show a lack of meaningful oversight and restraint of UK surveillance agencies
Ahead of the vital commons vote on the Investigatory Powers Bill, we need to create a system that guarantees better oversight of surveillance powers…
Content type: Press release
Despite Government attempts to stop 650 claims about surveillance being investigated, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal has today ruled that the cases can be heard
However, the Tribunal is requiring the 650 claimants to submit further information demonstrating that they are "potentially at risk" of unlawful surveillance, prior to investigating their claims of unlawful spying
The Tribunal has said that people outside the UK have no legal right to find out if British…
Content type: News & Analysis
This letter originally appeared here.
Dear Home Secretary
You are fortunate that the SNP and Labour Party courageously abstained from the vote on the Investigatory Powers Bill, content with government assurances that mass surveillance of British citizens is not government policy. Mass surveillance is not, and could never be, government policy. Merely government practice.
I congratulate you on your much-quoted claim that the Investigatory Powers Bill will contain a “world-leading…
Content type: News & Analysis
“It’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife”. Alanis Morissette thought that was ironic. I never thought so. I suggest a far more ironic lyric to you Alanis - "It’s like the Home Office not listening during a consultation about how it wants to listen to everything you do’. OK, it might not be the catchiest lyric, but you can’t say it’s not ironic.
Today the latest version of the Investigatory Powers Bill was published. The Government might want some credit…
Content type: News & Analysis
Over the next two weeks, the 25th session of the Universal Period Review Working Group will take place in Geneva. The Universal Period Review is a key mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council to remind UN Member States of their responsibility to respect and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Amongst others, Hungary, the United Republic of Tanzania, Thailand, and Ireland will be reviewed. Privacy International, in collaboration with national civil society…
Content type: Long Read
1984: A broad law, a broad power and a whole lot of secrecy
In the wake of litigation brought by Privacy International (‘PI’) and as the Government prepared to introduce the Draft Investigatory Powers Bill (‘IP Bill’) in November 2015, there was a cascade of ‘avowals’- admissions that the intelligence agencies carry out some highly intrusive surveillance operations under powers contained in outdated and confusing legislation.
It is disappointing that it has been almost six months since…
Content type: Long Read
Written by: Maria del Pilar Saenz
With a raft of recent scandals involving proven and possible abuses of surveillance systems by state institutions, there is a clear need to generate policy and practice in Colombia that promotes respect for human rights. It is necessary to keep this in mind as an emerging public policy discussion on cybersecurity led by CONPES (The National Council for Economic and Social Policy) begins in Colombia. This series of reforms will serve as the policy basis…
Content type: News & Analysis
Hacking Team, an Italian surveillance company selling intrusive spyware to government authorities around the world, has had its global export license revoked by the Italian export authorities, according to a report in Il Fatto Quotidiano.
The move comes after intensive media scrutiny spurred by the hack of their internal systems last summer and revelations that they had sold surveillance technology to some of the world’s most authoritarian states.
One of the countries to which Hacking…
Content type: News & Analysis
Following the launch of our report "The President’s Men?" shedding light on the existence of the Technical Research Department, a secret unit within the Egyptian intelligence infrastructure we publish here an open letter we have sent to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi demanding that he responds to the extremely worrying situation we describe in the report.
Your Excellency President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi,
On Wednesday 24th February we released a new investigation about the Technical…
Content type: Long Read
This guest piece was written by Jessamine Pacis of the Foundation for Media Alternatives. It does not necessarily reflect the views or position of Privacy International.
Introduction
With a history immersed in years of colonialism and tainted by martial law, Philippine society is no stranger to surveillance. Even now, tales of past regimes tracking their citizens’ every move find their way into people’s everyday conversations. This, for the most part, has kept Filipinos…
Content type: Long Read
Written by: Centre for Internet and Society
This guest piece was written by representatives of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS). It does not necessarily reflect the views or position of Privacy International.
Introduction
As part of the State of the Surveillance project, CIS conducted a review of surveillance law, policy, projects, and trends in India. Below we provide a snap shot of key legal provisions governing surveillance in India and touch on…
Content type: Long Read
The recent back and forth between Apple and the FBI over security measures in place to prevent unauthorised access to data has highlighted the gulf in understanding of security between technologists and law enforcement. Modern debates around security do not just involve the state and the individual, the private sector plays a very real role too. There are worrying implications for the safety and security of our devices. Today, a new company stepped in to this discussion -- though it had been…
Content type: Advocacy
Below is Privacy International’s oral statement to the Human Rights Council 31st ordinary session, 9 March 2016 Inter-active dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy. Privacy International's written statement is here.
BEGIN
Mr. President,
Privacy International welcomes the opportunity to participate in this first inter-active dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy. We regret however the Rapporteur’s late submission of his report.…
Content type: News & Analysis
A new illegal spying scandal in Colombia involving the National Police has brought about the resignation of the Chief of the National Police, set off an investigation by the country’s Inspector General and brought the issue of illegal surveillance by Colombian authorities back into the national discussion.
With another institution engulfed in a spying scandal, it begs the question: just how many more of these can Colombia take before something finally changes?
Privacy International’s report…
Content type: News & Analysis
This week will see the right to privacy take center stage at the UN in Geneva.
The UN Special rapporteur on the right to privacy will present his first report to the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday 9 March. Meanwhile the Human Rights Committee will review the records of surveillance and the right to privacy of South Africa and Sweden among others.
The new Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy
A year ago the Human Rights Council established the mandate of the Special…