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Content type: News & Analysis
A new report by the UN Working Group on mercenaries analyses the impact of the use of private military and security services in immigration and border management on the rights of migrants, and highlights the responsibilities of private actors in human rights abuses as well as lack of oversight and, ultimately, of accountability of the system.
Governments worldwide have prioritised an approach to immigration that criminalises the act of migration and focuses on security.
Today, borders are not…
Content type: News & Analysis
Back in January, Privacy International and over 50 other organisations wrote to Google asking the company to take action over pre-installed apps that cannot be deleted (often known as “bloatware”), which can leave users vulnerable to their data being collected, shared and exposed without their knowledge or consent. Thousands of people from over 50 countries signed our petition supporting this ask. We welcome the constructive conversations we had with Google following this campaign and for the…
Content type: News & Analysis
Banning TikTok? It's time to fix the out-of-control data exploitation industry - not a symptom of it
Chinese apps and tech companies have been at the forefront of the news recently. Following India's ban of 59 chinese apps in July, President Trump announced his desire to ban TikTok, shortly followed by his backing of Microsoft's intention to buy the US branch of its parent company ByteDance. Other than others lip syncing his public declaration, what does President Trump fear from this app, run by a firm, based in China?
It's all about that data
One clear answer emerges: the exploitation of…
Content type: Long Read
‘Let’s build an app for that’ has become the response to so many things. It’s no surprise it’s happening now.
Apps are notorious for their lack of security and privacy safeguards, exploiting people’s data and devices. Now we’re being asked to trust governments with their proposed apps -- of which there are many. These are the very same governments who have been keen to exploit data in the past. For instance, PI currently has four outstanding legal cases arising from the last times governments…
Content type: Examples
The government has issued a substantial rewrite of a controversial proposal to track people using their phones and other devices in the bid to contain Covid-19. AmaBhungane, an investigative journalism newsroom, said the first “directions” – issued last week by the minister of communications – raised "serious concerns for their vagueness and lack of privacy protections”. The new regulations provide more judicial oversight, restrict the purpose to contact tracing, and aim to ensure that…
Content type: Examples
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in conjunction with local and state governments, are using location data collected by the mobile advertising industry from millions of cellphones in order to better understand how Americans are moving during the COVID-19 pandemic and how those movements affect the spread of the disease. The goal is to create a portal that federal, state, and local officials can use to study geolocation from up to 500 US cities and see which retail…
Content type: News & Analysis
Maddie Stone, formally a Senior reverse engineer and tech lead on the Android security team, shockingly revealed a number of examples of how pre-installed apps on Android devices can undermine users privacy and security in her BlackHat USA talk in August 2019. The video of the talk only recently became available to the public in late December 2019.
The apps in question come preloaded on a device when it is purchased and often can't be removed. Stone reveals a litany of abuses carried out by…
Content type: Advocacy
Puede encontrar la carta a continuación. Agregue su voz a esta campaña firmando nuestra petición si cree que es hora de que Google deje de permitir la explotación.
Nota: Esta carta también está disponible en francés e inglés.
Estimado Sr. Pichai,
Nosotros, los firmantes, estamos de acuerdo con usted: la privacidad no puede ser un lujo reservado para las personas que tienen la capacidad de pagar por ella.
Sin embargo, los socios de Android Partner –que utilizan la marca y la imagen de…
Content type: Advocacy
You can find the letter below. Add your voice to this campaign by signing our petition if you believe that its time Google stopped enabling exploitation.
Note: This letter is also available in French and Spanish
Dear Mr. Pichai,
We, the undersigned, agree with you: privacy cannot be a luxury offered only to those people who can afford it.
And yet, Android Partners - who use the Android trademark and branding - are manufacturing devices that contain pre-installed apps that cannot be deleted…
Content type: Advocacy
Vous pouvez trouver la lettre ci-dessous. Ajoutez votre voix à cette campagne en signant notre pétition si vous pensez qu'il est temps que Google cesse d'activer l'exploitation.
Ce contenu est également disponible en anglais et en espagnol.
Cher M. Pichai,
Nous, les organisations signataires, sommes d’accord avec vous :
la vie privée n’est pas un luxe, offert seulement à ceux qui en ont les moyens.
Pourtant, les « Android Partners » – qui utilisent la marque déposée…