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Content type: News & Analysis
We’ve been warning for a while now about the risks of AI Assistants. Are these assistants designed for us or to exploit us?The answer to that question hinges on whether the firms building these tools are considering security and privacy from the outset. The initial launches over the last couple of years were not promising.Now with OpenAI’s agent launch, users deserve to know whether these firms are considering these risks and designing their service for people in the real world. The OpenAI…
Content type: Video
LinksLearn more about Repro uncensoredRepro Uncensored incident report formAdriana Smith's caseMore about Adriana's casePrivacy International's Menstruation apps researchResearch on Bing's Typo-searchingMSI on the Global impact of Roe V. Wade being overturnedReport by Fòs Feminista on the Global Impact of the Dobbs DecisionMeta getting rid of factchecking functionAmazon USA report called Obstacles to Autonomy, which includes info on advertising account restrictionsAn report by the Independent…
Content type: Long Read
In June 2025, a team of researchers exposed how Meta and Yandex abused Android and browser-specific tools to track users outside of their application and collect associated data. The technique used to achieve this was truly innovative, and akin to malware behaviour. It exploited protocols to break the isolation between apps and browser, a fundamental security concept meant to protect users. This allowed these companies to tie the browsing history of individuals with their accounts on the…
Content type: Video
Links:Read more from Defend Digital MePI's work on Securitising Education25 Years old - The Database State report5 safes principlesUK Government's publication on Genomics in EducationTips and Tricks for submitting a Data Subject Access RequestRequest your information from the Department for Education
Content type: Long Read
Period tracking apps and the rollback of reproductive rightsThe aftermath of the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States (US) sparked widespread debate and concern that data from period tracking apps could be use to criminalise those seeking abortion care.While the surveillance and criminalisation of reproductive choices are neither new nor unique to the US, the scale and intensity of today’s crisis continue to grow. To put it into perspective, 22 million women and girls of reproductive…
Content type: Video
It's our first time attempting a video podcast, so please let us know what you think by dropping us an email at [email protected]! Read more about our challenge against the UK's secret TCN powers.
Content type: Long Read
Go back to the report page Methodology We looked at the top period tracking apps downloaded in the Google Play Store, some of which we had examined in our original research, and some of which are newly emerging apps that have since grown in popularity. The top period-tracking apps with the most downloads included Flo; Period Tracker by Simple Design; and apps we'd tested in our previous research that still exist such as Maya, Period Tracker by GP Apps, as well as several apps popular…
Content type: Long Read
The security of our devices, applications and infrastructure is paramount to the safe functioning of our digital lives. Good security enables trust in our systems, it is fundamental to protecting the critical information we store and exchange through networks and devices. Similar to how we physically secure our homes, offices and schools, securing devices and software allows us to operate in safe and trusted environments where our security is guaranteed and protected.Security for information…
Content type: Video
Links2G phone networks are being shutdownRead the Rest of World storyPI's Low Cost Tech researchListen to our podcast on connectivity and vertical mergersGoogle anti-trust case and potential break up; Read the Washington Post storyGoogle buy WizImpact of USAID cutsRead the NY Times articleUK cutsPI's work on aid funding surveillance: US Surveillance exportsEU Surveillance AidUm-ing and Ah-ingRead the Knowable articleIsrael, data and AIRead the 972 article Cellphone data for targetingLLM…
Content type: Long Read
“Hey [enter AI assistant name here], can you book me a table at the nearest good tapas restaurant next week, and invite everyone from the book club?” Billions of dollars are invested in companies to deliver on this. While this is a dream that their marketing departments want to sell, this is a potential nightmare in the making.Major tech companies have all announced flavours of such assistants: Amazon’s Alexa+, Google’s Gemini inspired by Project Astra, Microsoft’s Copilot AI companion and…
Content type: Video
Links- Read our in-depth article about what happened and what it tells us about the security and robustness of the modern internet- Find more about the 911 outages across several US states- CrowdStrike's own review of the problem- Our podcast on the XZ exploit- Facebook VPN exploitation- The philosopher Caitlin was thinking of was Paul Virilio
Content type: Video
Links Guest's publications PI's technology, data and elections checklistTransparencia Electoral's reportTransparencia's index on data protection in LatAm electionsR3D's report: Censura electoral Links to content discussed in episodeObama's 2012 targeted social media campaignOur work on Cambridge AnalyticaDeepfake use in electionsOur report with the Carter Center on the Kenyan Presidential electionsListen to our episode about our work in Kenya (Election Observation: Data,…
Content type: Video
Links- Read PI's research- Learn more about Rhizomatica- Learn more about Lũa and his work on Starlink- We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts, case studies, or ideas about vertical mergers using our survey- More about X and Starlink's legal trouble in Brazil- Our podcast about competition with Dr Deni Mantzari
Content type: Video
Please note, while we normally embed a peertube video for privacy reasons we are currently experiencing technical issues, so the above is a YouTube video, which we will replace as soon as we can.We're joined by Rosemary Kayess - Vice Chair of the UN Committee on the Convention of the Rights for Persons with Disabilities, and the Disability Discrimination commissioner of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Marc Workman - CEO of the World Blind Union (WBU), and Heba Hagrass - UN Special…
Content type: Long Read
IntroductionWith the ongoing expansion of GPS tagging under the UK Home Office's electronic monitoring programme, it has increasingly deployed non-fitted devices (NFDs) that track a person's GPS location and request frequent biometric verification in the form of fingerprint scans.The NFDs deployed by the UK Home Office are small handheld devices with a fingerprint scanner that record a person's location 24/7 (referred to as their trail data). They alert the person at random intervals throughout…
Content type: Video
Links for description: - Matrix- Element- Telegram's encryption- Blah- Anatel Brazil Whatsapp arrest- European commission 42 point going dark plan- Clipper chip: Listen to our podcast!- Online Safety Act- Liberty on the Online Safety Act- Adam Langley- More about Pond.org- 'We kill people based on metadata'- PI and ICRC report- Matrix P2P tracker- Alec Muffett v Matthew Hodgson- PI's take on the Digital Markets Act- Apple enable RCS- Chat Control- Cyber Resilience Act
Content type: Explainer
Many democracies, particularly younger democracies, are increasingly looking to employ technology - including biometrics - to coordinate the running of their electoral processes. Governments give various reasons for the use of these technologies, such as transparency, voter identification, and fighting corrupt practices in attempts to increase confidence in election results.
These databases and the devices used to access and edit them are susceptible to abuse, manipulation, and theft. Moreover…
Content type: Video
Links- Andres Freund's Mastodon - where he revealed the backdoor: - Read more in Ars Technica's article about it - Read more in The Verge's article - Read more in Wired's article about it - Check out this excellent and very helpful infographic- The XKCD comic we mention
Content type: Video
Links - Read more about PI's work on encryption- Matt Blaze and crypto.com; you can now find Matt at mattblaze.org - More about ITAR and the export of cryptography- More about France's ban on encryption ending in this 1999 article from the Register- More about the Data Encryption Standard - Find out more about the Clipper Chip or take a look at this NY Times article from 1994 (paywalled)- Matt Blaze's flaw in the Clipper Chip- NSA Data Center and NSA holding data- An…
Content type: Video
The case dealt with a Russian law obliging telecommunications service providers to indiscriminately retain content and communications data for certain time periods, as well as a 2017 disclosure order by the Russian Federal Security Service requiring Telegram Messenger company to disclose technical information which would facilitate “the decoding of communications”.Links:PI case pageECtHR judgment in the Podchasov casePI's work on encryptionPI's report on End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)More…
Content type: Video
LinksFind out more about encryption:Computerphile on YouTube is a computer science professor with a range of useful and accessible videos on encryptionCloudflare have a helpful learning centre including this article on how encryption works and why cloudflare use Lava lamps to generate keysThis is a helpful article on Diffie-Hellman including a diagram of the colours demonstration, which Ed discusses during the podcastThis article is great for learning more about hashingAnd if you're interested…
Content type: Video
We explore the legal case, the ways the tag hasn't worked for long periods of time, and a dubious AI the Home Office has been using in decisions as to whether someone remains on a GPS tag.LinksRead more from Katie's law firm, Wilsons Solicitors, about the casePI's Complaint to the ICO (the UK's Data Protection Authority)Read more about relevant cases in which PI has filed witness evidenceThe five companies at the heart of the UK's GPS tagging systemWe tested GPS ankle tags, read how our…
Content type: Video
LinksCompanies getting disciplinedOvulation Tracking App Premom Will be Barred from Sharing Health Data for Advertising Under Proposed FTC Order Facebook getting fined for data exploitation in NorwayCNIL fines CriteoCNIL fines DoctissimoWorldcoin (aspires to be World ID) has been getting some pushback from some countriesGovernments abandoning plans, or at least held to accountKenya drops Huduma Numba and replaces it with new systems (it’s not any better and advocacy under way) but it’s…
Content type: Video
Since we recorded this podcast there has been an update on the Microsoft Activision mergerLinksPI competition page (our "very influential work")More about Dr MantzariEcosystems and competition law in theory and practice - a research paper about ecosystemsPower Imbalances in Online Marketplaces: At the Crossroads of Competition Law and Regulation - one of Dr Deni's papers looking at peconomic dependence in online marketplacesGoogle Android European court case on abuse of dominance and more info…
Content type: Explainer
On International Identity Day, we are highlighting that the technology-driven ID systems being implemented around the world are leading to new forms of surveillance and exclusion.Last September, PI and its global network of partners launched Identity Crisis - a campaign to change the narrative on identity systems. Around the world PI and our partners have seen ID systems creating and facilitating exclusion, insecurity, and surveillance.To learn more, watch our Identity Crisis video, in which…
Content type: Video
Links
- Refuge's Tech Safety resources
- Refuge's Tech Safety smart home devices tool
- Read more about Dr Tanczer and her work
- Find out more about the Gender and Tech at UCL and sign up to the newsletter
- PI's guides to improve your own device security
- UK Member's of Parliament discuss smart tech and abuse
- Connected technology: MPs call on Government to tackle growing problem of tech-enabled domestic abuse
Content type: Video
Additional audio from The Guardian and from Channel 4 News via the Guardian
Links
What is Tempora?
Taking angle grinders to the Guardian's hard drives
PI's legal cases
The ACLU's case challenging upsteam surveillance
The White House review of the NSA post Snowden
Hear from Ed Snowden directly
Content type: Video
Links
Send Capita an email
Find out more about the campaign
Watch the full video testimonies
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