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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: Long Read
This piece originally appeared here.
On both sides of the Atlantic, we are witnessing the dramatic expansion of government hacking powers. In the United States, a proposed amendment to Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure would permit the government to obtain a warrant, in certain circumstances, to hack unspecified numbers of electronic devices anywhere in the world. Meanwhile, across the pond, the British Parliament is currently debating the Investigatory…
Content type: News & Analysis
Everyone wants to know what you need to do to be i) happy, ii) fit, iii) secure. And the easier and more listy it is, the better.
The Guardian recently published an article that left PI’s techies sceptical, to say the least. “Extreme online security measures to protect your digital privacy – a guide” offered nine pieces of advice to stay secure online, including covering your house with a few layers of aluminium (!!!).
While there is no one-solution-fits-all when it comes to security and…
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: Advocacy
This stakeholder report is a submission by Privacy International (PI). PI is a human rights organisation that works to advance and promote the right to privacy and fight surveillance around the world. PI wishes to bring concerns about the protection and promotion of the right to privacy in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia before the Human Rights Committee for consideration in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's upcoming review.
Content type: Advocacy
This stakeholder report is a submission by Privacy International (PI), the Liga voor Menserechten and the Ligue des droits de l'Homme. PI is a human rights organisation that works to advance and promote the right to privacy and fight surveillance around the world. PI wishes to bring concerns about the protection and promotion of the right to privacy in Belgium before the Human Rights Council for consideration in Belgium's upcoming Universal Periodic Review.
Content type: Advocacy
This stakeholder report is a submission by Privacy International (PI). PI is a human rights organisation that works to advance and promote the right to privacy and fight surveillance around the world. PI wishes to bring concerns about the protection and promotion of the right to privacy in Uzbekistan before the Human Rights Committee for consideration in Uzbekistan's upcoming review.
Content type: Advocacy
This stakeholder report is a submission by Privacy International (PI) and the IT-Political Association of Denmark. PI is a human rights organisation that works to advance and promote the right to privacy and fight surveillance around the world. PI wishes to bring concerns about the protection and promotion of the right to privacy in Denmark before the Human Rights Council for consideration in Denmark's upcoming Universal Periodic Review.
Content type: Advocacy
This stakeholder report is a submission by Privacy International (PI). PI is a human rights organisation that works to advance and promote the right to privacy and fight surveillance around the world. PI wishes to bring concerns about the protection and promotion of the right to privacy in Namibia before the Human Rights Council for consideration in Namibia's upcoming Universal Periodic Review.
Content type: Press release
Previously secret official documents, containing new revelations about the Government's mass surveillance regime, have today been disclosed as a result of litigation brought by Privacy International against the Intelligence Agencies (MI5, MI6, GCHQ). These documents shed further light on the secretive bulk data collection regime operating under section 94 of the Telecommunications Act 1984 and the Bulk Personal Data-set regime.
Documents available:…
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: Advocacy
This stakeholder report is a submission by Privacy International (PI). PI is a human rights organisation that works to advance and promote the right to privacy and fight surveillance around the world. PI wishes to bring concerns about the protection and promotion of the right to privacy in the United Kingdom before the Human Rights Committee for consideration in the United Kingdom's upcoming review.
Content type: Press release
This week in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Committee will examine the Argentina’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), an international treaty which places obligations on signatories to guarantee human rights such as the right to privacy.
This review, by a body of independent experts charged with monitoring compliance with the ICCPR, comes at a critical time for Argentina laws and policies on privacy and surveillance.
Recent years have seen…
Content type: Press release
Esta semana en Ginebra, el Comité de Derechos Humanos de la ONU examinará el cumplimiento de la Argentina con el Pacto Internacional de Derechos Civiles y Políticos (PIDCP), un tratado internacional que establece obligaciones a los firmantes para garantizar los derechos humanos, como el derecho a la privacidad.
Este examen, por un grupo de expertos independientes encargados de vigilar el cumplimiento del PIDCP, llega en un momento crítico para las leyes y políticas de la Argentina sobre la…
Content type: News & Analysis
Remember when the world didn't know what Prism was? Those were the days. While privacy advocates, civil libertarians, and technologists had suspected or posited the existence of an extensive surveillance regime operated by the U.S. government, few knew the details and the extent of the operation.
Undoubtedly, we know more now than we did a week ago about the National Security Agency's covert operations and how the agency routinely spies on nearly anyone in the world. The public, many…
Content type: Advocacy
La Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) y Privacy International toman nota de las respuestas del gobierno de Argentina a la lista de cuestiones antes de la presentación del informe, en particular en relación a la legislación, políticas y prácticas relacionadas con la vigilancia y la protección de los datos personales.
Privacy International es una organización de derechos humanos que trabaja para favorecer y promover el derecho a la privacidad y la lucha contra la vigilancia en todo el…
Content type: Advocacy
Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) and Privacy International note the replies by the government of Argentina to the list of issues prior to the submission of the report, in particular in relation to the laws, policies and practices related to surveillance and protection of personal data.
Privacy International is a human rights organisation that works to advance and promote the right to privacy and fight surveillance around the world. The Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) is a…
Content type: Advocacy
La Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC) y Privacy International toman nota de las respuestas del gobierno de Argentina a la lista de cuestiones antes de la presentación del informe, en particular en relación a la legislación, políticas y prácticas relacionadas con la vigilancia y la protección de los datos personales.
Privacy International es una organización de derechos humanos que trabaja para favorecer y promover el derecho a la privacidad y la lucha contra la vigilancia en todo el…
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: News & Analysis
When it comes to tackling corruption, we need to critically engage with the role of technology. One technology in particular is biometrics, a technology that identifies and stores on a database the identity of an individual through some physical characteristic, usually fingerprints or an iris scan. Biometrics is increasingly being used in ID and voter registration schemes. It is a technology that raises privacy and data protection issues but notwithstanding…
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: News & Analysis
Another committee-led scrutiny. Another list of changes that need to be made to the Investigatory Powers Bill. This seems familiar.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights has weighed in with scrutiny of the Investigatory Powers Bill prior to the Bill’s debate and vote in the House of Commons on the 6 and 7 June. The recommendations the report contains once again raise questions about the fitness of the Bill to be passed in its current form.
The Committee identified thematic warrants - which…
Content type: News & Analysis
Thank you to those of you who joined our campaign, 'Did GCHQ Illegally Spy on You?'. If you made a claim to the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) - the court that hears claims about surveillance by public bodies, including the intelligence agencies - to find out if GCHQ has illegally obtained your communications, you will have probably received a letter or email from the IPT by now. We've written a 'Frequently Asked Questions' (FAQ) to help clarify what the ruling means and how you can now…
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
Last month, the UK Information Commissioner's Office announced a “private investigator crackdown”, citing concerns that private investigators were using hacking techniques to gain access to personal information.
The use of dodgy private investigators and illegal hacking by private investigators in the UK has attracted significant media attention in the wake of the phone hacking scandals, which involved the use of such private investigators by major newspapers.
The sector isn't…
Content type: News & Analysis
A few weeks ago we wrote about a landmark opportunity the Mexican Supreme Court had to set a precedent by taking a strong stand against mass surveillance.
Last Wednesday, the Second Chamber of the Supreme Court of Mexico came to a disappointing decision for the protection of privacy, and for democracy in Mexico, by rejecting to challenge of the mass, unregulated, unchecked data retention provision that currently exists under the Federal Telecommunications Act. The …
Content type: Press release
Privacy International, the leading global privacy rights NGO, has today filed a Judicial Review at the UK High Court, challenging the Investigatory Powers Tribunal's (IPT) decision that the Government can issue general hacking warrants. This decision means that British intelligence agency GCHQ can continue to hack into the computers and phones of broad classes of people - including those residing in the UK. The Investigatory Powers Bill, currently being debated in Parliament, seeks to…
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…