Helping experts with our analyses

Long Read

Join us on a journey to try to solve the mystery behind the advertisers who have uploaded our personal data to Facebook but with whom we've never interacted with before.

Long Read

In October 2019 Privacy International sent Freedom of Information Act requests to every Local Authority in Great Britain in relation to their use of social media monitoring. This is a full copy of that request. You can read our report here

Report

The UK Chief Surveillance Commissioners have repeatedly raised concerns about local authorities using the internet as a surveillance tool and suggested they conduct an internal audit of the use of social media sites. 

Privacy International sent Freedom of Information requests to local authorities in the UK to dig deeper into what's going on.

Long Read

In October 2019 Privacy International sent Freedom of Information Act requests to every Local Authority in Great Britain in relation to their use of social media monitoring. You can find our report here

A number of policies and guidance documents developed by Local Authorities which have been disclosed to Privacy International in response to the Freedom of Information Act requests relating to social media monitoring, cite the Home Office Covert Surveillance and Property Interference Code of Practice, August 2018. 

Below are the relevant extracts from the Home Office Covert Surveillance and Property Interference Code of Practice, August 2018 which relate to social media monitoring conducted by Local Authorities. 

Report

Concerned about the increasing use of social media monitoring by Government authorities and in particular use by local government authorities, on 7 October 2019, we sent a Freedom of Information Request to 251 local authorities in Great Britain using the platform What Do They Know.

This methodology outlines what we did and the results we found, which informed our report

News & Analysis

25 May 2020 marks the 2nd anniversary of the General Data Protection Regulation. Two years on, where are we now?

Explainer

How does satellite navigation work, and how can it be used for tracking?

Long Read

Governments around the globe are adopting emergency welfare measures in the form of Covid-19 benefits. However, these short-term solutions often fall short of basic human rights safeguards, foreshadowing a concerning future for benefits claimants.

Long Read

The ongoing requirement for asylum-seekers to register their claim for asylum in person reveals the Home Office's misplaced and onerous emphasis on biometrics collection at the expense of asylum-seekers' health

Press release

Today Privacy International and four other UK privacy organisations have sent Palantir 10 questions about their work with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) during the Covid-19 public health crisis.

Advocacy

The EU urgently needs to step up and provide assistance to protect the health and safety of people trapped in camps on the Greek islands: our briefing to the European Parliament.

News & Analysis

Marking International Health Day amidst a global pandemic gives us a chance to reflect on how we are responding to Covid-19 through the use of data and technology.

Advocacy

In March 2020, Privacy International responded to a consultation response for the World Bank's ID4D initiative's Principles on Identification for Development, offering an analysis of the principles themselves and also how they fit within the international debate on identification. We provided 12 main recommendations.

News & Analysis

PI's response to proposals by governments to use mobile phone location and other traffic data from telecos to help with Covid-19 response.

News & Analysis

Unwanted Witness, PI's partner in Uganda, reflects on what has changed since the adoption of the Data Protection and Privacy Act, 2019.

Long Read

PI presents its analysis of the Huduma Numba judgment in three parts: the clear wins, the parts that make some small steps forward but could have been better and the dissapointing losses.