Educational

Examples, Explainer, Educational Case Study, Course, Guide

US police expand surveillance in response to Black Lives Matter protests

01 Jun 2020

During the Black Lives Matter protests of summer 2020, US police took advantage of a lack of regulation and new technologies to expand the scope of people and platforms they monitor; details typically emerge through lawsuits, public records disclosures, and stories released by police department PR

COVID-19 vaccine prioritization algorithms in parts of Italy

Amid a chaotic rollout of the national vaccination plan, the Italian Federation of General Practitioners (FIMMG) and some regions in Italy are resorting to algorithms to more efficiently prioritise who gets vaccinated against COVID-19. AlgorithmWatch documented the adoption of automated decision

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UK mass interception laws violates human rights and the fight continues...

On 25 May 2021, a Grand Chamber judgment against the UK broke new ground in the regulation of bulk interception capabilities requiring enhanced safeguards to protect the rights to privacy and freedom of expression against abuse. It is a complex judgment with lights and shades, and the fight against mass surveillance is not over. Find here our initial take on the judgment and what comes next.

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Q&A: Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights rules UK mass surveillance laws violate privacy and freedom of expression rights

On 25 May 2021, the Grand Chamber of the European Court issued a landmark ruling on UK mass surveillance practices. Below we answer some of your questions.

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Protestor with microphone in Syracuse October 2020

Explaining changes to how we treat your data, expanding how we campaign with you

We are changing our privacy policy... here's an explanation of why, and what we do.

Key Resources

Timeline of complaints against AdTech

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became enforceable on May 25th 2018. Since then, complaints against the AdTech industry are piling up, attacking intrusive tracking and profiling practices, unfairly obtained consent and insufficient legal basis, all of which we consider to infringe GDPR. This timeline is a list of some of the key actions taken against this ecosystem, a reminder of the challenges that AdTech companies are facing and a demonstration that GDPR still has to be implemented and enforced.

Long Read

The UK Human Rights Act and the right to privacy

The UK goverment’s Independent Human Rights Act Review has shone the spotlight on the relationship between domestic jurisprudence and the European Court of Human Rights. We look at this relationship from a privacy perspective.

Long Read

Exclusion by design: how national ID systems make social protection inaccessible to vulnerable populations

Governments around the world are increasingly making registration in national ID systems mandatory for populations to access social benefits, healthcare services, and other forms of state support. By virtue of their design, these systems inevitably exclude certain population groups from obtaining an ID and hence from accessing essential resources to which they are entitled.

US department of Homeland Security (DHS) buys cellphone location data from private companies

02 Jul 2020

Sidestepping the need to obtain a search warrant, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been accessing smartphone location data by buying it from private marketing that typically embed tracker in apps. This data, which maps the movement of millions of cellphones in America, was collected

Israeli parliament approves digital tracking of people arriving from abroad

17 Mar 2021

On March 17th, the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) approved a bill allowing the digital tracking of people arriving from abroad and who would have to go into quarantine. Travellers will be tracked using digital tracking bracelets, or other means like cell phone bracelet. According to Haaretz, Deputy

France to use CCTV to monitor mask-wearing on public transport

16 Mar 2021

A a government decree was published on 10 March 2021 which allows for public transport operators in France to monitor and measure the rate of mask-wearing on transport using the surveillance cameras.

La Quadrature du Net criticised the adoption of the decree. They argued the use of surveillance cameras for this purpose was unlawful and challenged the necessity of such a measure. They also raised concerns that such a policy was adopted through a government decree bypassing parliamentary process and broader public scrutinity.

Source: https://www.euractiv.com/section/data-protection/news/france-to-use-cctv-to-monitor-mask-wearing-on-public-transport/
Publication: Euractiv
Write: Mathieu Pollet

Ministry unveils plan to immunize millions against COVID-19

02 Mar 2021

On 2 March 2021, the Ministry of Health of Uganda unveiled its plan to immunize millions against COVID-19 starting on 10 March 2021. The statement made by the Ministry of Health noted that "All persons eligible for vaccination will be required to provide a National Identification Card in the case of

Officials promised equal access, but refugees are already receiving COVID-19 vaccines at a much slower rate than Lebanese

25 Feb 2021

Health officials in Lebanon had indicated that all residents in Lebanon there would be equal access to the Covid-19 vaccine programme, regardless of nationality. However data is indicating a higher number of Syrian and Palestinian refugees either not registering or receiving the vaccine, and so a

UK appoints counter-terrorism official to lead biosecurity centre

12 May 2020

Tom Hurd, a senior Home Office counter-terrorism official who was at Eton and Oxford with prime minister Boris Johnson, will lead the UK’s newly-established biosecurity centre; Hurd remains a candidate to take over as the next director general of MI6 later in 2020. Hurd, who has worked as a diplomat

Coronavirus arrival heralds catastrophe for Rohingya and Bangladesh

15 May 2020

In mid-May two people living in or adjacent to the world’s largest refugee settlement, the Rohingya camps in southern Bangladesh, tested positive for COVID-19, leading aid workers to fear catastrophic effects on both the Rohingya themselves and Bangladesh in general. By the end of May another 132

New Zealand Subway employee uses contact tracing details to harass female customer

13 May 2020

A New Zealand Subway restaurant suspended an employee for sending texts and social media requests on Facebook, Instagram, among others to a female customer online after she gave the restaurant her personal information as part of a contact tracing effort. The restaurant has since adopted a new