News and Analysis

N&A, Long Reads, Press Release

Long Read

True Profits: The Surveillance-Industrial Complex and the NSA Laboratory Doing Tests On Our Data To "Beat The News"

“FISA section 702 reauthorisation” might not sound like it matters very much to very many people, but it’s pretty dramatic: in short, last month US lawmakers rejected a bill which would have provided protections for US citizens – constitutionally protected against being spied on by US spy agencies –

News & Analysis

Will Ireland Be Britain’s Sister Surveillance State?

The recent announcement by the Minister for Justice that serious and organised crime will receive legislative attention from the Government and the Oireachtas is most welcome. However, the stated means of achieving this are deeply concerning for the Irish public and larger digital economy. The

News & Analysis

Two sides of the same coin – the right to privacy and freedom of expression

7 October 2013 The following is an English version of an article in the September issue of Cuestión de Derechos, written by Privacy International's Head of International Advocacy, Carly Nyst. To read the whole article (in Spanish), please go here. The Chinese government installs software that

News & Analysis

Australia’s metadata grab will create modern-day Stasi files

15 October 2014 The following was written by Carly Nyst, Legal Director for Privacy International, and originally appeared in the Guardian's Comment is Free section: Until the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, the East German state security service – the Stasi – conducted surveillance and kept files

News & Analysis

Global Privacy: Time To Reclaim Control!

What we can achieve. What we are doing. A week to discuss global privacy Throughout these last days, in the context of the #dataprivacyweek, we have been talking about privacy from a global perspective, while showcasing the research done by Privacy International and the organisations who are part of

Long Read

Surveillance And The City: Turning Urban Centres Into A Panopticon

To celebrate Data Privacy Week, we spent the week discussing privacy and issues related to control, data protection, surveillance, and identity. Join the conversation on Twitter using #dataprivacyweek. Do you live in a “smart city”? Chances are, you probably do (or at least your city claims to be)

Long Read

Identity Policies: The Clash Between Democracy and Biometrics

To celebrate International Data Privacy Day (28 January), PI and its International Network have shared a full week of stories and research, exploring how countries are addressing data governance in light of innovations in technology and policy, and implications for the security and privacy of

News & Analysis

Through An App, Darkly: How Companies Construct Our Financial Identity

Privacy International is celebrating Data Privacy Week, where we’ll be talking about privacy and issues related to control, data protection, surveillance and identity. Join the conversation on Twitter using #dataprivacyweek. If you were looking for a loan, what kind of information would you be happy

Long Read

Data and Control: Protecting Rights, Protecting People

Long Read

Watching The Watchers: Accessing and Challenging Control Over Our Data

Privacy International is celebrating Data Privacy Week, where we’ll be talking about privacy and issues related to control, data protection, surveillance and identity. Join the conversation on Twitter using #dataprivacyweek. Exercising the right to privacy extends to the ability of accessing and

News & Analysis

Data Protection Day 2018: A Global Perspective To Privacy

It has been almost 40 years since the Council of Europe’s Convention 108 for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data was signed. The Convention was the first binding treaty dealing with privacy and data protection that recognised the necessity to “reconcile

News & Analysis

Right to privacy at the UN in 2017 - Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing

2017 begun with a progressive Human Rights Council resolution on the right to privacy in the digital age, noting that profiling of individuals may lead to discrimination. It ended with a Security Council resolution on counter-terrorism, calling for profiling of all air travellers and widespread

News & Analysis

The road to surveillance is paved with good intentions – and warning signs

15 November 2013 The following is an excerpt from a Comment originally published by The Guardian, written by Privacy International's Head of Advocacy, Carly Nyst: From databases to mobile phone apps and SMS systems, GPS tracking and humanitarian drones to biometric registration, new technologies are

News & Analysis

The promise, and problems, of mobile phones in the developing world

13 October 2013 The following is an excerpt from a guest article which appeared on openDemocracy, written by Privacy International's Research Officer, Anna Crowe: Humanitarian actors often forsake the right to privacy in favour of promoting programmes utilising phones to deliver services, either

Long Read

Invisible Manipulation: 10 ways our data is being used against us

The era where we were in control of the data on our own computers has been replaced with devices containing sensors we cannot control, storing data we cannot access, in operating systems we cannot monitor, in environments where our rights are rendered meaningless. Soon the default will shift from us

News & Analysis

Why We Need Collective Redress For Data Protection

This post was written by Chair Emeritus of PI’s Board of Trustees, Anna Fielder. The UK Data Protection Bill is currently making its way through the genteel debates of the House of Lords. We at Privacy International welcome its stated intent to provide a holistic regime for the protection of