News and Analysis

N&A, Long Reads, Press Release

Long Read

Why Do We Still Accept That Governments Collect And Snoop On Our Data?

This piece was written by Ashley Gorski , who is an attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, and PI legal officer Scarlet Kim and originally appeared in The Guardian here . In recent weeks, the Hollywood film about Edward Snowden and the movement to pardon the NSA whistleblower have renewed

Press release

New court judgment finds UK surveillance agencies collected everyone’s communications data unlawfully and in secret, for over a decade

Key points Bulk Communications Data (BCD) collection, commenced in March 1998, unlawful until November 2015 Bulk Personal Datasets regime (BPD), commenced c.2006, unlawful until March 2015 Everyone’s communications data collected unlawfully, in secret and without adequate safeguards until November

Long Read

BPD/BCD : IPT Judgment October 2016

On 17 October 2016, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal handed down judgment in a case brought by Privacy International against the Foreign Secretary, the Home Secretary and the three Security and Intelligence Agencies (MI5, MI6 and GCHQ). The case concerned the Agencies’ acquisition and use of bulk

Press release

Colombia’s record on privacy, surveillance, and human rights under renewed scrutiny at the United Nations

This week in Geneva, the UN Human Rights Committee will examine Colombia’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). This review, by a body of independent experts charged with monitoring compliance with the ICCPR, comes just weeks after the peace deal between

News & Analysis

Indiscriminate investigation: new technology should not make us all fair game

As of October 1st, it has become impossible for the public to see footage from North Carolina police body cameras as a result of new law HB 972. This should be of concern to anyone who cares about police accountability and the balance of power in the new digital surveillance era. Increasingly, we

Long Read

How Bulk Interception Works

This week, Privacy International, together with nine other international human rights NGOs, filed submissions with the European Court of Human Rights. Our case challenges the UK government’s bulk interception of internet traffic transiting fiber optic cables landing in the UK and its access to

Press release

Privacy International’s initial reaction to EU export control proposal

PI Research Officer Edin Omanovic said: “The European Commission has proposed sweeping updates [PDF] to trade regulations in an effort to modernise the EU’s export control system and to ensure that the trade in surveillance technology does not facilitate human rights abuses or internal repression

Press release

Privacy International and nine other human rights organizations pursue landmark case at European Court of Human Rights directly challenging UK and US mass surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden

Key points Privacy International, Liberty, Amnesty International, and seven other human rights organizations challenge UK mass surveillance and UK access to US mass surveillance at the European Court of Human Rights This is the first case before the European Court of Human Rights to directly

Long Read

Friends, Followers, Police Officers, and Enemies: Social Surveillance in Thailand

This report examines the emergence of social media based surveillance in Thailand, carried out potentially by people’s own networks of friends and family. It looks at the severe impact this has on personal privacy and points to potential solutions. In May 2014, Thailand experienced a military coup –

Press release

David Anderson A Question of Trust report cover

David Anderson QC’s new report is an incomplete analysis of the case for mass surveillance powers

Caroline Wilson Palow, General Counsel, Privacy International said: “David Anderson QC’s report raises more questions than it answers. Anderson has not assessed the proportionality of the bulk powers he reviewed. Ultimately, the proportionality question is the crucial one. Would the public find

Press release

Press Release: Privacy International And Five Internet And Communications Providers Challenge British Government's Bulk Hacking Abroad Before The European Court Of Human Rights

Today, Privacy International, together with five internet and communications providers from around the world, have lodged an application before the European Court of Human Rights to challenge the British Government's use of bulk hacking abroad. Until we brought our original case at the Investigatory

Long Read

Monitoring the Surveillance Industry: Using data to protect privacy

Often when asked to discuss open data and privacy the objective is to successfully navigate the tension between the fundamental right to privacy, and the virtues of open data. And there is a tension. It is rare to see increased collection of data alongside greater privacy protections. The recently

Press release

Press Release: New Initiative From Privacy International Tracks The Global Surveillance Industry

New report entitled Global Surveillance Industry maps out growth and scale of global surveillance industry Privacy International, in collaboration with Transparency Toolkit, launches searchable database featuring over 1500 brochures and data on over 520 surveillance companies as well as over 600

News & Analysis

Privacy International launches the Surveillance Industry Index & New Accompanying Report

Privacy International Launches The Surveillance Industry Index And New Accompanying Report

Privacy International is today proud to release the Surveillance Industry Index (SII), the world's largest publicly available educational resource of data and documents of its kind on the surveillance industry, and an accompanying report charting the growth of the industry and its current reach. The

News & Analysis

Protecting Innovations and Protecting Data: Can we have surveillance and innovation?

Privacy can be seen as a reflex of innovation. One of the seminal pieces on the right to privacy as the 'right to be let alone emerged in response to the camera and its use by the tabloid media. Seminal jurisprudence is in response to new surveillance innovations... though often with significant

Long Read

Obfuscation And Work Arounds: How The Intelligence Agencies Have Been Obtaining Communications Data

Privacy International’s case on Bulk Personal Datasets and Bulk Communications Data comes to a head with a four-day hearing in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal which commenced on 26 July 2016. The litigation has brought to light significant revelations about the use of section 94 of the 1984