Advocacy

On 2 May and 5 June 2023, PI made a submission to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and the European Commission, respectively, in relation to the proposed merger between Amazon and iRobot, outlining the concerns the transaction raises for consumers and markets.

Privacy International joined a group of civil society organisations to respond to the European Commission’s Call for Evidence on the forthcoming Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The text of the draft Regulation should be improved with amendments to ensure that current company practices do not result in serious harms for consumers or negatively impact devices’ sustainability.

The European Commission’s initiative for a ‘Security-related information sharing system between frontline officers in the EU and key partner countries’ is a further development along the path of problematic border externalisation, and a trend of increasing use of large-scale processing of the personal data of non-EU citizens for combined criminal law and immigration control purposes, that civil society has been speaking out against for years. PI and others filed a joint submission to the consultation.

Privacy International (PI) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) provide observations and recommendations on the proposed consolidated negotiating document for the fifth session of the Ad Hoc Committee, which is due to consider the text in April 2023. Our submission covers provisions in the chapters related to the preamble and international cooperation of the proposed UN Cybercrime treaty (full title: comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes.”) We also provide comments on Article 42 in the criminal procedural measures and law enforcement chapter discussed in the fourth session, as it is of significance to the international cooperation chapter.

PI response to call for inputs for a thematic study by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on “new technologies and enforced disappearances”

PI published its comments on the zero draft of the WHO’s Pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response accord (“WHO CA+”) which will be discussed by the WHO Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) between 27 February and 3 March 2023.

Ten civil society organisations submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights

During the fourth session of the UN Ad Hoc Committee which is negotiating a potential United Nations Cybercrime Treaty, PI made one intervention. The fourth session took place in Vienna from 9 to 20 January 2023.

Privacy International’s submitted its input to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health for her forthcoming thematic report to the Human Rights Council on the theme of: “Digital innovation, technologies and the right to health”.

On 15 December 2022, PI gave evidence for a third time before the EP Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware [PEGA Committee].

PI joined 192 organisations in signing an open letter calling on the EU to ensure the upcoming AI Act prevents harms from the use of AI in migration control.

PI joined 75+ organisations to call on EU policy makers to rework the draft EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive so it is able to address human rights abuses in the tech sector. PI had previously made submissions to the consultation on the draft Directive proposal by the European Commission.

Privacy International (PI) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) reviewed the consolidated negotiating document on the UN Cybercrime treaty (full title: “consolidated negotiating document on the general provisions and the provisions on criminalization and on procedural measures and law enforcement” of a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes”) before the fourth session of the Ad-Hoc Committee which is due to consider the text in January 2023.

While PI and EFF are not convinced a global cybercrime treaty is necessary, in our analysis we advocate for having a human-rights-by-design approach in the proposed UN Cybercrime treaty.