Legal

Legal Case Description, Legal Case Files

News & Analysis

Office building at night with light projection showing watchful eye and reading "WATCHING MIGRANTS 24/7"

Two court judgments, one regulatory decision - Bricks fall around UK's GPS tagging of migrants

In the span of three months, two UK courts and one regulatory authority handed down rulings on the UK's GPS tagging of migrants, dealing serious blows to the legality of the policy. We delve into these three rulings and their implications for people and the wider policy.

Long Read

illustration of mother and child being spied on by drones and camera

International Migrants Day 2023 - A Year in Review

On International Migrants Day, we reflect on wins and losses in the fight against violations of migrants’ rights.

Long Read

Q&A: Our challenge with Liberty against MI5 and the Home Secretary (2023)

We won our case against the UK’s Security Service (MI5) and the Secretary of State for the Home Department (SSHD)

Following on from our initial reaction, we answer some key questions about the judgement below.

Press release

A woman smiling, a powerpoint presentation in the background

EU Watchdog Finds Commission Failed to Protect Human Rights From its Surveillance Aid to African Countries

The European Ombudsman has found that the European Commission failed to take necessary measures to ensure the protection of human rights in the transfers of technology with potential surveillance capacity supported by its multi-billion Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.

News & Analysis

Human Rights Groups Submit Complaint to European Ombudsman Calling for Investigation into EU Surveillance Aid

PI, together with 5 other human rights groups, has submitted a complaint to the European Ombudsman calling for an investigation into EU surveillance aid to non-EU countries

Long Read

International Migrants Day 2024 - A Year in Review

On International Migrants Day, we reflect on wins and losses in the fight against violations of migrants’ rights.

Report

PI’s Guide to International Law and Surveillance

PI’s Guide to International Law and Surveillance providing the most hard-hitting results that reinforce and strengthen the core principles and standards of international law on surveillance.

Advocacy

Privacy International submits expert witness testimony in Haki Na Sheria's case challenging Maisha Namba, Kenya’s new digital ID system

In June 2024, PI filed expert witness testimony before the court to assist the adjudication of the case.

News & Analysis

GPS tagging of migrants UNLAWFUL, UK authority finds after PI complaint

The UK's data protection authority (ICO) took action against the Home Office's GPS tagging of migrants.

Long Read

Image of human body with dots of data being extracted

Q&A: €40 million fine for AdTech giant Criteo - What does it mean?

Our 2018 complaint against French AdTech company Criteo led to a €40 million fine for failing to ensure that data subjects had provided their consent to processing, to sufficiently inform them and to enable them to exercise their rights.
Following on from our initial reaction, we answer some questions about the decision below.

Press release

La société de pistage en ligne CRITEO sanctionnée à hauteur de 40 millions d'euros en France

Suite à une plainte de Privacy International déposée en 2018, la société française d'AdTech Criteo s'est vue infliger une amende de 40 millions d'euros pour avoir failli à s'assurer que les personnes concernées avaient donné leur consentement au traitement de leurs données, ainsi que pour le manque d'information et de transparence qui leur était fourni par Criteo, et l'impossibilité d'exercer pleinement leurs droits.

Press release

Press: Landmark ruling exposes years of rule breaking by MI5

In a landmark judgment, handed down today (Monday 30 January 2023), the Investigatory Powers Tribunal have found that there were “very serious failings” at the highest levels of MI5 to comply with privacy safeguards from as early as 2014, and that successive Home Secretaries did not to enquire into

News & Analysis

UK High Court orders groundbreaking redress for thousands of migrants affected by unlawful phone seizures and data extraction

In a case that found seizing and extracting data from migrants' mobile phones breached their fundamental right to privacy, UK courts breathe some life into the human rights principle of access to remedy.

News & Analysis

Privacy and the Body: Privacy International’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s attack on reproductive rights

The right to privacy encompasses bodily autonomy and the right to access safe abortion care. In light of the recent decision of the United States’ Supreme Court in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health, we at Privacy International (PI) wanted to examine how the right to privacy has evolved around the world and in the U.S.

Press release

UK Tribunal agrees that Meta’s acquisition of GIPHY harms competition

On 14 June 2022, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) upheld the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) assessment that Meta’s purchase of GIPHY harms competition. On 18 October 2022, the CMA confirmed its order for Meta to sell GIPHY, citing risks over users' data quoting among the key competition concerns.

Explainer

Electronic monitoring using GPS tags: a tech primer

Electronic tags have been a key part of criminal justice for many years throughout the world. As traditional radio-frequency tags are replaced by GPS ankle tags, we examine how these different technologies work and the seismic shift that will result from 24/7 location monitoring and data analytics, enabled by GPS tags.