General purpose news for news-seeking audience

News & Analysis

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

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

Long Read

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.

Report

Our briefing “When Spiders Share Webs” explores the role the EU-funded INTERPOL programme, the West African Police Information System (WAPIS), in externalising EU borders by transferring data-driven policing capabilities to West African nations.

News & Analysis

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

Advocacy

PI and Big Brother Watch along with other NGOs have written to UK Home Secretary James Cleverly to raise concerns over the danger posed to society by Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).

Press release

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

Following a 2018 complaint by Privacy International, French AdTech company Criteo was fined €40 million for failing to ensure that data subjects had provided their consent to processing, failing to sufficiently inform them and to enable them to exercise their rights.

Press release

Campaigners assembled outside Capita PLC’s Annual General Meeting in the City of London on Thursday 11th May are contesting the outsourcing company’s £114m contract to deliver 24/7 GPS monitoring services, used by the Home Office to surveil people without British citizenship.

Long Read

The UK puts migrants under 24/7 GPS surveillance. As usual, private companies are outsourced to deliver this hostile policy - who are they? We've investigated.

News & Analysis

UK's Investigatory Powers Commissioner clarifies the legal framework regulating use of IMSI catchers in the UK while maintaining "neither confirm nor deny" position about their use

Press release

As EU policymakers discuss new laws to empower tech consumers and increase cyber-resilience, PI's research points to an urgent need for regulation to ensure that device manufacturers provide longer term security updates to protect consumers from cyberattacks.

Press release
The European Ombudswoman, Emily O’Reilly, has launched two new investigations into Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, and into the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU’s diplomatic agency, in relation to their support to non-EU countries to develop surveillance
Advocacy

As the Home Office plans to increase the use of GPS tags for those subject to immigration control, Privacy International has brought a complaint to the Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) regarding systemic failures in relation to the quality and accuracy of data extracted from GPS tags.

Under the Forensic Science Regulator Act 2021, the FSR has statutory powers to uphold standards in forensic science.

Privacy International calls on the FSR to look into quality and accuracy issues related to data extracted from satellite enabled GPS electronic monitoring which risk impeding or prejudicing the course of justice in immigration and criminal proceedings.

News & Analysis

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.

 

News & Analysis

While our fight against mass surveillance continues, the UK Government has settled two human rights claims brought under Articles 8 (right to privacy) and 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on Human Rights.