News and Analysis

N&A, Long Reads, Press Release

Long Read

Switching Hats: Why South Africa’s Surveillance Industry Needs Scrutiny

In July 2015, representatives of a private company met in a parking lot in Pretoria, South Africa to sell phone tapping technology to an interested private buyer. What they did not know was that this buyer was a police officer. The police had been tipped off that the company was looking to offload

News & Analysis

Social Media Intelligence, The Wayward Child Of Open Source Intelligence

This piece originally appeared in the Responsible Data Forum . Would you mind if, every time you post a comment on Twitter, Facebook or another social media platform, the police logged it? I mean, it’s public — surely it’s fair game? If you think that’s OK, then maybe it’s also OK for a police

Press release

New investigation reveals Syria’s mass surveillance ambitions and the shadowy Western surveillance companies that profit from it

Privacy International has today published an investigation, which sheds light on the shady deals that built Syria’s surveillance state and the role Western companies have played in its construction. The investigation also shows how Western surveillance companies seek to exploit loopholes to do

News & Analysis

Our Thoughts On Brexit For People Here, There, And Everywhere

Brexit and Privacy It's as clear as mud, what it means when a country decides to willingly pull out of a trading bloc, a policy coordination mechanism, a relatively democratic network, and a framework for the free flow of people, data, and rights. Meanwhile today the minister in charge of

Long Read

Algorithms, Intelligence, and Learning Oh My

Tech firms and governments are keen to use algorithms and AI, everywhere. We urgently need to understand what algorithms, intelligence, and machine learning actually are so that we can disentangle the optimism from the hype. It will also ensure that we come up with meaningful responses and

News & Analysis

Big Brother Is About To Be Joined By His Crazy Cousin. The Time For Trust Is Over.

This piece was written by PI Research Officer Edin Omanovic and originally appeared here . Whatever happens over the next few years, if there is to be a storm, then it is best to prepare. It is essential that western liberal democratic societies are resilient enough to uphold their fundamental

Press release

Privacy International asks Intelligence Agencies about existence of secret oversight regime

For further information please contact PI Legal Officer Millie Graham Wood: [email protected] For media enquiries please contact [email protected] Documents obtained by Privacy International reveal the existence of a secret oversight function given to the Intelligence

News & Analysis

Stepping into the Future: Does India measure up to UN Group of Experts on ICT Report?

Stepping Into The Future: Does India Measure Up To The UN Group Of Experts On ICT Report?

This guest piece was written by Elonnai Hickok and Vipul Kharbanda of the Centre for Internet and Society. It does not necessarily reflect the views or position of Privacy International. In light of the complex challenges and threats posed to, and by, the field of information telecommunications in

Press release

UK Parliament passes most extreme surveillance law in UK history

Caroline Wilson Palow, General Counsel at Privacy International “The passage of the Investigatory Powers Act is a major blow to the privacy of people in the UK and all over the world. It sets a world-leading precedent, but not one of which the Government should be proud. Instead of reining in the

Press release

Privacy International calls on UK government to reveal secret intelligence sharing arrangements with the United States

Privacy International has today written to government ministers, members of the opposition, and oversight bodies reaffirming its call for the UK government to reveal secret intelligence sharing arrangements with the United States. The original UKUSA agreement — drafted shortly after World War II —

News & Analysis

En Argentina, Todavía No Es Tarde Para Hacer Las Cosas Bien En Materia de Privacidad

Este artículo fue co-escrita con Valeria Milanes de la Asociación por los Derechos Civiles (ADC). Una versión en ingles está disponible aquí. En Enero de 2015, el sistema de inteligencia de Argentina fue objeto de atención pública luego de la muerte del fiscal Alberto Nisman, debido a la presunta

News & Analysis

Why the Internet of Things Begs for a Paradigm Shift in Internet Security

The connectivity afforded by the internet has changed the world forever. While the increasing ‘corporatization’ of what many still feel is an open, non-hierarchical, largely uncensored and unfiltered ecosystem, this is increasingly not the case. The emergence of the ‘Internet of Things’ will soon

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