We are building a global movement. We are supporting civil society partners in countries across the world, who constitute our international network of privacy advocates and researchers. Together we are building expertise on law and technology that investigates local developments and advocates for change.
We also take the fight to international forums. We advocate for strong standards at regional and international regulatory and human rights bodies such as the Inter-American and African systems, Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the United Nations. Vulnerable people are made more vulnerable by having their privacy interfered with and in some cases violated, which is why we call for protections in the humanitarian sector.
Our international network
We fight for the right to privacy of everyone everywhere. People must have access to privacy protection without regard to citizenship, race and ethnicity, economic status, gender, age, education.
Since 2008, Privacy International has been leading an international network of privacy organisations. Together we use our emergent expertise and research to generate educational material, advocacy campaigns, and strategies that will support the development and sustainability of a global movement.
Our Approach
In our experience, the protection of privacy requires strategies for research, investigation of threats and abuses to privacy, and advocacy that emphasise both law and technology. Most importantly, we work with all stakeholders in a multi-disciplinary way to make this happen.
A vibrant and informed civil society all over the world is key to protecting this essential right. We focus on advancing the understanding of privacy globally to demonstrate its importance as we develop our societies and economies.
We are also taking various steps to support and fight for the open spaces for our network to operate:
- Where civil society is under-resourced and facing increasingly challenging environments to operate safely and effectively, we work to provide more strategic resources, both financial and technical, to support civil society to harness nascent public interest;
- Where there is limited debate, we conduct research on the systemic challenges and emerging opportunities so that we can effectively influence policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders, including the media, the legal and technology community;
- Where there is limited access to information and transparency, we develop customised, research and investigation;
- Where there is limited global public understanding of these issues, we conduct innovative awareness-raising and campaigning to raise public awareness about threats to our privacy and involve them in building a better future.
How it is funded
Funders include:
- Sida, Unit for Demoncracy and Human Rights
- IDRC, Innovation and Networks Unit
- Ford Foundation, Internet Freedoms
An expanded network
On top of our international network, we are working with other groups in Europe and North America to campaign and litigate against governments who lead the race to the bottom and industries who build capabilities that undermine us.