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On 24 September 2021, PI submitted a complaint to the UK’s data protection authority - the Information Commissioner’s Office (“ICO”) challenging the Home Office’s refusal to provide information about its meetings with tech companies around encryption.
 

Human rights defenders are continuously at risk of violence, intimidation and surveillance as a direct consequence of the work they do, with women or those opposing large corporations bearing the brunt of these forms of repression.

Privacy International spoke to four activists based in Colombia, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa to learn more about their understanding and experiences of surveillance. Their testimonies illustrate how the promises that came with innovation and the use of new technologies have not been enjoyed by all equally, and how some groups in society - such as human rights defenders - have experienced the impact of surveillance and the exploitation of data by governments and companies more severely than others.

Below is an outline of the main issues that these four activists brought to our attention which reflect the concerns raised previously by other organisations and HRDs across the world.

As digital communications grow, governments continue to seek new ways of getting access to content and metadata.

Powerful countries encourage and enable other governments to deploy advanced surveillance capabilities without adequate safeguards.

You might think you own your phone - but there is data on there you can't access, you can't delete, and possibly is being silently leaked to companies you've never heard of.

PI intervened in the case challenging the constitutionality of South African surveillance law.

Privacy International submitted a dossier to the National Crime Agency requesting the investigation of the interception of an Ethiopian activist's communications

Privacy International made a complaint against six UK-based telecom companies on the grounds that they had permitted GCHQ to access their fibre optic networks, breaching OECD Guidelines.

Privacy International intervened in a case before the European Court of Human Rights successfully challenging the unfettered use of surveillance measures as part of anti-terrorism legislation

Our case at the European Court of Human Rights challenging UK intelligence agency conducting hacking operations outside of the UK.