Search
Content type: Advocacy
Privacy International (PI), Big Brother Watch (BBW), StopWatch, CopWatch, Defend Digital Me, Liberty and Statewatch have written to Home Secretary James Cleverly to raise concerns over the danger posed to UK society by Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).In a letter sent on 18 January 2024, the signatories raised concerns over the escalating use of FRT and warned the Home Secretary that "The indiscriminate use of this dystopian biometric technology to identify people in public spaces is a form…
Content type: Advocacy
Privacy International's response to the call of submissions of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association on the tools and guidelines which may assist law enforcement in promoting and protecting human rights in the context of peaceful protests. The Special Rapporteur's report will be presented at the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council.While PI recognises the role of law enforcement can play in facilitating the enjoyment of freedom of…
Content type: Long Read
TAKE ACTION TO STOP THE END OF PRIVACY IN PUBLIC1. IntroductionThe use of facial recognition technology (FRT) by law enforcement and private companies in public spaces throughout the UK is on the rise. In August 2023, the government announced that it is looking to expand its use of FRT, which it considers “an increasingly important capability for law enforcement and the Home Office”. The indiscriminate use of this dystopian biometric technology to identify individuals in public spaces is a form…
Content type: Advocacy
On 6th October 2023, we submitted our comments on the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Amendment Bill (the Rica Bill), published in Government Gazette 49189, August 25th, 2023, in response to a call for comments issued by the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services – a committee of the Parliament of South Africa responsible for overseeing responsible the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
In our…
Content type: Advocacy
On the 17 January 2023, the UK Home Secretary appointed Lord David Anderson KBE KC to carry out an independent review of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016.The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 provides a legal framework for the use of investigatory powers by the UK security and intelligence agencies, law enforcement and other relevant public bodies. These powers include the interception of communications; the retention and acquisition of communications data and; equipment interference for obtaining…
Content type: Report
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) contributes significantly to security and privacy. For that reason, PI has long been in favour of the deployment of robust E2EE.
Encryption is a way of securing digital communications using mathematical algorithms that protect the content of a communication while in transmission or storage. It has become essential to our modern digital communications, from personal emails to bank transactions. End-to-end encryption is a form of encryption that is even more private…
Content type: Advocacy
Despite repeated recommendations by the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly to review, amend or enact national laws to ensure respect and protection of the right to privacy, national laws are often inadequate and do not regulate, limit or prohibit surveillance powers of government agencies as well as data exploitative practices of companies.
Even when laws are in place, they are seldom enforced. In fact PI notes how it is often only following legal challenges in national or…
Content type: News & Analysis
Introduction
The European Parliament has adopted a nonbinding resolution against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by law enforcement in public spaces and a ban on facial recognition databases, such as the ones used by Clearview AI.
It is a significant and hugely welcome step in an ongoing campaign to ensure the EU leads the world in protecting against dangerous applications of AI within its borders.
The Resolution recognises the need to safeguard against application of AI and mass…
Content type: News & Analysis
As Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories continue to publish crucial information about the potential targets of NSO Group’s spyware, we know this much already: something needs to be done.
But what exactly needs to be done is less obvious. Even though this is not the first time that the world has learned about major abuses by the surveillance industry (indeed, it’s not even the first time this month), it’s difficult to know what needs to change.
So how can the proliferation and use of…
Content type: Advocacy
En mai 2021, nous avons fait une soumission pour la 132ème session du Comité des droits de l’homme qui a eu lieu entre le 28 juin 2021 et le 23 juillet 2021 en relation avec la conformité de la France avec le Pacte international relatif aux droits civils et politiques (PIDCP) avant l’adoption de la liste de points à traiter avant présentation de rapports (LoIPR).
Nous avons appelé le Comité des droits de l’homme de l’ONU à inclure dans la liste des questions au gouvernement français les points…
Content type: Advocacy
On May 2021, we made a submission for the 132nd Session of the Human Rights Committee that took place between 28 June 2021 and 23 July 2021 in relation to France’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) before the adoption of the List of issues prior to reporting (LoIPR).
We called the UN Human Rights Committee to include in the list of issues to the French government the following:
Emergency measures taken in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and…
Content type: Report
In Israel/Palestine, the Israeli government has been deploying biometrics, including cutting-edge facial recognition technology, in the name of counter-terrorism. The Israeli state routinely surveils and severely restricts Palestinians’ freedom of movement using myriad technologies, including biometrics, which result in furthering the policies of systemic segregation. Since many Palestinians live under Israeli occupation, they have little control over the way their sensitive data is turned…
Content type: Explainer
What is social media monitoring?
Social media monitoring refers to the monitoring, gathering and analysis of information shared on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Reddit.
It may include snooping on content posted to public or private groups or pages. It may also involve “scraping” – grabbing all the data from a social media platform, including content you post and data about your behaviour (such as what you like and share).
Through scraping and other tools…
Content type: Explainer
What are police drones?
Drones are remotely controlled Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) of varying sizes.
They usually come equipped with cameras and might be enabled with Facial Recognition Technology.
Drones can be equipped with speakers, surveillance equipment, radar and communications interception tools, such as ‘IMSI catchers’.
How might drones be used during protests?
Camera-enabled drones may be used to remotely monitor and track people’s movements in public spaces, including at…
Content type: Explainer
What do Body Worn Video cameras do?
Body worn video (BWV) cameras can be attached to a police officer’s clothing – often at chest, shoulder or head level – and record video, including sound, from the officer’s perspective.
BWV cameras will probably be visible to you, and when it’s recording, a flashing light should appear on the device.
How might body worn video cameras be used at a protest?
BWV cameras may be used at protests to monitor actions of protestors.
They do not usually…
Content type: Explainer
What is gait recognition technology?
Gait recognition technology (GRT) can analyse the shape of an individual’s body and the unique way in which that body moves when walking or running, which can then be used to identify them.
GRT works in a similar way to facial recognition technology. But the two main differences are:
GRT may be used at a fairly long range (at the time of writing, about 165 feet / 50 metres), unlike FRT which generally requires more close up, detailed facial images…
Content type: Explainer
What is Facial Recognition Technology?Facial recognition technology (FRT) collects and processes data about people’s faces, and can be used to identify people. FRT matches captured images with images stored in existing databases or ‘watchlists’.How might it be used in relation to a protest?FRT may be used to monitor, track and identify people’s faces in public spaces, including at protests. This may be done openly or surreptitiously, without people knowing or consenting.FRT-enabled cameras can…
Content type: Explainer
What is hacking?
Hacking refers to finding vulnerabilities in electronic systems, either to report and repair them, or to exploit them.
Hacking can help to identify and fix security flaws in devices, networks and services that millions of people may use. But it can also be used to access our devices, collect information about us, and manipulate us and our devices in other ways.
Hacking comprises a range of ever-evolving techniques. It can be done remotely, but it can also include physical…
Content type: Explainer
What is an IMSI catcher?
‘IMSI’ stands for ‘international mobile subscriber identity’, a number unique to your SIM card. IMSI catchers are also known as ‘Stingrays’.
An ‘IMSI catcher’ is a device that locates and then tracks all mobile phones that are connected to a phone network in its vicinity, by ‘catching’ the unique IMSI number.
It does this by pretending to be a mobile phone tower, tricking mobile phones nearby to connect to it, enabling it to then intercept the data from that phone…
Content type: News & Analysis
The “EU Trust Fund for Stability and Addressing Root Causes of Irregular Migration and Displaced Persons in Africa” (EUTF for Africa) isn’t exactly headline news (and nor does it exactly roll off the tongue), but its influence is vast and will be felt for decades to come for millions of people across Africa.
Set up in the wake of the 2015 ‘migration crisis’ in Europe and largely made up of money earmarked for development aid (80% of its budget comes from development and humanitarian aid funds…
Content type: News & Analysis
Le « Fonds fiduciaire d’urgence de l’Union européenne en faveur de la stabilité et de la lutte contre les causes profondes de la migration irrégulière et du phénomène des personnes déplacées en Afrique » (le « fonds fiduciaire pour l’Afrique ») ne fait pas les grands titres (et il est plutôt difficile à retenir), mais son influence est vaste et aura des conséquences pendant plusieurs décennies sur la vie de millions de personnes sur le continent africain.
Mis en place suite à la « crise…
Content type: News & Analysis
The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin together with Dr. Krisztina Huszti-Orbán, released today a key report on the “Use of Biometric Data to Identify Terrorists: Best Practice or Risky Business?”.
The report explores the human rights risks involved in the deployment of biometrics emphasising that
in the absence of robust rights protections which are institutionally embedded…
Content type: Case Study
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei creates art that highlights the harmful effects of surveillance on society — and is himself a target of persistent surveillance by the Chinese government. In an article for Agence France-Presse, he said, "In my life, there is so much surveillance and monitoring -- my phone, my computer ... Our office has been searched, I have been searched, every day I am being followed, there are surveillance cameras in front of my house.”
Weiwei is an artist, blogger, documentary…
Content type: Case Study
In Peru, you get asked for your fingerprint and your ID constantly - when you’re getting a new phone line installed or depositing money in your bank account – and every Peruvian person has an ID card, and is included in the National Registry of Identity – a huge database designed to prove that everyone is who they say they are. After all, you can change your name, but not your fingerprint.
However, in 2019 the National Police of Peru uncovered a criminal operation that was doing just that:…
Content type: Case Study
The increasing deployment of highly intrusive technologies in public and private spaces such as facial recognition technologies (FRT) threaten to impair our freedom of movement. These systems track and monitor millions of people without any regulation or oversight.
Tens of thousands of people pass through the Kings Cross Estate in London every day. Since 2015, Argent - the group that runs the Kings Cross Estate - were using FRT to track all of those people.
Police authorities rushed in secret…
Content type: Advocacy
In this submission, Privacy International aims to provide the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights with information on how surveillance technologies are affecting the right to peaceful protests in new and often unregulated ways.
Based on Privacy International’s research, we provide observations, regarding the following:
the relationship between peaceful protests and the right to privacy;
the impact of new surveillance technologies in the context of peaceful protests…
Content type: Advocacy
Este informe es presentado por Derechos Digitales, Ciudadano Inteligente, Fundación ProAcceso y Privacy International. Derechos Digitales es una organización no gubernamental de defensa, promoción y desarrollo de los derechos humanos en el entorno digital. Ciudadano Inteligente es una organización dedicada a fortalecer la democracia y reducir la desigualdad a través de la transparencia y la participación ciudadana. Fundación ProAcceso se dedica a la defensa del derecho de acceso a la…
Content type: Advocacy
Este informe es presentado por la Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales (R3D) y Privacy International (PI). La Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales (R3D) es una organización no gubernamental, sin fnes de lucro, ubicada en México, dedicada a la defensa de los derechos humanos en el entorno digital. Privacy International (PI) es una organización no gubernamental sin fnes de lucro ubicada en Londres enfocada en la defensa, promoción y protección del derecho a la privacidad alrededor del…
Content type: Advocacy
A new Privacy International report based on an international collaborative investigation carried out by 40 NGOs in 42 countries has found alarming weaknesses in the oversight arrangements that are supposed to govern the sharing of intelligence between state intelligence agencies, including in the UK. Privacy International urges governments to enact urgent reforms and improve public understanding about the scope of intelligence sharing and the safeguards and oversight currently in place.
Content type: Advocacy
The powers set out in the Investigatory Powers Act are wide ranging, opaque and lacking in adequate safeguards. The Government have now published updated Draft Codes of Practice for certain parts of the Act. Unfortunately, the Codes do little to solve the Act’s problems. Instead, they add little transparency, occasionally expand powers, and undermine some of the limited safeguards in the Investigatory Powers Act. These Codes demand close scrutiny. The unusually short timeframe for…