Contesting Government Data and System Exploitation

Building on our response to the government’s plans, this piece explains why what they want to do puts every one of us at risk.

After a consultation held in 2021 to which Privacy International responded, the government has now decided not to expand the powers of its "National Fraud Initiative". However, recent changes in the UK welfare landscape point to troubling plans for the future.

We explore Zimbabwe's embrace of surveillance technologies, and the Zimbabwean government's increasingly close relationship with Huawei.

In 2017, Huawei offered the city of Valenciennes in France 240 facial recognition cameras. Privacy International explores four years of a partnership riddled with concerns.

Huawei is one of the tech companies that governments worldwide are collaborating with to reshape our public spaces. We have been working on mapping out the development of Huawei Smart City initiatives around the world and have been mobilising other actors to join this effort.

PI has put together an analysis of some of the most used Foundational ID systems worldwide.

An overview of how the EU works extensively with non-EU countries to introduce biometric ID systems in order to "manage" migration and borders, and recommendations on possible ways to mitigate the risks

A brief summary and timeline of legal proceedings of PI's bulk personal datasets and bulk communications data challenge in the UK

An overview of your data rights in relation to data processed by the police at protests (UK edition).

An overview of relevant considerations if and when photographing or filming police at a protest (UK edition).

Countering the Spread of Biometrics: three case studies from differing contexts illustrate the looming dangers of the untransparent and unregulated collection of biometric data in the name of combating terrorism.

On 25 May 2021, a Grand Chamber judgment against the UK broke new ground in the regulation of bulk interception capabilities requiring enhanced safeguards to protect the rights to privacy and freedom of expression against abuse. It is a complex judgment with lights and shades, and the fight against mass surveillance is not over. Find here our initial take on the judgment and what comes next.

On 25 May 2021, the Grand Chamber of the European Court issued a landmark ruling on UK mass surveillance practices. Below we answer some of your questions.

This explainer describes the route to the 2021 judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights that found UK mass interception laws unlawful.

The UK goverment’s Independent Human Rights Act Review has shone the spotlight on the relationship between domestic jurisprudence and the European Court of Human Rights. We look at this relationship from a privacy perspective.

We explain in some detail what our case involving UK intelligence services using general warrants is about.

Hundreds of slides obtained by Privacy International (PI) from an EU law enforcement training agency show how surveillance techniques are taught to security authorities in neighbouring countries.

La Cour de justice de l’Union européenne a rendu ses décisions concernant trois affaires au Royaume-Uni, en France et en Belgique. Voici quelques réponses aux questions principales.

The Court of Justice of the European Union issued judgments in three cases in the UK, France and Belgium. We answer some of the main questions.

No Tech For Tyrants, a UK grassroots organisation, is explaining Palantir's involvement with the UK government, including their partnership with the NHS. They explore the concerns public-private partnerships between Palantir and governments raise , and what this means for our rights.

Surveillance partnerships between Amazon Ring and law-enforcement around the world create an interconnected surveillance network that poses a serious threat to our privacy and other freedoms.

UK Local Authorities are looking at people’s social media accounts as part of their intelligence gathering and investigation tactics.

Palantir, the US data giant which works with intelligence and immigration enforcement agencies, has responded to our questions about its work on a highly sensitive National Health Service (NHS) project, providing some assurances, passing the buck to the NHS, and raising additional questions.

Universities in the UK and China, the Met Police, and surveillance companies are working on a government-funded programme developing "unconstrained face recognition technology".

The EU gives millions to surveillance companies, universities, and government agencies to develop cutting-edge surveillance technologies.