Africa

Report and Analysis

A blurred photo of a journalist and a notepad

Case Study

"Betrayed by an app she had never heard of" - How TrueCaller is endangering journalists

The story of an investigative journalist highlights shows the concrete risks that call-blocking apps like TrueCaller present for people in vulnerable situations.
TrueCaller is an app particularly popular in India and Sub-Saharan Africa. TrueCaller identifies the numbers calling you, so you can filter out undesirable phone calls and make sure you pick up a call you have been expecting, even if you have not previously registered the number.
Every time a user makes or receives a phone call from a number not already in the TrueCaller database, TrueCaller offers the user the option to “tag” the number so it can be entered in the TrueCaller database, under the name entered by the user.

Report

Investigating Privacy Implications Of Biometric Voter Registration In Kenya’s 2017 Election Process

The use of biometric technology in political processes, i.e. the use of peoples’ physical and behavioural characteristics to authenticate claimed identity, has swept across the African region, with 75% of African countries adopting one form or other of biometric technology in their electoral

Long Read

Texas Media Company Hired By Trump Created Kenyan President's Viral 'Anonymous' Attack Campaign Against Rival, New Investigation Reveals

The battle for Kenyan voters’ allegiance in the 2017 Presidential election was fought on social media and the blogosphere. Paid advertisements for two mysterious, anonymous sites in particular started to dominate Google searches for dozens of election-related terms in the months leading up to the

News

7th August 2018

Statement: R2K and PI join amaBhungane RICA challenge as amicus curiae

11th July 2018

Lone Voices Leading the Way: How Civil Society in Africa is Successfully Countering Government Narratives on Cyber Security

28th April 2018

Privacy International at the 62nd Session of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR)

7th March 2018

A day in the life of Mercy, a 28-year-old cis woman living in Nairobi

18th December 2017

Forthcoming research investigates whether biometric voter register was misappropriated for political campaigns in Kenya

15th December 2017

Press Release: Texas Media Company Hired By Trump Is Behind Kenyan President's Viral 'Anonymous' Attack Campaign Against Rival, New Investigation Reveals

Examples of Abuse

Want to know how this translate in the real world? Here is the latest example in the news.

Public-private partnership launches biometrics identity and vaccination record system in West Africa

In July 2020 a public-private partnership programme between the Bill Gates-backed GAVI vaccine alliance, Mastercard, and the AI identity authentication company Trust Stamp was ready to introduce a biometric identity platform in low-income remote communities in West Africa. The programme will

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Our Advocacy

Data Protection Still on the Agenda in Kenya

In parallel to the legislative process initiated by the Kenya Senate in July 2018, a Task Force constituted by the Ministry of Information, Communication and Telecommunication developed a draft Data Protection Bill which it published for consultation in May of this year. Privacy International and

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