News and Analysis

N&A, Long Reads, Press Release

News & Analysis

Pupils with barcodes for faces sit in a classroom

Especialista da ONU recomenda a proibição do reconhecimento facial nas escolas.

A tecnologia de reconhecimento facial prejudica a educação das crianças e deve ser banida das instituições educacionais, diz especialista da ONU.

News & Analysis

UN expert recommends ban on facial recognition in schools.

Facial recognition technology harms children’s education, and should be banned from educational institutions, UN Expert says.

News & Analysis

Automating the hostile environment: uncovering a secretive Home Office algorithm at the heart of immigration decision-making

“IPIC” ("Identify and Prioritise Immigration Cases”) is an algorithm utilised by the UK Home Office that automatically identifies and recommends migrants for particular immigration decisions or enforcement action. After a year of submitting Freedom of Information Act requests, we finally received some information on this secretive AI tool used to decide the fate of migrants.

News & Analysis

Sign saying "Polling station" with green-blue gradient over the top

Our new tech explainer on election technologies in Kenya

We’ve published a new tech explainer on election technologies in Kenya. The explainer takes a deep dive into the technologies employed to manage and administer the election process in Kenya, such as biometric voter registration (BVR), voter identification, results transmission, and candidate

Long Read

Decoding vertical tech integrations: why do they matter?

From the Amazon rainforests to subsaharan Africa, tech companies seek to expand their dominance by investing in connectivity infrastructure. While this has certainly brought some benefits, it also raises concerns about big tech's expansion into new territories.

Long Read

Social media monitoring in the UK: the invisible surveillance tool increasingly deployed by government

Privacy International presents how the use of social media monitoring by governments and companies is an increasingly prevalent one, and as this article explores, largely unregulated.

News & Analysis

Generative AI won't take over the world, surveillance capitalism already has

A year and a half after OpenAI first released ChatGPT, generative AI still makes the headlines and gathers attention and capital. But what is the future of this technology in an online economy dominated by surveillance capitalism? And how can we expect it to impact our online lives and privacy?

Long Read

Image of fan holding scarf in a busy sports arena at night

Sports and Surveillance

Increasingly we have seen mass surveillance measures being introduced at sports events, impeding the enjoyment of the right to privacy and right to participate in sporting life.

News & Analysis

Office building at night with light projection showing watchful eye and reading "WATCHING MIGRANTS 24/7"

Two court judgments, one regulatory decision - Bricks fall around UK's GPS tagging of migrants

In the span of three months, two UK courts and one regulatory authority handed down rulings on the UK's GPS tagging of migrants, dealing serious blows to the legality of the policy. We delve into these three rulings and their implications for people and the wider policy.

Long Read

Close up of individual's face with fingerprint replacing facial features

Latest developments with facial recognition technology in the UK

Introduction For years PI has been exposing and advocating against the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) and the grave threats it poses to our rights. This highly invasive technology is paving the way to a dystopian, biometric surveillance state, where everyone is identified and tracked

Long Read

Key highlights of our results from 2023

Here is a selection of our biggest achievements in 2023.

News & Analysis

GPS tagging of migrants UNLAWFUL, UK authority finds after PI complaint

The UK's data protection authority (ICO) took action against the Home Office's GPS tagging of migrants.

Press release

Woman in supermarket with face covered in a barcode, being scanned by a camera

Revealed: UK MPs “asleep at the wheel” as government ramps up facial recognition technology

Privacy International (PI) has just published new research into UK Members of Parliament’s (startling lack of) knowledge on the use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) in public spaces, even within their own constituencies.

Long Read

UK MPs Asleep at the Wheel as Facial Recognition Technology Spells The End of Privacy in Public

In June 2023, PI conducted a survey of UK MPs through YouGov, which highlighted their startling lack of knowledge of the use of facial recognition technology (FRT) in their own constituencies, inspiring our new campaign about 'The End of Privacy in Public'.

Long Read

The UK government's controversial proposal to expand surveillance powers: What you need to know

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.

News & Analysis

Front page - Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023

Privacy International raises concerns regarding Pakistan’s Personal Data Protection Bill

As Pakistan prepares to enact the Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 we raise concerns on the opaque process which will see the bill become law and the content of the bill itself.