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Amazon Alexa/NHS contract : ICO allows partial disclosure - 3 mai 2021
The Information Commissioner’s Office issued a decision on our complaint relating to the failure by the UK Department of Health and Social Care to disclose the full, unredacted contract with Amazon.
Achieved Result
PI obtained a decision by the ICO ordering the disclosure of a section of the contract between the (...)
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Threats in the usage of facial recognition technologies for authenticating transgender identities - 3 avril 2021
Our partner Coding Rights summarise the findings of their research on the impact of facial recognition on trans people.
Key points
SERPRO is the main provider of Facial Recognition technologies to the Brazilian government. It is a public company with access to the database of all Brazilians drivers licenses, (...)
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Data Exploitation and Political Campaigning : A Company Guide Resource - 22 janvier 2021
PI presents here 5 profiles of companies involved in political campaigning in order to provide a snapshot of how the digital political campaign sector works and further highlight the opacity and concerns for privacy.
Key findings
PI analysed publicly available material in order to profile 5 companies (...)
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My ID, my identity ? The impact of ID systems on transgender people in Argentina, France and the Philippines - 19 janvier 2021
My ID, my identity ? The impact of ID systems on transgender people in Argentina, France and the Philippines
We spoke to trans-right activists in three country : the Philippines, France and Argentina to understand how ID systems in their countries are impacting their lives and how certain legal frameworks may (...)
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We asked five menstruation apps for our data and here is what we found... - 27 décembre 2020
We asked five menstruation apps to give us access to our data. We got a dizzying dive into the most intimate information about us.
Key findings
Out of the five apps we surveyed, two apps responded well and fully to our DSAR, one app did not give us our data, one never responded, and one is refusing to let us (...)
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Menstruation apps store excessive information, privacy charity says - 21 décembre 2020
Privacy International finds apps collect information on birth control habits or how hard it is for women to reach orgasm
Menstruation apps are unnecessarily storing personal data such as what medication women are on, their birth control habits and how hard women find it to reach orgasm, privacy campaigners have (...)
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European Commission green lights Google and Fitbit merger in a game-changing and disappointing decision for the rights of millions of Europeans - 19 décembre 2020
The European Commission has today concluded its review of Google’s proposed acquisition of Fitbit. Privacy International is disappointed that the Commission has decided to let the merger go through, allowing Google’s extraordinary power to expand into wearables and sensitive health data.
Key points
The European (...)
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Brazil’s Bolsa Familia Program : the impact on privacy rights - 27 novembre 2020
Our partner organisation InternetLab has been researching the Bolsa Familia Program and its consequences for gender and privacy, here are the first results.
Over the last months, the organisation InternetLab has researched privacy, data protection, gender, and social protection, focusing on the beneficiaries of (...)
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Benefitting whom ? An overview of companies profiting from “digital welfare” - 27 novembre 2020
Could private companies be the only ones really profitting from digital welfare ? This overview looks at the big players.
Key findings
Companies like IBM, MasterCard and credit scoring agencies are developping programmes that reshape our access to welfare.
A particular example is the case of the London Counter (...)
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Here’s how a well-connected security company is quietly building mass biometric databases in West Africa with EU aid funds - 22 novembre 2020
Documents disclosed to Privacy International reveal how the European Union has been using aid funds to finance the development of biometric identity systems in countries in Africa as part of its response to migration, and highlight urgent concerns.
Key points
The EU is using aid funds to build mass-scale and (...)
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UK data regulator takes enforcement action to rein in data brokers’ use of people’s personal data - 29 octobre 2020
In a landmark decision that shines a light on widespread data protecton failings by the entire data broker industry, the ICO has today taken enforcement action against Experian, based in part on a complaint PI made in 2018.
Achieved Result
October 2020 update : Following our complaints to regulators in 2018 (...)
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Facewatch : the Reality Behind the Marketing Discourse - 18 octobre 2020
Key findings
Facewatch is allegedly developping a facial recognition technology that will work when people are wearing masks
Statements by the CEO of Facewatch and marketing documents suggest the company is partnering with police departments in the UK - but the reality is unclear
Beyond the marketing (...)
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Q&A : EU’s top court rules that UK, French and Belgian mass surveillance regimes must respect privacy - 8 octobre 2020
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.
On 6th October 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued judgments in three cases from the UK (Privacy International), France (La Quadrature du Net (...)
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Huawei infiltration in Uganda - 28 septembre 2020
Unwanted Witness, our partner organisation based in Uganda, explore critical questions around Huawei’s surveillance dealings with the Ugandan government raise. While Huawei’s relationship with the government raises concerns for human rights, many of these concerns remain unaddressed.
The Uganda government has a (...)
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How facial recognition is spreading in Italy : the case of Como - 25 septembre 2020
The municipality of Como, Italy, purchased a facial recognition system, which was bought, installed, and tested for months with little transparency and despite the lack of a clear legal framework. To do so it embraced a narrative of technological innovation pushed by Huawei but was forced, after the intervention (...)
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UN experts report highlights role of private military and security companies in immigration management - 13 septembre 2020
A new UN experts report shines light on the role of private military and security services in immigration and border management and their impact to the rights of all migrants.
Key points
The report highlights the responsibilities of private actors in human rights abuses a well as lack of oversight and, (...)
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UK Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS) : the new police mega-database - 23 août 2020
The Home Office is currently developing a UK-wide police ’super-database’ containing a vast amount of data, which mixes both evidential and intelligence material. Here is why PI is concerned about LEDS and what we are doing about it.
The Law Enforcement Data Service (LEDS) is a unified, common interface to a new (...)
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Our response to Google : Privacy isn’t a Luxury - 21 août 2020
Back in January, Privacy International and over 50 other organisations wrote to Google asking the company to take action over pre-installed apps that cannot be deleted (often known as “bloatware”), which can leave users vulnerable to their data being collected, shared and exposed without their knowledge or consent. (...)
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Israel’s coronavirus surveillance is an example for others - of what not to do - 25 juillet 2020
The Israeli intelligence services have been tracking Covid-19 patients for contact tracing. As the High Court condemned the measure, what can the rest of the world learn from this controversial experiment ?
UPDATE 21/07/2020 : On Monday July 20th, the Israeli parliament approved a new bill allowing the Ministry (...)
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Mental health site sharing your personal data ? We’re going after them - 8 juillet 2020
Following our report "Your Mental Health for Sale", PI has submitted a complaint against Doctissimo to the French data protection authority (CNIL)
Key points
PI previously exposed how popular mental health websites share personal data with third parties through advertising practices, including answers to (...)