Privacy International

privacyinternational.orghttps://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5742/privacy-international-women-web-securing-reproductive-justice-guide-digital-privacyPrivacy International Peertube instance. We fight for a world where technology will empower and enable us, not exploit our data for profit and power.

Governments are exerting control over access to abortion information and care on the Web, including blocking websites and surveilling people’s online activity. Read our practical guide offering guidance to Sexual and reproductive justice activists. web.archive.org/web/20260710...

The line between tech designed to care and tech designed for war is blurring. Our data is sold, leaked, and weaponised, and can end up being used to train lethal algorithms.

web.archive.orgHow Data Drives the Militarisation of TechThere’s a revolution occurring in how war and conflict are waged. New data-intensive systems are being developed; battlefields are testing grounds for a new generation of tech; and commercial tech…

The US military has used location data collected through ordinary apps, including leaked data from Muslim prayer apps and health apps. web.archive.org/web/20260711...

youtube.comMove Fast, Break People | A Film by Stop Killer RobotsIn a world where AI and automation are supercharging the speed and scale of conflict, Move Fast, Break People is a documentary that exposes a pipeline of harm — how our personal data is being used to…

But there is hope: this trajectory for AI and automated weapons systems is not set in stone. Regulation can change our future, and we must demand it does. We are proud to have contributed to this powerful short film by @stopkillerrobots.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEYr...

From Ukraine to Gaza to Iran, autonomous weapons systems are increasingly being employed in war. These systems rely on the large-scale collection and processing of, and inferences from our personal data to identify, select, and engage targets.

meetings.unoda.orgTreaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons -FirstReview Conference (2026) | United NationsThe first Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will be held from 30 November to 4 December 2026 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The dates…

In November, the UN will decide whether to start negotiations on new rules on autonomous weapons. meetings.unoda.org/-revcon/trea...

petition.parliament.ukPetition: Seek legally binding international rules on military AI and autonomous weaponsFrom Ukraine to Gaza to Iran, AI-powered weapons are increasingly making life-and-death decisions. In November, the UN will decide whether to begin negotiations on new weapons rules. The UK must…

Sign the petition to call on the UK government to support a treaty on autonomous weapons and ensure meaningful human control over every decision to use force: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/78...

web.archive.orgData and Privacy in Autonomous Weapons SystemsAutonomous weapons systems (AWS) rely on the large-scale collection, processing, and inference of personal data to identify, select, and engage targets.

That means protecting privacy and personal data should be seen as core obligations in any framework to regulate these weapons. web.archive.org/web/20260910...

We’re in the UK Court of Appeal today with @awo.agency, intervening in a case between Clearview AI - provider of facial recognition technology based on scraped data - and the UK’s Data Protection Authority, the ICO. Our argument is simple: Clearview is bound by, and has broken, the GDPR.

In reality though the GDPR’s global reach is carefully considered and calibrated. And Clearview’s biometric surveillance and behavioural monitoring is captured. It’s more important than ever that companies don’t escape scrutiny because of their links with foreign governments.

privacyinternational.orgClearview and the long arm of the lawA tribunal in the UK has overturned a legal judgment about Clearview’s objectionable scraping of images of people’s faces from the internet.

Read more about our work here privacyinternational.org/long-read/57...

Clearview scrapes billions of facial images from the internet, builds a biometric database, and sells access to law enforcement agencies. 👎 But they’re arguing that they are beyond the reach of data protection law because they provide services to foreign law enforcement agencies (mainly in the US)

privacyinternational.orgGlobal Report on the Authoritarian use of TechnologyWe have been observing and monitoring an increase in states’ adoption of authoritarian practices and policies. These practices are facilitated by new and emerging technologies or embodied in their…

Around the world, states are using tech to monitor populations, suppress dissent & exert control often without transparency, meaningful oversight or routes to redress. Our new Global Report on the Authoritarian Use of Technology documents this trend. privacyinternational.org/report/5873/...

Secret intelligence agencies, contractors and spyware vendors are using AI tools to support surveillance operations. Governments should be protecting people from surveillance and hacking, not secretly using AI to expand them

The Digital Nation Pakistan Act 2025 aims to centralise the country’s digital governance, including digital services, data systems and cybersecurity.

But according to @digitalrightspk.bsky.social, the success of Pakistan’s digital transformation will not be measured only by how many services move online or how quickly new systems are introduced.

privacyinternational.orgBuilding a Rights-Respecting Digital Future in PakistanPutting People and Privacy at the Centre of Digital Transformation A digital service can look efficient on a screen while feeling confusing, unsafe or inaccessible to the person who depends on it.

The measure of progress will be visible in ordinary experiences: students accessing education services without unnecessary exposure of personal data; and patients using a digital health service that ensures the privacy of their records. Read more: privacyinternational.org/long-read/58...

blog.googleWe’re partnering with Flo Health to elevate women’s healthGoogle Health announces new partnership and deeper commitment to women’s health with Flo Health.

Google and menstrual tracking app Flo Health have announced a new partnership which purports to support women's health, but we can't help but hear alarm bells ringing for users' privacy. blog.google/products-and...

privacyinternational.orgConclusionsOur research has introduced questions about the right to privacy when apps have the potential to share a range of user-related data. This is a particular concern for people using apps in countries…

Our 2025 research into menstrual tracking apps assessed their privacy practices, but also whether those practices are adequate in today’s increasingly hostile environment for reproductive rights. privacyinternational.org/long-read/55...

privacyinternational.orgDigital health, big tech and your privacyIntroductionHarnessing new digital technology to improve people’s health is now commonplace across the world. Countries and international organisations alike are devising digital health strategies…

This collaboration is another example of Big Tech's appetite for expanding their reach into the health sector and the consequences this could have for our rights. privacyinternational.org/long-read/54...

blog.googleWe’re partnering with Flo Health to elevate women’s healthGoogle Health announces new partnership and deeper commitment to women’s health with Flo Health.

reuters.comhttps://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/google-flo-health-pay-56-million-period-tracking-app-privacy-case-2025-09-25/

Let's also not forget that just over a year ago, Google and Flo paid a combined $56 million to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming that they violated the privacy of millions of Flo-app users by sharing information about their cycles with tech companies. www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

privacyinternational.orgAll Eyes on my Period? Period tracking apps and the future of privacy in a post-Roe worldPeriod tracking apps and the rollback of reproductive rightsThe aftermath of the overturning of Roe v.

Furthermore, reproductive health data is particularly sensitive, and given increasing restrictions on access to abortion care these companies could be ordered to hand over data to law enforcement. privacyinternational.org/long-read/55...

blog.googleWe’re partnering with Flo Health to elevate women’s healthGoogle Health announces new partnership and deeper commitment to women’s health with Flo Health.

Although their proposal is an opt-in model, the ever increasing collection of vast amounts of sensitive health data, and sharing of this data between companies raises concerns for privacy and other rights.

Around the world, tech is increasingly being used to stifle dissent, assert control and diminish human rights. Our new Global Report on the Authoritarian Use of Technology documents how states are deploying surveillance tech. privacyinternational.org/report/5873/...

theguardian.comWhat is Starshield, SpaceX’s military-grade Starlink system, and how will its restriction affect Ukraine?Zelenskyy frames sudden shift as a betrayal by Trump, as spotlight turns on how Elon Musk’s SpaceX and the Pentagon control the crucial service

Who controls the infrastructure of war? The latest Starshield developments in Ukraine expose the growing dependence on private satellite companies. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

privacyinternational.orgThe new space race is already a war raceSatellites are strategic assets at the heart of global power. We have heard the story before: the moon race, the space race, the promise of progress framed as the conquest of territories beyond Earth.

The new space race is already a war race. And the question of who holds the power is becoming urgent. Learn more: privacyinternational.org/long-read/58...

Ireland has fined Google €403 million over how it used people’s location data. Location data can reveal deeply personal information, and people should know what they’re agreeing to when they share their location.

privacyinternational.orgWhen AI agents act outside their remitIn July 2026, AI agents being tested by OpenAI escaped restrictions intended to keep them isolated, gained Internet access and compromised the systems of Hugging Face and other third parties.

AI agents are being given increasing access to data. In July, OpenAI’s agents found ways around testing restrictions and accessed Hugging Face’s systems, What happens when AI agents act outside their intended remit - and who is accountable? privacyinternational.org/news-analysi...

🚨 NEW: Our Global Report on the Authoritarian Use of Technology documents how states are deploying surveillance technologies to stifle dissent, assert control and diminish human rights. privacyinternational.org/report/5873/...

Globally these technologies are increasingly being used monitor entire populations and target specific communities such as migrants, journalists and human rights defenders.

Our report also includes recommendations as to how these technologies should be safeguarded, restricted, or prohibited to ensure they comply with human rights standards and curtail their use in ways that we believe to be authoritarian. privacyinternational.org/report/5873/...

Our report focuses on tech such as facial recognition, social media monitoring and spyware, being deployed in both democratic and authoritarian contexts alike.

We are deeply concerned by news that Preston City Council has more than 100 CCTV cameras with facial recognition technology enabled. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The council has confirmed it is operating a watchlist for one of its FRT enabled cameras, which further raises questions around the quality and source of the images obtained for its watchlist.

This is another example of authorities independently taking steps to deploy highly evasive surveillance technology in the absence of legislation to govern how this tech is used to protect people's rights. privacyinternational.org/long-read/56...

📱💘 Millions of people worldwide use them in pursuit of love: dating apps. But according to research by Fundación Karisma and others, dating apps can collect more than 56 types of users' personal data, including weight, height, sexual orientation and HIV status.

privacyinternational.orgQué Putería: Care on Dating Apps is a Collective Matter, TooAround an olla comunitaria (community pot: an outdoor community kitchen, usually run by women using donated food and set up as a care space to feed people during crises and protest) in one of central…

🏳️‍🌈 'Qué Putería', a guide created by Fundación Karisma, provides care tips for dating app users. Created with the input LGBTQ+ activists, the guide contains digital security and privacy guidance: privacyinternational.org/long-read/58...

AI agents are being given increasing access to data and systems. In July, OpenAI’s agents found ways around testing restrictions and accessed Hugging Face’s systems, What happens when AI agents act outside their intended remit - and who's accountable? privacyinternational.org/news-analysi...

privacyinternational.orgAn Arsenal of Surveillance: A Guide to the Technologies Harming MigrantsGovernments around the world are building increasingly sophisticated surveillance infrastructures to monitor migrants, asylum seekers and refugees at borders and within countries.

Governments all over the world have been building up arsenals of technologies to surveil and monitor migrants and asylum seekers. We conducted a global survey to map the various technologies reportedly used on people on the move. privacyinternational.org/report/5866/...

privacyinternational.orgWhat will the new Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy mean for workers and what's next?On 12 June 2026, the International Labour Conference adopted the C193 Convention on Decent Work in the Platform Economy.

1/ In June 2026, the @ILO adopted the first Convention which addresses the impact of technology on platform workers’ rights and calls for the responsible use of automated decision making in the workplace. So what happens now? privacyinternational.org/node/5864/

4/ The ILO should sustain its commitment to the Convention and provide technical expertise and guidance to support swift ratification and effective implementation and enforcement.

5/ Read more about what the Convention means and what to expect next here: privacyinternational.org/node/5864/

2/ Governments need to ratify the Convention, and, engaging with workers and civil society, proceed with adopting national legislation to ensure effective national implementation and enforcement.

3/ Among other provisions, the Convention calls for stronger protections around fairer compensation, data protection rights and social protection rights.

apnews.comhttps://apnews.com/article/norway-ai-glasses-ban-be20dbd949ce058023864b66219f9c2b

Norway's move is a welcome protection against big tech's greedy attempts to extract ever more data, often in absence of any thought for the privacy or rights of others. No reality exists in which people expect to be secretly surveilled going about their daily lives apnews.com/article/norw...

privacyinternational.orgTechnology, data and elections: A card gameFollowing the publication of our Technology, Data and Elections Checklist, we have created a deck of

🃏 Are you an electoral observer interested in tech, data and elections? We’ve got a game for you! Play a game of cards and discuss voter data protection with your fellow players ♥️♠️♦️♣️ privacyinternational.org/long-read/57...

Data plays a key role in war and conflict. As military systems seep into law enforcement, border control, public health, and education, what should be a clear distinction between national defence and domestic governance is collapsing.

privacyinternational.orgHow Data Drives the Militarisation of TechThere’s a revolution occurring in how war and conflict are waged. New data-intensive systems are being developed; battlefields are testing grounds for a new generation of tech; and commercial tech…

This is the next great challenge for the protection of our privacy. Learn more: privacyinternational.org/long-read/56...