

PROTECTING OUR DATA
Access Now fights for stronger, more effective laws and policies around the world to protect people’s personal information online. Here you will find resources to understand what data protection is, why it matters, and how to protect your information. Whether you are an internet user, lawmaker, or data protection authority, there is something for you.

RESOURCES FOR INDIVIDUALS
What is data protection? Why does it matter? What can you do to protect your information?
RESOURCES FOR LAWMAKERS
Our guide will help you develop or update the data protection norms in your country.
Download the Policy Makers’ Guide
MORE RESOURCES
Why does data protection matter?
Protecting personal data means securing your information online and preventing any unauthorized access. It also means limiting data collection and tracking, which helps protect your identity online and reduce risks of discrimination, online manupilation, and online fraud.
Abuse of data in digital spaces can have very real consequences in our daily lives. Read more here.
What is data protection?
Governments all around the world are creating rules on how our personal data is collected, stored, analyzed and otherwise used by companies or government bodies. These rules uphold data protection rights, which empower individuals to make informed choices about what happens to their information, both before and after they share it, and require data collectors to treat people’s personal information with great care.
What is Access Now’s work on data protection?
We advocate for the passage of comprehensive data protection measures all around the world. We raise awareness about the importance of this right and how people can exercise it,provide expert comments and opinions to lawmakers, and support the work of data protection authorities in enforcing this right.
What is the EU General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR?
The GDPR — or General Data Protection Regulation — is the European Union data protection law in place since May 2018. The GDPR is considered to be one of the strongest frameworks currently in place to protect personal data and serves as a model for regulation around the world.
Learn more about the GDPR here and how to exercise your rights here.


Press Releases
Holding Biden to account: Access Now’s new tool tracks digital rights, tech policy
On the day of Joe Biden’s inauguration, Access Now launches a new online tool to track how well the incoming administration addresses key digital rights issues, including data protection, net neutrality, disinformation, and facial recognition. …
20 January 2021


Press Releases
Human rights organizations respond to NSO: victims’ voices will not be silenced
Access Now and seven other human rights organizations have filed a reply to NSO Group’s opposition to the coalition’s amicus brief in the case of WhatsApp v. NSO in the U.S. Federal 9th Circuit Court.…
7 January 2021

Press Releases
Access Now tells the 9th Circuit Court: NSO Group cannot escape accountability in U.S. courts
Access Now and civil society partners join the WhatsApp v. NSO Group lawsuit by filing an amicus brief that discloses stories of those who survived the Pegasus spyware attack. The amici call for NSO to be held accountable for targeting civil society around the world.…
23 December 2020

Blog
It wasn’t all bad: 2020 digital rights wins
2020 was a year of hardship — online and off. But the world also experienced many wins for digital rights, especially in the areas of data protection, online political organizing, anti-surveillance, and freedom of expression. It’s important to celebrate these,…
17 December 2020


Blog
Instead of banning facial recognition, some governments in Latin America want to make it official
Buenos Aires, Brasilia, and Uruguay are pushing for use of facial recognition systems for “public security,” seeking to authorize the invasive and harmful use of mass surveillance tools. Civil society must fight back.…
16 December 2020




Blog
Can human rights survive the digital age? Only if we do these things
“We’re at a human rights tipping point.” On Human Rights Day of 2020, Access Now’s Brett Solomon maps out a pathway to take us to a full implementation and vindication of these rights, not just in principle, but in policy and practice. …
10 December 2020