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.
REPORT
Five years and counting: the GDPR faces a make-or-break moment over enforcement
As the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) turns five, so does the Europe-wide wait for its real-life enforcement. In a new report, Five years under the GDPR: An implementation progress report, Access Now explores how the GDPR could finally become a success if its enforcement process is improved.
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.
More Resources
Data Protection
The right to lodge a data protection complaint under the GDPR: OK, but then what?
This study commissioned by Access Now from The Data Protection Law Scholars Network highlights how unequal the right to lodge a data protection complaint is across Europe.
Data Protection
Why Kenyans should say no to biometrics for SIM card registry
Your Kenya SIM card should not come with a demand for your personal biometrics.
Data Protection
Protección de datos: ¿por qué es importante y cómo debes hacerlo?
“La creación de un marco para la protección de datos: Una guía para los legisladores sobre qué hacer y qué no” comparte las lecciones obtenidas de la RGPD y destaca los problemas a tener en cuenta para la implementación de una norma de protección de datos.
Data Protection
Access Now’s submission on Bangladesh’s Draft Data Protection Act
Access Now’s submission to the Information and Communication Technology Division, Bangladesh, on the Draft Data Protection Act, 2022.
Data Protection
Día Internacional de la Protección de Datos Personales en LATAM: resumen del 2022 y perspectivas para el 2023
Este 28 de enero se celebra nuevamente el Día Internacional de la Protección de Datos Personales. La importancia de este día reside en la necesidad de informar y concientizar a
Data Protection
Answer to the European Commission consultation on the enforcement of the GDPR
Access Now’s feedback to the European Commission consultation on “Further specifying procedural rules relating to the enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation.”
Data Protection
How to get rid of targeted ads on TikTok (only in the EU)
If you are in the EU, here are the simple three steps to opt out from TikTok’s targeted ads.
FAQ
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.
Manual del Pequeñx Vigiladx
El Manual del Pequeñx Vigiladx es una guía para ayudarte a navegar el sistema judicial en caso de sufrir una detención errónea por sistemas biométricos.
Nevada’s attack on end-to-end encryption is an attack on online safety
How private tech threatens humanitarian principles
Joint Statement: Urgent Call to the Nigerian Communications Commission to Protect Human Rights and Privacy in Nigeria
Open letter to the European Data Protection Board: Oppose “Pay or Consent models”
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) must confirm the incompatibility of “Pay or Consent” models with fundamental rights.
Data must be protected at home and abroad: Access Now calls for legislation following U.S. Executive Order
Protecting people’s privacy is essential to maintaining democracy
What comes after big data?
Data of world’s most vulnerable put at risk by ‘opaque’ partnerships between NGOs and tech sector
GDPR enforcement: European Parliament must guarantee procedural rights to ensure people’s data protection
European Parliament’s Procedural Harmonisation Regulation is a step forward for people’s rights by establishing harmonised procedural standards.
Access Now argues humanitarian biometrics need more transparency, rules
The ‘cynical space’ where aid, tech, and militaries intersect
Private tech, humanitarian problems: how to ensure digital transformation does no harm
Our new report, Mapping Humanitarian Tech: exposing protection gaps in digital transformation programmes, examines how humanitarian-tech partnerships impact people and communities at risk.
Report examines state of African nations’ data protection laws, implementation efforts
UN Cybercrime Convention: FAQ on necessary reforms
What is the UN cybercrime convention, what’s wrong with its current draft, and how can you engage with it? Read our FAQ to know.
How governments can strengthen data protection in Africa
Digitisation in Africa has led many countries to develop data protection laws. We explore ways to strengthen these frameworks.