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.
What is data protection? Why does it matter? What can you do to protect your information?
Our guide will help you develop or update the data protection norms in your country.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Facebook released a long-overdue human rights policy outlining commitments across all of its products and services — but the policy’s impact largely depends on leadership’s yet-to-be-seen investment in its implementation.…
16 March 2021
Artificial intelligence and automated decision-making systems threaten our fundamental rights. Yet the EU is considering an approach to AI regulation that would substitute rights-based protections for a mere risk mitigation exercise by corporations with a vested interest in these systems. Here’s why that’s a grave mistake.…
17 February 2021
In India, the black market for people’s personal data is booming, putting privacy at risk. Yet the government is pushing to regulate “non-personal” information instead of advancing a personal data protection regime that would keep Indians safe.…
4 February 2021
On the tenth anniversary of Tunisia’s revolution, hundreds of Tunisians took to the streets in protest. The ensuing police crackdown on Tunisia’s protests was brutal, revealing the fragility of Tunisians’ democratic freedoms. We call on lawmakers to strengthen and protect their rights, online and off.…
4 February 2021
