Blog
RightsCon spotlight: “The Privatised Panopticon: Workers’ Surveillance in the Digital Age”
In a session with European Digital Rights at RightsCon, we will explore how surveillance technology can make your workplace function like a prison: a privatised panopticon that threatens labour movements and undermines human rights.…
4 June 2021
Blog
كامبريدج أناليتيكا: طريقة غير مشروعة للحصول على معطيات شخصية لـ 87 مليون شخص! تعرف على آخر المستجدات
تظهر تقارير من “نيويورك تايمز” The New York Times و “الغارديان” The Guardian أن كامبريدج أناليتيكا قد استخدمت مجموعات هائلة من المعطيات الشخصية من خلال موقع فيسبوك للإعلان عن الناخبين المستهدفين في المملكة المتحدة والولايات المتحدة. وقد تم الحصول على…
10 April 2018
Blog
It’s not a bug, it’s a feature: How Cambridge Analytica demonstrates the desperate need for data protection
It’s critically important to see the big picture of the scandal and work toward an online ecosystem that does not depend on harvesting users’ data instead of protecting it.…
21 March 2018
Publications
Briefing note: UN Human Rights Council 26th session
The 26th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC26) will take place in Geneva from 10 to 27 June. A wide range of internet-related human rights issues will be discussed at this HRC26 session, including racism and the internet, online freedom of expression during elections processes, and technology-related violence against women. These discussions signal a continuing trend at the HRC of a focus on the internet and human rights.…
18 December 2015
Blog
Access Now signs international joint statement on privacy and data protection
Today, Access Now joined a coalition of digital rights and consumer privacy organizations to ask the Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners to focus on the need to update and enforce privacy laws in the digital age. The statement comes as the Commissioners and Data Protection Authorities gather in Amsterdam for an annual conference to discuss new and emerging issues in technology and privacy.
…28 October 2015
Press Releases
Announcing 2015 “Heroes & Villains of Human Rights and Communications Surveillance”
Today, Access recognizes the individuals and groups that have either been champions of the 13 internationally recognized principles (“Heroes”), or have undermined or violated those principles (“Villains”) in the last year.…
22 September 2015
Blog
Announcing the 2015 Heroes & Villains of Human Rights and Communications Surveillance
Today Access recognizes the individuals and groups that have either been champions of the 13 internationally recognized principles for human rights in communications surveillance (“Heroes”), or have undermined or violated those principles (“Villains”). These principles, called the International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance (or “the Principles”), have been endorsed by more than 400 civil society groups worldwide. They provide a framework for assessing whether government surveillance practices comply with international human rights obligations. Today marks the two-year anniversary of the Principles, which were publicly released on September 22, 2013.
…22 September 2015
Blog
What the E.U.-U.S. Umbrella Agreement does — and does not — mean for privacy
Negotiators from the United States and the European Union recently reached a preliminary deal on the so-called Umbrella Agreement, a transatlantic deal that sets standards for protecting personal data when it is transferred for law enforcement purposes. However, one key hurdle remains before the agreement will get sign off: the U.S. must grant a right to remedy for E.U. citizens who suffer privacy violations. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. will follow through on providing that protection, and whether it will be meaningful enough to meet E.U. standards.…
10 September 2015
Blog
Five Eyes’ surveillance under fire by U.N. Human Rights Committee
Last week the U.N. Human Rights Committee graded the United States on its surveillance practices. It also issued “concluding observations” for seven countries on human rights, including “Five Eyes” members Canada and the United Kingdom. In the conclusions the Committee strongly condemned the use of surveillance as a violation of the right to privacy.
…4 August 2015
Blog
Access to U.S.: Listen to world human rights body and end unlawful surveillance
On Monday, July 20th, the U.S. State Department held a consultation with civil society to discuss the recommendations that the U.S. received during a U.N. review of its human rights record. Access participated remotely, and asked representatives of the Obama Administration to accept 16 recommendations regarding the right to privacy and unlawful surveillance. The recommendations include conducting a review of U.S. national laws and policies in order to ensure that all surveillance of digital communications is consistent with international human rights obligations.…
21 July 2015
Blog
Access puts surveillance on agenda for Human Rights Council elections
On Wednesday, July 15, Access took the floor at a UN event to discuss candidates for the Human Rights Council. In response, six out of eight participating candidate countries echoed the importance of prioritizing the right to privacy at the Council.
…17 July 2015
