Privacy International

Description

Privacy International, known as PI, has worked since 1990 to promote the human right to privacy worldwide. It builds a global movement of partner organisations. It campaigns for companies to protect privacy by design rather than exploit people’s data. It also campaigns for laws, technologies and policies with modern safeguards against exploitation.

PI educates and mobilises people and communities to protect their data and rights. It helps them resist and object to exploitation by governments and industry. It also pursues litigation, challenging government and corporate surveillance in court.

Its research and advocacy cover topics such as poverty, metadata and health data. It publishes long-read analyses and explainers on emerging surveillance technologies. PI has tracked and analysed government and corporate responses to covid-19, including contact tracing and proximity tracking apps. These were used by governments such as China, South Korea, India, Israel, Kenya, Turkey, Germany and the United Kingdom.

PI assessed whether these tools were centralised or decentralised, mandatory or voluntary, and what risks they posed to privacy and equality. It ran a campaign against what it calls the global covid-19 power grab. It has commented on international texts such as the World Health Organization’s Pandemic Agreement negotiations.

PI states that it works hard to be a good employer and a good organisation. It describes itself as accountable to its funders and the public. It says all its team members share responsibility for building and maintaining a good organisation.