Technology Pill
By Privacy International
Technology PillMay 05, 2023
Election Observation: Data, Elections and a trip to Kenya
This week we’re joined by Lucy and Laura to discuss the use of technology in elections, and their time monitoring the Kenyan Presidential Election in 2022.
Links
Human rights abuses including unlawful killings by police, violence at Kenya's 2017 election: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/08/27/kenya-post-election-killings-abuse Claims of fraud from Kenya's last election: https://www.cartercenter.org/countries/kenya.html PI and the Carter Center's joint election report: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5053/our-final-report-kenyas-2022-election-collaboration-carter-center-election-expert Challenge to the 2022 election result and Supreme Court decision: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-africa-62768439 More about the use of data in elections: https://privacyinternational.org/taxonomy/term/848 Our data and elections checklist: https://privacyinternational.org/advocacy/3093/technology-data-and-elections-checklist-election-cycleProtecting the protectors: a case from Colombia
This week we're speaking to Claudia Duque an Human Rights Defender and journalist for over 25 years, reported on crimes occurred during armed conflict and Emi, a Colombian lawyer defending press freedom. Claudia has been subjected to death threats, and was given official protection by the Colombian Government, including an armoured car. However, that protection was used to surveil her, including through a GPS tracker installed in the car without her knowledge.
Listen to find out more!
Links
The organisation who put us in touch with Claudia is called Media Defence, they are an international human rights organisation which provides legal defence to journalists, citizen journalists and independent media around the world who are under threat for their reporting. Find out more about them and their work: https://www.mediadefence.org/
You can also read more about Claudia, her work, and the cases she's taken forward on Media Defence's website:
https://www.mediadefence.org/news/hope-and-resilience-claudia-duque/
Claudia's case against the former Administrative Department of Security: https://latamjournalismreview.org/articles/after-more-than-20-years-court-confirms-responsibility-of-the-colombian-state-in-violating-human-rights-of-journalist-claudia-julieta-duque/
More about Claudia: https://www.mediadefence.org/news/hope-and-resilience-claudia-duque/
If you're a climate activist fearing surveillance, these tips might be handy: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5000/how-avoid-social-media-monitoring-guide-climate-activists
For more detail on the surveillance experiences faced by human rights defenders, read: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/being-target
To read more about GPS technology, visit: https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/4796/electronic-monitoring-using-gps-tags-tech-primer
MI5 Lied...for years: a win for privacy
In January 2023, the UK's Investigatory Powers Tribunal handed down a landmark judgment. The Tribunal held that there were “very serious failings” at the highest levels of MI5 - the UK's domestic intelligence agency - to comply with privacy safeguards from as early as 2014, and that successive Home Secretaries did not to enquire into or resolve these long-standing rule-breaking despite obvious red flags.
In this episode, we talk to Meg Goulding, a lawyer at the UK-based campaigning organisation, Liberty, who was a solicitor instructed on the case, and Nour Haidar, a lawyer and member of the legal team at PI to discuss what this ruling actually means for the ongoing fight against mass surveillance.
The way our data was handled by MI5 amounts to a significant intrusion into potentially millions of people’s fundamental right to privacy. This case was a critical mechanism of holding MI5 accountable for failing to handle the data they hold in a lawful manner. Agencies tasked with protecting national security process huge amounts of sensitive information. Due to the nature of their work, their operations can’t be subjected to the same levels of scrutiny and transparency that we can demand of other government institutions, yet they are not above the law. That is why this case is so important: it is one of the only tools we have to ensure that our right to privacy is respected by the UK intelligence agencies.
Links
- PI's Q&A explaining the judgment
- PI's Long-read explaining arguments in the case, including key disclosure
Producing Real Change: Our 2022
This week we're having our own little christmas party, discussing things we've achieved throughout 2022.
Read more about the things we've achieved throughout the year, and donate to PI as much or as little as you can afford.
Credits:
As ever, with a huge thank you to Sepia!
dj997 via freesound
acclivity via freesound
Marta Tsvettsikh via freesound
CNN
Sky News
How to Investigate Digital Forensics: Speaking to the UK's Former Forensics Regulator
This week we speak to Gillian Tully, the UK’s former forensic regulator about the importance and challenges that come with trying to ensure that forensic evidence submitted in court is of a high quality.
LinksMore about Gillian Tully: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/people/gillian-tully
Original Phone Extraction podcast: https://privacyinternational.org/video/3786/podcast-extraction
GOS tag complaint: Challenge to systemic quality failures of GPS tags submitted to Forensic Science Regulator
https://privacyinternational.org/advocacy/4940/challenge-systemic-quality-failures-gps-tags-submitted-forensic-science-regulator
Why Forensics Matter: Immigration officers and the quality of evidence in the UK: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/4740/why-forensics-matter-immigration-officers-and-quality-evidence-uk
Push This Button For Evidence: Digital Forensics: https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/3022/push-button-evidence-digital-forensics
Police Linked to Hacking Campaign to Frame Indian Activists: https://www.wired.com/story/modified-elephant-planted-evidence-hacking-police/
Unpacking the evidence elasticity of digital traces: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311886.2022.2103946
Forensic science and the criminal justice system: a blueprint for change (House of Lords Science and Technology Select Committee report): https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201719/ldselect/ldsctech/333/33302.htm
NIST Computer Forensics Tool Testing Program (CFTT) https://www.nist.gov/itl/ssd/software-quality-group/computer-forensics-tool-testing-program-cftt
Post Office Horizon scandal: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56718036
With my fridge as my witness?! https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3026/my-fridge-my-witness
Corporate Power with Cory Doctorow
This week we're talking to Cory Doctorow about his new book Chokepoint Capitalism - coauthored with Rebecca Giblin, his as yet unpublished next book The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation, and how corporate power is shaping our rights.
Quick corrections!
- GDPR compensation is in theory possible through court action: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/data-protection-and-journalism/taking-your-case-to-court-and-claiming-compensation/
- GDPR Article 80(2) not Section 20 something as I stated!
Links
- Cory's website: https://craphound.com/
- Chokepoint Capitalism coauthored with Rebecca Giblin: https://doctorow.medium.com/what-is-chokepoint-capitalism-b885c4cb2719
- Giphy and Meta: https://privacyinternational.org/press-release/4911/uk-tribunal-agrees-metas-acquisition-giphy-harms-competition
- Chokepoint Capitalism: the audiobook: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/chokepoint-capitalism-an-audiobook-amazon-wont-sell
- How to leave dying social media platforms (without losing your friends): https://doctorow.medium.com/how-to-leave-dying-social-media-platforms-9fc550fe5ab
- Cory on Mastodon: https://mamot.fr/@doctorow and https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic
- PI on Mastodon: https://mastodon.xyz/@privacyint
- Crad Kilodney documentary: https://vimeo.com/108567007
- Algorithms Exposed: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/825974 or https://algorithms.exposed/
- Bush V Gore election scandal: https://www.britannica.com/event/Bush-v-Gore
- Goldacre report: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/better-broader-safer-using-health-data-for-research-and-analysis
- Amazon and NHS: https://privacyinternational.org/node/3298
- Rida Qadri: https://ridaqadri.net/research/ and some of her writing on tuyul apps: https://www.vice.com/en/article/7kvpng/delivery-drivers-are-using-grey-market-apps-to-make-their-jobs-suck-less
- Oh for fuck's sake, not this fucking bullshit again : https://boingboing.net/2018/09/04/illegal-math.html
- Dan Kaminsky's work on Colour blindness: https://dankaminsky.com/2010/12/15/dankam/
- How to get the most out of your Data Subject Access Request: https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/3845/71-tips-how-make-most-out-your-dsar
EdTech needs Schooling
This week we're talking about Education Technology: what is it? Why are schools using it? Is it safe? How can we make sure that children aren't being asked to sacrifice their right to privacy in order to access their right to an education?
Links
- Read more of our work on EdTech: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/edtech
- Find out more about Google Classroom in Denmark: https://www.wired.com/story/denmark-google-schools-data/
- Taser drones: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/06/school-taser-drone-programme-paused-after-ethics-board-exodus
- We're tracking the use of EdTech around the world, you can find out more here: https://privacyinternational.org/example/edtech
Got PimEyes on you
This week we speak to Sebastian Meineck, a journalist from Netzpolitik about PimEyes, a free(ish) face search engine similar to Clearview, but for public consumption.
Please note this podcast was recorded before Sebastian and Netzpolitik were able to talk to PimEyes CEO Gobronidze in person. You can read that interview here: https://netzpolitik.org/2022/pimeyes-ceo-the-user-is-the-stalker-not-the-search-engine/
Links
Find more of Sebastian's work here: https://sebastianmeineck.wordpress.com/
More of Netzpolitik's work on PimEyes here: https://netzpolitik.org/tag/pimeyes/
Read more of PI's work on facial recognition: https://privacyinternational.org/learn/facial-recognition
And our work on Clearview: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/get-out-our-face-clearview
Maternal Health and Family Planning in the Middle East: Gender and Power
In this episode, Alexandrine Pirlot de Corbion, our Director of Strategy, speaks to Nour El Arnaout, from the Global Health Institute, American University of Beirut, Lebanon and Yousef Khader, from the Global Health Development, Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network and the Faculty of Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Jordan, about digital health in the Middle East and North Africa and in particular digital maternal health and family planning initiatives they are working on, the impact of gender inequality, and the risks involved.
Nour El Arnaout is a division manager at the Global Health Insitute at the American University of Beirut, where she also co-ordinates the Institutes's E-Sahha programme focussed on e-health and digital health. She has more than 7 years experience in projects and programmes management, operational management and research, and leads the implementation of large scale field based projects in underserved communities in Lebanon including refugee settlements. She is working on a project called: The Gamification, Artificial Intelligence and mHealth Network for Maternal Health Improvement.
Yousef Khaderb is a professor of Epidemiology and biostatistics at the Faculty of Medicine at the Jordan University of Science and Technology, he is a fellow for public health at the royal college of physicians UK through distinction and has published more than 650 scientific papers in highly reputable journals. He is working on a project called: Governing Digital Personal Data to Strengthen Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Services Delivery in Fragile Settings in Palestine and Jordan.
Both projects are funded by IDRC: https://www.idrc.ca/en.
Links
- Read more from Yousef and Nour about their projects, and gender and power in maternal health: https://ai-med.io/analysis/context-gender-power-and-choices/
- Read more about Nour's project: https://ghi.aub.edu.lb/esp/
- You can read more from Yousef in the below papers which he contributed to:
- Midwives and women's perspectives on family planning in Jordan: human rights, gender equity, decision-making and power dynamics: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34458635/
- Perceptions Toward the Use of Digital Technology for Enhancing Family Planning Services: Focus Group Discussion With Beneficiaries and Key Informative Interview With Midwives: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34319250/
- Do modern family planning methods impact women's quality of life? Jordanian women's perspective: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31615524/
Talking to People about Privacy
This week we talk to Ina Sander from Cardiff University about how to talk to people about privacy, drawing on her research looking at how to teach 'critical data literacy' in schools.
Links
You can find a resource for teachers we've been working with Ina on here: https://privacyinternational.org/learning-resources/teaching-about-data-resource-educators
You can read more about critical data literacy here: https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/what-critical-big-data-literacy-and-how-can-it-be-implemented
You can find the database of resources for teaching about big data and algorithmic systems Ina mentions here: https://www.bigdataliteracy.net/database/
You can find PI's guides to help you and your loved ones protect yourselves online: https://privacyinternational.org/act
The EU, the Sahel and the Externalisation of Surveillance
While being the world’s largest provider of aid, Europe also exports surveillance around the world by training police, providing surveillance techand building widescale databases. While the benefits for European arms and security companies is clear, how this helps those it’s supposed to is less obvious.
We sat down with investigative journalist Giacomo to talk more about the impact of this financial flow to security forces and surveillance.
Links
Giacomo’s report on Europe’s Shady Funds to Border Forces in the Sahel https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/3223/europes-shady-funds-border-forces-sahel
Giacomo’s report on The European Chase for Saharan Smugglers https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3347/european-chase-saharan-smugglers
Privacy International’s disclosures on the EU’s surveillance aid https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4291/surveillance-disclosures-show-urgent-need-reforms-eu-aid-programmes
You can follow Giacomo at @giacomo_zando
Surveillance: Made in Italy and sold around the world
Hundreds of companies around the world which develop and sell surveillance tech used to spy on people, making everything from malware used by governments to hack into phones to mass internet surveillance tools to monitor nationwide internet traffic. Italy is one of the main producers.
We spoke to investigative journalists Lorenzo and Riccardo from IRPI Media who have been digging into these companies.
Links
You can check out IRPI Media at https://irpi.eu
Their series on surveillance (in Italian) is at https://irpimedia.irpi.eu/sorveglianze/
Their report on Med-Or (in English) is at https://irpimedia.irpi.eu/en-surveillances-medor-leonardo-marco-minniti/
Their report on Cy4Gate (in English) is at https://irpimedia.irpi.eu/en-surveillances-cy4gate-united-arab-emirates/
Violence at the EU’s borders: Tech and surveillance in Europe’s Human Rights Crisis
The migration crisis in 2015 brutally exposed the divisions in Europe. People who fled war and make it to Europe are being met with violence and intrusive surveillance at the border at the hands of state authorities.
We sat down with Natalie & Sergio from the Border Violence Monitoring Network to learn more about the situation at Europe’s borders.
This is the first episode in our Border Surveillance series. Join us next week for Surveillance: Made in Italy and sold around the world.
Links
Josoor International Solidarity’s website is at https://www.josoor.net
No Name Kitchen’s website https://www.nonamekitchen.org
Border Violence Monitoring Network’s Website is at https://www.borderviolence.eu
Their reports documenting violence and trends in Greece and the Balkans route are at https://www.borderviolence.eu/category/monthly-report/
Lighthouse Report’s investigations on pushbacks in the Aegean are available at https://www.lighthousereports.nl/investigation/aegean-pushbacks-lead-to-drowning/
Privacy Internationa’s disclosures on the EU’s surveillance aid https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4291/surveillance-disclosures-show-urgent-need-reforms-eu-aid-programmes
Upcoming: Border Surveillance
This is a brief programming note. The next three weeks we'll be releasing episodes of a new mini-series looking at how surveillance is spreading around the world, driven by Europe’s war on migration and a complex web of surveillance and arms companies. Join Edin, PI's advocacy director, and some fascinating guests every Friday for the next three weeks for: Border Surveillance.
Then we'll be back to our Technology Pill episodes. Enjoy!
Corporate Spies Gone Wild
This week talk to Franz Wild from the Bureau of Investigative Journalists to discuss how the UK became a haven for the private intelligence industry and how corporate spies have been allowed to run wild.
Links:
The Enablers by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/projects/the-enablers
PI’s report: https://privacyinternational.org/report/4850/briefing-controlling-uks-private-intelligence-industry
Submit your podcast questions: pvcy.org/questions
Sign up to our mailing list: pvcy.org/podsignup
Not Fine: A Clearview Update
This week's episode is a grab bag of Clearview updates - from our latest campaign to their latest fine.
Links
Italy fine: https://www.garanteprivacy.it/web/guest/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/9751362
Our legal action: https://privacyinternational.org/legal-action/challenge-against-clearview-ai-europe;
The ICO decision: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/4714/icos-announcement-about-clearview-ai-lot-more-just-ps17-million-fine
Use of Clearview AI by police illegal under Belgian law, says Belgian interior minister: https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/belgian-police-admit-using-controversial-facial-recognition-software/2388953
Clearview in Ukraine: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/4806/clearviewukraine-partnership-how-surveillance-companies-exploit-war
Washington Post article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/16/clearview-expansion-facial-recognition/
The pledge: https://pvcy.org/dodgydata
NSO Group: Civil society's battle against government hacking
This week we're taking a look at NSO Group - a tech firm that sells a hacking capability to governments around the world - and government hacking more generally.
Links
- Edin mentioned 'a journalist and her son' being targeted; their names are Carmen and Emilio Aristegui. You can find out more about people targeted in Mexico by a government buyer of NSO Group tech: https://citizenlab.ca/2017/06/reckless-exploit-mexico-nso/
- Keep up to date with ongoing litigation against NSO Group around the globe here: https://citizenlab.ca/2018/12/litigation-and-other-formal-complaints-concerning-targeted-digital-surveillance-and-the-digital-surveillance-industry/#NSO
- Read our report, together with Amnesty International and SOMO, on NSO Group's corporate structure here: https://www.privacyinternational.org/report/4531/operating-shadows-inside-nso-groups-corporate-structure
- Find more examples of harm involving NSO group here: https://privacyinternational.org/examples/nso-group
- As revelations about the abuses of NSO Group's spyware continue, we took a look at what is being done around the world to challenge the surveillance tech industry and the powers they sell, see our call for a multi-pronged approach here: Taming Pegasus: A Way Forward on Surveillance Tech Proliferation https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/4602/taming-pegasus-way-forward-surveillance-tech-proliferation
- See how hacking can be used at a protest and how you can minimise risks to your data here: https://www.privacyinternational.org/explainer/4493/how-hacking-can-be-used-protest
- Government hacking poses unique and grave threats to our privacy and security, here are our recommendations for necesssary safeguards around government hacking: https://www.privacyinternational.org/demand/government-hacking-safeguards
- Q&A: PI case - UK High Court judgment on general warrants and government hacking explained: https://www.privacyinternational.org/long-read/4361/qa-pi-case-uk-high-court-judgment-general-warrants-and-government-hacking-explained
Update: Marketing, Maternity, and the data supply chain
In 2020, two weeks before the UK headed into the first nationwide lockdown, we published a podcast about a marketing company being given access to hospital maternity wards. Now, almost 2 years to the day, we're coming back to you with an update about how companies operating data broking services, as Bounty did, are causing headaches for brands using personal data for targeted advertising.
Links
More information about how Bounty illegally exploited the data of 14 million mothers and babies: https://pvcy.org/podillegalexploitation
Sign up to our corporate exploitation email list to find out more about our work on brands and the advertising supply chain: https://pvcy.org/podsignup
Original podcast: https://privacyinternational.org/video/3787/podcast-marketing-and-maternity
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Orginally Recorded 12th March 2020.
We can’t believe we’re having to say this, but the hours after giving birth are private. If you’re a parent, you may have heard of Bounty, a sales and marketing company allowed access to hospital maternity wards and approach women who have just given birth. This doesn’t happen on any other hospital ward. Can you imagine coming round from major surgery to find a stranger trying to sell you stuff? The physical invasion of privacy is bad enough, but delving into the company’s relationship with you and your baby’s personal data reveals some surprises.
2021: Looking back
This episode we look back at the predictions we made about 2021, What turned out to be true? What turned out better than we could have hoped? What turned out worse?
Links
Our predictions from 2021: pvcy.org/2021predictions
Clearview UK provisional fine: pvcy.org/clearUKfine
Clearview legal trouble in France: pvcy.org/clearFrance
Clearview investments: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/21/technology/clearview-ai-valuation.html
TRIPS waiver: https://www.devex.com/news/where-are-we-on-covid-19-after-a-year-of-trips-waiver-negotiations-101795
Travel podcast: pvcy.org/PITravel
Patent-free vaccine: https://newatlas.com/health-wellbeing/patent-free-coronavirus-vaccine-protein-subunit/
Mental health podcast: pvcy.org/podmentalhealth
David works for the Mental Health Foundation: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
Google unionise: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/04/technology/google-employees-union.html
The 'Great Resignation': https://www.ft.com/content/857bdeba-b61b-4012-ab82-3c9eb19506df
PI has been working with two unions on our managed by bots campaign: pvcy.org/podbots
Complicated history of plagues and workers: https://www.economist.com/free-exchange/2013/10/21/plagued-by-dear-labour
Indian National Education Plan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Education_Policy_2020
Ugandan Election: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/c9vyzlr1ek2t/uganda-election-2021
Crypto mining trouble: https://www.wired.com/story/kazakhstan-cryptocurrency-mining-unrest-energy/
US commitment to reduce methane: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-59137828
Cop26 commitments: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/14/india-criticised-over-coal-at-cop26-but-real-villain-was-climate-injustice
Apple's valuation: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/1/6/visualising-apples-3-trillion-market-valuation
Facebook value drop: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/03/facebooks-232point6-billion-drop-in-value-sets-all-time-record.html
The Metaverse: https://www.wired.com/story/what-is-the-metaverse/
Predictions for 2022: pvcy.org/2022predictions
2022: Looking forward
In this episode we look forward at the rest of 2022 and make our predictions about what to look out for in the year ahead.
Links
Teens and Facebook: https://fortune.com/2021/10/25/facebook-teens-usage-harm-studies/
Frances Haugen and Instagram: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-59038506
Facebook and Metaverse: https://www.ft.com/content/76d40aac-034e-4e0b-95eb-c5d34146f647
Metaverse and Bandwidth: https://www.ft.com/content/09d244a2-34a2-4f62-9747-5064d76cb286
EFF on new Google replacement for cookies: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/03/googles-floc-terrible-idea
Google's follow up plan to replace cookies: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/google-floc-cookies-chrome-topics
EV cars and the national grid: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/electric-vehicle-charging-market
The gates of hell: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/turkmenistan-gates-hell-fire-extinguish
South Africa, Omicron, and travel: https://www.gatesfoundation.org/ideas/articles/omicron-covid-africa-travel
Patent-free covid vaccine: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/15/corbevax-covid-vaccine-texas-scientists
Covid vaccine plastic bag shortage: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-57024322
James Webb telescope: https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-turns-on-cameras
Human trails for Elon Musks' brain chip: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/20/elon-musk-brain-chip-firm-neuralink-lines-up-clinical-trials-in-humans
Christmas Present Privacy
Merry Christmas. We hope you enjoy your day tomorrow. This week we're bringing you tips for how to spot and deal with things that worry you about the gifts you or your kids may recieve tomorrow.
Links
Donate to PI and get your facemask: pvcy.org/donatepill
Mozilla's *privacy not included project: https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/
US PIRG's Trouble in Toyland: https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/Trouble-In-Toyland
Roomba home maps: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/9/6/17817220/irobot-roomba-i7-robot-vacuum-empties-itself-maps-house and concerns from 2017 about Roomba sharing that information: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/25/technology/roomba-irobot-data-privacy.html
ICO advice: https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/news-and-events/news-and-blogs/2017/11/blog-the-12-ways-that-christmas-shoppers-can-keep-children-and-data-safe-when-buying-smart-toys-and-devices/
Our guides for protecting yourself from online tracking: https://privacyinternational.org/act/protect-yourself-online-tracking
Our Amazon Ring report "One Ring to Watch Them All" https://www.privacyinternational.org/long-read/3971/one-ring-watch-them-all
Find out more about our legal work: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4699/brief-history-our-legal-successes
Extra audio credit details in order of appearance:
acclivity (sleigh bells)
dj997 (additional bells)
Marta Tsvettsikh (fire sound)
waxsocks (ding dong merrily)
Tech Research: includes a free gift
Today we're launching our Data Interception Environment for everyone to use. We've used it to research everything from low cost phones, to menstruation apps, and now we’re making it available so that you can do your own research on how your apps use your data.
Links
You can read more about the DIE, including some of the research we've done that's used it here: https://privacyinternational.org/learn/data-interception-environment
You can find our work about apps sharing data with Facebook here: https://privacyinternational.org/appdata
You can download the DIE to have a go with it yourself here: https://github.com/privacyint/appdata-environment-desktop/tree/update-3
Victory! A Clearview update: some (provisionally) good news from the UK
The ICO has provisionally issued a £17 million fine against facial recognition company Clearview AI
Links
Read more about the ICO's provisional decision here: https://privacyinternational.org/press-release/4706/victory-ico-provisionally-issues-ps17-million-fine-against-facial-recognition
Support our work here: pvcy.org/donatepill
You can find out more about Clearview by listening to our podcast: The end of privacy? The spread of facial recognition
Unhealthy diet of targeted ads
This week we talk to Daniel Magson, who has been campaigning to stop diet ad companies from targeting people with eating disorders, and Eva Blum-Dumontet, who wrote PI's recent report on the data collected by diet companies.
Links
Daniel's petition: https://www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-ban-advertisers-from-targeting-eating-disorders
PI's diet ads report: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4603/unhealthy-diet-targeted-ads-investigation-how-diet-industry-exploits-our-data
More information on Instagram, targeted ads, and Frances Haugen - the Facebook whistleblower: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/4622/reduce-facebooks-harms-teens-target-its-data-hungry-business-model
Covid and Tech: A view from Colombia
This week we talk to Juan Diego from Fundación Karisma - one of our partners based in Colombia - about the use of technology in the response to the Covid pandemic and their report "Useless and Dangerous: A Critical Exploration of Covid Applications and Their Human Rights Impacts in Colombia".
You can find out more from Karisma here: https://web.karisma.org.co/
You can read the report here: https://web.karisma.org.co/useless-and-dangerous-a-critical-exploration-of-covid-applications-and-their-human-rights-impacts-in-colombia/
Humanitarian data after Afghanistan
This week we talk to Massimo Marelli, Head of the Data Protection Office at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to discuss the use of data by humanitarian organisations in light of the serious concerns around data left behind in the US's withdrawal from Afghanistan and the risks presented by humanitarian agencies' increasing collection and use of data.
Links
Find out more about PI's work with and on humanitarian organisations uses of data here: https://privacyinternational.org/learn/humanitarian-sector
Read more about the Humanitarian Metadata Problem in our report on doing no harm in the digital age co-authored with the ICRC here: https://privacyinternational.org/report/2509/humanitarian-metadata-problem-doing-no-harm-digital-era
And you can learn more about the history of development and humanitarian donors and agencies rush to adopt new technologies that threaten the right to privacy - in out Aiding Surveillance report from 2013: https://privacyinternational.org/report/841/aiding-surveillance
You can find more from Massimo and his work at the ICRC here: https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/contributor/massimo-marelli/
And you can read the ICRC's Handbook on data protection in humanitarian action here: https://www.icrc.org/en/data-protection-humanitarian-action-handbook
You can join the ICRC's 'Digitharium' - a global forum to discuss and debate digital transformation within the humanitarian sector, with a focus on humanitarian protection, policy, ethics and action here: https://www.icrc.org/en/digitharium
You can sign up to learn more about working in data protection at humanitarian organisations here: https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/events/data-protection-officer-dpo-humanitarian-action-certification
Rebroadcast: Your mental health for sale?
In honour of Mental Health Awareness Day in the UK we're bringing back this episode from last year.
We talk to Dr David Crepaz-Keay from the Mental Health Foundation to find out what happens to your data when you visit a mental health website? How can technology help people dealing with a mental health issue? And what can happen when things go wrong?
Find out more about the Mental Health Foundation here: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
If you're worried about your mental health and want to try the NHS's mood self-assesment you can find it here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mood-self-assessment/
Read our work on mental health here: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/your-mental-health-sale
Cargo planes, Trains, and Automobiles
This week we take a look at travel during the pandemic - we chat to staff about where they've been, what it was like, and most importantly: how they got there.
Summer Reading
This week we come back from our break to chat to PI staff about what we've been reading or plan to read this summer.
Links
Lucie's recommedations
- A history of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russel
- John le Carré
- La Horde du Contrevent by Alan Damasio
- The Right to Choose by Gisèle Halimi
Clara's recommendations
- Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
- Republic of Lies by Anna Merlan
- Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout by Laura Jane Grace
Millie's recommendations - you might recognise Millie's voice from our Phone Extraction podcast
- Cack-Handed: A Memoir by Gina Yashere
- Man search for meaning by Viktor Frankl
- Emma Barnet (mention)
- Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
- Do Humankind's Best Days Lie Ahead? by Malcom Gladwell, Matt Ridley, Steven Pinker, and Alain de Botton
Laura's recommendations
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
- On Earth we're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
- Bleak House by Charles Dickens
- A World for Julius by Alfredo Bryce
Evading facial recognition
This week we’re talking to Andreea Belu - Campaigns and Communications Manager at EDRi - about evading facial recognition. We talk about our European Citizen's Iniative to ban facial recognition and how hard it is to guarantee that tools built to allow people to evade facial recognition will actually work.
Links
- You can find out more about the ECI here: pvcy.org/banbiometrics (If you're a European Citizen you can even sign it!)
- You can find EDRi's masks (and their masks for MEP programme) here: https://edri.org/take-action/donate-mask/ and you can find out more about the project here: https://edri.org/our-work/can-a-covid-19-face-mask-protect-you-from-facial-recognition-technology-too/
- You can take the Paper Bag Society challenge on mosts social media platforms - check out the #PaperBagSociety hashtag to find out more
- Watch this space (or sign up for our email at https://action.privacyinternational.org/) to find out more about how you can get a mask from PI
- The podcast survey is here: pvcy.org/tpsurvey
- You can find our Spotter's Guide to Facial Recognition here: https://privacyinternational.org/video/4489/spotters-guide-facial-recognition
Covid and tech: a view from India
This week we speak to Pallavi Bedi, Senior Policy Officer at the Centre for Internet and Society in India, about the technology being used in India to co-ordinate vaccine distribution and the response to the pandemic.
Links
You can find the Co-win vaccination website here: https://www.cowin.gov.in/
You can support PI at pvcy.org/donate and you can find out more about the Centre for Internet and Society at https://cis-india.org/
CIS also have a podcast, it’s called In flux and you can find it on all your favourite podcast apps and at https://in-flux.cis-india.org/
Like and subscribe to the podcast on which ever platform you use. It’s also available on our website at privacyinternational.org
Covid: Where have we been? Where are we now?
This week we discuss our experience of Covid so far, where we've been, where we are, and where we're going.
Links
- Locked down, our recommedations podcast: privacyinternational.org/video/3788/podcast-locked-down
- Schools and Covid: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/3709/schools-and-covid-19
- Proctoring software and racism: https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/8/22374386/proctorio-racial-bias-issues-opencv-facial-detection-schools-tests-remote-learning
- Covid contact tracing apps: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3792/covid-contact-tracing-apps-are-complicated-mess-what-you-need-know
- Trump and airborne Covid: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/10/trump-says-everyone-knew-the-coronavirus-was-airborne-in-february-its-no-big-thing.html
- Shin Bet and communications data: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3747/israels-coronavirus-surveillance-example-others-what-not-do
- Netenyahu, covid, and microchipping children: https://privacyinternational.org/examples/3915/israeli-prime-minister-proposes-microchipping-children-enforce-social-distancing
- Android, covid tracing, and the log: https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/27/22405425/android-google-contact-tracing-bug-privacy
- Google and pre-installed apps: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/4118/our-response-google-privacy-isnt-luxury
- Vaccine passports: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4074/looming-disaster-immunity-passports-and-digital-identity
- Covid vaccine trial and vaccine passports: https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2021/06/07/left-in-limbo-barriers-to-covid-passports-for-trial-participants-will-deter-people-from-taking-part-in-research/
Biometrics domination under the pretext of combating terrorism
Biometric data collection and use in the name of countering terrorism has been accelerating around the globe, often abusively, without being effectively regulated or subject to accountability mechanisms
This week we talk to Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights & Counter-Terrorism, Nina Dewi Toft Djanegara about biometrics in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Keren Weitzberg about uses in Somalia and Palestine.
Links
- Read more about uses in Iraq and Afghanistan - https://privacyinternational.org/report/4529/biometrics-and-counter-terrorism-case-study-iraq-and-afghanistan
- Read more about uses in Somalia - https://privacyinternational.org/report/4530/biometrics-and-counter-terrorism-case-study-somalia
- Read more about uses in Israel/Palenstine - https://privacyinternational.org/report/4527/biometrics-and-counter-terrorism-case-study-israelpalestine
The fight back with Edward Snowden
This week we’re passing the podcast over to Edward Snowden. We found out this week that the judgement in our case at the European Court of Human Rights challenging the UK’s mass surveillance programme of bulk interception, and the UK’s access to information gathered via bulk surveillance by the USA is coming very soon - on the 25 May.
It’s been a long road, starting at the UK’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal in 2013, but this case would have happened without Ed’s revelations, which revealed the extent of those surveillance programmes. Which is why (around a year ago now) we sat down with him to talk about this case, mass surveillance and what we can do to fight back.
Find out more about the case here: https://privacyinternational.org/legal-action/10-human-rights-organisations-v-united-kingdom
And support PI here: pvcy.org/donate
A eulogy to Yahoo Answers
On Tuesday, we said goodbye to Yahoo Answers in the appropriate spirit - by answering questions from the Computers and Internet section of Yahoo.
Links
- Listen to Love Letter and find more from Sepia on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/sepiamusicuk/love-letter (he's also on most other music platforms!)
- Find out more about Dark Patterns: https://www.darkpatterns.org/
- The Electronic Freedome Foundation on what comes after cookies: https://www.eff.org/issues/online-behavioral-tracking
- WHO on COVID vaccine safety: https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-(covid-19)-vaccines-safety
- COVID and social change - our thoughts from earlier in the pandemic: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4074/looming-disaster-immunity-passports-and-digital-identity
- Our podcast on immunity passports: https://privacyinternational.org/video/4072/podcast-immunity-passports
- Workplace surveillance and Covid-19: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/3757/unlocking-workplaces-virtually-locking-workers
- Resources on staying safe digitally from control and abuse: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3366/womens-aid-and-privacy-international-launch-digital-information-cards-help-women
- Google's policy on "stalkerware": https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/4204/stalkerware-wont-disappear-notification
- Listen to the Voyager Golden Record on Nasa's soundcloud page
- Greetings to the Universe here: https://soundcloud.com/nasa/sets/golden-record-greetings-to-the
- Sounds of Earth here: https://soundcloud.com/nasa/sets/golden-record-sounds-of
- Find out more about Ann Druyan's brain waves here: https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/28apr_voyager2
- Find out more about Ann Druyan falling in love by listening to this RadioLab podcast: https://www.npr.org/2010/02/12/123534818/carl-sagan-and-ann-druyans-ultimate-mix-tape?t=1619644250998
- Our work on pre-installed apps (and other issues with low-cost phones): https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/privacy-shouldnt-be-luxury
- Our podcast on General Warrants: https://privacyinternational.org/video/4418/general-warrants-victory-uk-high-court-and-250-year-old-law
- Our survey: pvcy.org/tpsurvey
A spotter's guide to facial recognition
This week we talk about the different kinds of facial recognition and which you might see where. We also chat about the Facebook leak of 553million records.
Remember: sign our ECI! pvcy.org/banbiometrics
And you can find our survey here: pvcy.org/tpsurvey
Links
Facebook Leak
- Facebook Leak: https://www.businessinsider.com/stolen-data-of-533-million-facebook-users-leaked-online-2021-4?r=US&IR=T
- Mark Zuckerburg on signal?: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/14595265/mark-zuckerberg-using-whatsapp-rival-signal/
- Irish DPA investigation: https://www.cnet.com/news/facebook-under-investigation-in-europe-over-massive-personal-data-leak-gdpr/
- EU implications of the Facebook leak: https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-leaders-facebook-data-leak-cybersecurity-didier-reynders/
- Facebook use of 2FA: https://www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2019/12/23/facebook-will-finally-stop-using-2fa-phone-numbers-to-suggest-friends/
- The second cache of phone numbers found by Motherboard: https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj8dj5/facebook-phone-number-data-breach-telegram-bot
Facial Recognition Links
* Proctorio and recognising black people'sfaces: https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5gxg3/proctorio-is-using-racist-algorithms-to-detect-faces
* Public order offence for avoiding facial recognition: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/facial-recognition-cameras-technology-london-trial-met-police-face-cover-man-fined-a8756936.html
* Kings cross facial recognition: https://sprivacyinternational.org/case-study/3973/kings-cross-has-been-watching-you-and-police-helped
* Function creep in a largely jewish community in Belgium [in Flemish] https://myprivacy.dpgmedia.be/consent?siteKey=6OfBU0sZ5RFXpOOK&callbackUrl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.demorgen.be%2fprivacy-wall%2faccept%3fredirectUri%3d%252fnieuws%252fcamera-s-in-antwerpse-joodse-wijk-controleren-bezoek-aan-synagoges-en-feestzalen%257eb5824508%252f%253freferrer%253dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Ft.co%25252F
* Categorisation systems for telling if you're gay: https://www.theregister.com/2019/03/05/ai_gaydar/
Spring Cleaning (rebroadcast)
This week we're rebroadcasting a coversation we had last year with PI's Tech Co-ordination Groups, bringing you tips and tricks about how to start cleaning up and securing your phone or computer. Please note - Whatsapp does now offer disappearing messages.
Episode notes
Useful info
Tech pill survey: pvcy.org/tpsurvey
How to minimise targeted ads: privacyinternational.org/act/minimise-targeted-ads
Protect yourself from online tracking: privacyinternational.org/act/protect-yourself-online-tracking
Social media account settings: privacyinternational.org/act/protect-yourself-social-media-monitoring
Our Onion address: privacyintyqcroe.onion
Episode Info
6:06 - reasons to delete apps you’re not using
8:00 - 4 things you should do first
8:19 - Updates
9:41 - Password managers Keepass, 1password, Lastpass
13:22 - Has your data been breached? haveibeenpwned.com/
14:38 - Backups
20:47 - Apps
22:34 - Firewalls
Netguard - play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.faircode.netguard&hl=en_GB
Clamwin - clamwin.com
30:27 - When is too old too old
32:54 - iPhone
Better Blocker - better.fyi
38:09 - Android
42:11 - Social Media
42:11 Facebook/instagram
Facebook TOR address: facebookcorewwwi.onion
Zynga hack: theguardian.com/games/2019/dec/19/170m-passwords-stolen-in-zynga-words-with-friends-hack-monitor-says
47:02 - Twitter
MicahFlee - delete your tweets: micahflee.com/2019/06/semiphemeral-automatically-delete-your-old-tweets-except-for-the-ones-you-want-to-keep/
Social media monitoring by local authorities - privacyinternational.org/long-read/3586/when-local-authorities-arent-your-friends
51:22 - Email
53:17 - Desktops
53:32 - Windows
CCleaner - ccleaner.com/
WinDirStat - windirstat.net/
57:24 - Mac OS
Little snitch - obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html
1:00:02 - Linux
Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) - linux.com/training-tutorials/introduction-uncomplicated-firewall-ufw/
Firewall D - firewalld.org/
1:03:22 Encryption
Veracrypt - veracrypt.fr/en/Introduction.html
Bitlocker - support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028713/windows-10-turn-on-device-encryption
Big Brother pays your benefits: We read 995 pages on how to surveil people so you don't have to
Content warning: this episode includes some disturbing stories of people who have died after having their benefits cut or withdrawn by the UK Department of Work and Pensions
This week we're looking at the ways in which the UK Department of Work and Pensions surveil benefit recipients.
Links
You can find out more about the DWP's surveillance here: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4395/shedding-light-dwp-part-1-we-read-uk-welfare-agencys-995-page-guide-conducting
You can find out more about the DWP's alogrithims here: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4397/shedding-light-dwp-part-2-long-days-journey-towards-transparency
You can find out more about each of the cases of people who died after their benefits withdrawn below.
Errol Graham: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-51283186
The 5,000: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/jan/16/people-died-benefits-error
Jodey Whiting: https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/jodey-whiting-dwp-continued-to-phone-woman-who-took-her-own-life-inquiry-finds/
Phillipa Day: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-55826996
David Clapson: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/03/victims-britains-harsh-welfare-sanctions
If you're having problems navigating the UK's benefits system Citizen's Advice is a good place to go for help and support: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
What does your face say about you? Phrenology, physiognomy and society
This week we're joined by Dr Courtney Thompson to discuss the history of phrenology and physiognomy and their relationship to modern technologies and culture.
Links
- Find more of Dr Thompson's work and her book 'An Organ of Murder: Crime, Violence, and Phrenology in Nineteenth-Century America': history.msstate.edu/people/courtney-thompson/
- Or you can find her on twitter at: twitter.com/Dr_C_Thompson
- You can see the 'Good and Bad heads' picture in her article 'Rediscovering “Good” and “Bad” Heads in the Phrenological Present' here: nursingclio.org/2020/12/08/rediscovering-good-and-bad-heads-in-the-phrenological-present/
- Find out more about Physogs and Photofit in Courtney's article in Endeavour: sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160932719300468?via%3Dihub
- You can listen to our podcast on Facial Recognition here: privacyinternational.org/video/4368/podcast-end-privacy-spread-facial-recognition
- And you can support Privacy International here: support.privacyinternational.org
Are you paranoid?
We hear that we're paranoid a lot - but what is paranoia? What does it mean to be paranoid? And is it all bad? We spoke to Dr David Crepaz-Keay from the Mental Health Foundation to find out.
Links
- Learn more about mental health at the mental health foundation's website: mentalhealth.org.uk/
- Learn more about PI's work at: privacyinternational.org
- You can listen to our first episode with David about tracking on mental health websites here: privacyinternational.org/video/4279/podcast-your-mental-health-sale
General warrants: Victory at the UK High Court and 250 year old law
General warrants have been used to authorise wide-ranging property interference and certain forms of computer hacking of large numbers of devices - such as “all mobile phones used by a member of a criminal gang”, without specifying the names or locations of the members.
But no longer - the UK High Court has held that the security and intelligence services cannot rely on these warrants, referring back to cases from the 18th century.
Find out more: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/4359/victory-high-court-against-governments-use-general-warrants
Data exploitation in reproductive healthcare in Chile
PI's Reproductive Rights and Privacy Project speaks with Paz Peña, an independent consultant based in Chile, about data exploitation in sexual and reproductive healthcare in the country.
Trans identity in the Philippines
We've recently released a report looking at the impact of ID systems on transgender people in Argentina, France and the Philippines. To celebrate we're re-releasing this podcast from our archive. It was recorded in 2018 when Eva met two transgender rights activists - Naomi Fontanos and AR Arcon to discuss what the right to privacy means to them and their fight against the government's plan to deploy an ID card system.
Our report in English: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4372/my-id-my-identity-impact-id-systems-transgender-people-argentina-france-and
Our report in Spanish: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4373/mi-dni-mi-identidad-el-impacto-de-los-sistemas-de-identificacion-sobre-las-personas
The end of privacy? The spread of facial recognition
A year ago on Monday the New York Times published an article, by a fantastic tech journalist called Kashmir Hill, about a facial recognition company called Clearview AI called 'The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It' .
This episode we talk to a range of experts and journalist about who are Clearview? What are they doing? Why is their business model so problematic? And is the problem Clearview specific? Or is systemic?
Links
The original article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/18/technology/clearview-privacy-facial-recognition.html
Info on how to do your own Data Subject Access Request: https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/3845/71-tips-how-make-most-out-your-dsar
And the template from the ICO: https://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/your-right-to-get-copies-of-your-data/preparing-and-submitting-your-subject-access-request/
Find more from Ann Cavoukian: https://gpsbydesign.org/
Find out more about the ACLU's legal challenge in Illinois: https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-sues-clearview-ai
Find out more about Robert Julian-Borchack William's case: https://www.npr.org/2020/06/24/882683463/the-computer-got-it-wrong-how-facial-recognition-led-to-a-false-arrest-in-michig
Read more from Riccardo on facial recognition [italian]: https://www.vice.com/it/article/g5p83w/riconoscimento-facciale-in-italia
Find out more about Pimeyes and Daniel's research at Netzpolitik: https://netzpolitik.org/2020/pimeyes-face-search-company-is-abolishing-our-anonymity/
2021: What can we expect?
We give you the run down on the things we expect and are excited for and sometimes apprehensive of in 2021 and give you the lowdown on what's written in your stars for the coming year.
Links!
If you're worried about your devices and a controlling partner: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3366/womens-aid-and-privacy-international-launch-digital-information-cards-help-women; you can also find out more at women's aid's website: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/cover-your-tracks-online/
Find out more about our court victory here: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/4359/victory-high-court-against-governments-use-general-warrants
Dr David Crepaz-Keay from the Mental health Foundation: https://privacyinternational.org/video/4279/podcast-your-mental-health-sale
Tom and immunity passports: https://privacyinternational.org/video/4072/podcast-immunity-passports
Lucy and low cost tech: https://privacyinternational.org/video/3785/podcast-low-cost-tech
Lucy and marketing and maternity: https://privacyinternational.org/video/3787/podcast-marketing-and-maternity
Eva and smart cities: https://privacyinternational.org/video/4250/smart-whom-tale-smarter-cities
Data exploitation in reproductive healthcare in Kenya
PI's Reproductive Rights and Privacy Project speaks with Nerima Were, who is the Program Manager on Sexual Reproductive Health Rights from KELIN. The Kenya Legal & Ethical Issues Network on HIV and AIDS (KELIN) focuses on creating country-based networks that intersect law, ethics, human rights, and HIV.
EU Exporting Surveillance
**Language advisory: Gus does several swearwords this episode including one f-word at 9:45
This week we talk to Edin, PI's Advocacy Director, about documents obtained by he spent a year working on obtaining, that detail how EU agencies ‘outsource’ border controls to neighbouring countries. From surveillance drones to cameras to wiretapping and more - the EU are providing technologies that will be used to crush political and civil freedoms and undermine democracy without urgent reforms.
Find out more:
https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4288/borders-without-borders-how-eu-exporting-surveillance-bid-outsource-its-border https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4291/surveillance-disclosures-show-urgent-need-reforms-eu-aid-programmes
Data exploitation in reproductive healthcare in Peru
PI's Reproductive Rights and Privacy Project speaks with Denisse Albornoz from Hiperderecho in Peru, which is Peruvian non-profit civil association dedicated to research, facilitating public understanding and promoting respect for rights and freedoms in digital environments.
Your mental health for sale?
We talk to Dr David Crepaz-Keay from the Mental Health Foundation to find out what happens to your data when you visit a mental health website? How can technology help people dealing with a mental health issue? And what can happen when things go wrong?
Find out more about the Mental Health Foundation here: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
If you're worried about your mental health and want to try the NHS's mood self-assesment you can find it here: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mood-self-assessment/
Read our work on mental health here: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/your-mental-health-sale
Medically inaccurate reproductive health information at pregnancy resource centres in the US
PI's Reproductive Rights and Privacy Project speaks with Dr. Andrea Swartzendruber about crisis pregnancy centres in the US.
Dr. Andrea Swartzendruber is the principal investigator for the Pregnancy Resource Center Evaluation at Emory University's Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Georgia College of Public Health and an adjunct professor at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. She has recently published and presented research findings on pregnancy resource centers (also known as crisis pregnancy centers) and sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents in Georgia.
Smart for Whom? A tale of smarter cities
This week we talk to Dr Ellie Cosgrave - an Associate Professor at UCL, Dr Lakshmi Priya Rajendran - a Senior Research Fellow looking at future cities, and Dr Rob Kitchin - a Professor focussing on the relationship between technology, society, and space about what is a smart city? What do we want the cities of the future to look like? And what's the best way of making sure the future of our metropolitan public spaces is bright, not dystopian?
Find out more:
About PI's work on smart cities here: https://privacyinternational.org/learn/smart-cities
About Ellie's work here: https://www.urbaninnovationandpolicy.net/ellie-cosgrave
About Lakshmi's work here: https://aru.ac.uk/people/lakshmi-priya-rajendran
And Rob's work here: http://www.kitchin.org/
And you can support PI's work here: support.privacyinternational.org
Judgement Day
The European Union's top court rules that UK, French and Belgian mass surveillance regimes must respect privacy. But what does that mean for government's data collection schemes? And what does it take to fight a legal battle lasting years?
Find out more on our website: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/4206/qa-eus-top-court-rules-uk-french-and-belgian-mass-surveillance-regimes-must-respect
And make sure we can keep taking these fights to court: support.privacyinternational.org
Data exploitation in reproductive rights in Indonesia
PI's Reproductive Rights and Privacy Project speaks with Lintang Setianiti and Miftah Fadhli from the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (ELSAM) in Indonesia about reproductive rights in the country.
Data exploitation in reproductive healthcare in Argentina
PI's Reproductive Rights and Privacy Project speaks with Maite Karstanje and Nadia Ferrari from Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género (ELA) in Argentina, which works with Latin American feminist institutions to promote and defend human rights and gender justice in the region, about reproductive rights in the country.
How misleading health info can spread from online discussions to policy and legislative debates
PI's Reproductive Rights and Privacy Project speaks with Dr. Subasri Narasimhan and Dr. Dabney Evans from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in the US about their paper which documents how misleading health information about reproductive health can flow into policy and legislative debates.
Immunity Passports
This week we talk to a whole host of guests, including María Paz Canales Executive Director of Derechos Digitales, about the issues with coronavirus immunity passports and whether the digital ID industry is capable of rising to the moment.
Spring Cleaning
This week we talk to PI's Tech Co-ordination Groups to bring you tips and tricks about how to start cleaning up and securing your phone or computer.
Episode notes
Useful info
How to minimise targeted ads: privacyinternational.org/act/minimise-targeted-ads
Protect yourself from online tracking: privacyinternational.org/act/protect-yourself-online-tracking
Social media account settings: privacyinternational.org/act/protect-yourself-social-media-monitoring
Our Onion address: privacyintyqcroe.onion
Episode Info
3:24 - reasons to delete apps you’re not using
6:18 - 4 things you should do first
6:37 - Updates
7:59 - Password managers Keepass, 1password, Lastpass
11:40 - Has your data been breached? haveibeenpwned.com/
12:56 - Backups
19:05 - Apps
20:52 - Firewalls
Netguard - play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.faircode.netguard&hl=en_GB
Clamwin - clamwin.com
28:45 - When is too old too old
31:12 - iPhone
Better Blocker - better.fyi
36:27 - Android
40:29 - Social Media
40:29 Facebook/instagram
Facebook TOR address: facebookcorewwwi.onion
Zynga hack: theguardian.com/games/2019/dec/19/170m-passwords-stolen-in-zynga-words-with-friends-hack-monitor-says
45:20 - Twitter
MicahFlee - delete your tweets: micahflee.com/2019/06/semiphemeral-automatically-delete-your-old-tweets-except-for-the-ones-you-want-to-keep/
Social media monitoring by local authorities - privacyinternational.org/long-read/3586/when-local-authorities-arent-your-friends
49:40 - Email
51:35 - Desktops
51:50 - Windows
CCleaner - ccleaner.com/
WinDirStat - windirstat.net/
55:42 - Mac OS
Little snitch - obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html
58:20 - Linux
Uncomplicated Firewall (UFW) - linux.com/training-tutorials/introduction-uncomplicated-firewall-ufw/
Firewall D - firewalld.org/
1:01:40 Encryption
Veracrypt - veracrypt.fr/en/Introduction.html
Bitlocker - support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4028713/windows-10-turn-on-device-encryption
Google/Fitbit merger? Not on our watch
Why do Google want to buy Fitbit? What do they get out of it? And why should competition regulators be concerned?
Gus talks to two of PI's lawyers - Ailidh and Ioannis - to ask why we're telling the EU commission to block the merger.
Find out more and sign the petition at: pvcy.org/notwatch
Music: Last Chance Saloon by Sepia
How opposition groups are using misinformation to delay people from accessing safe abortion care
PI's Reproductive Rights and Privacy Project speaks with Ruth Taylor, the CEO of the UK-based charity Abortion Support Network about how opposition groups are using misinformation to delay people from accessing safe abortion care.
The trouble with Identity in Kenya
From double registration to exclusion and discrimination - this week we talk to Yusuf Bashir, Executive Director of Haki na Sheria, and Keren Weitzberg, an academic from UCL, about the trouble with Identity in Kenya.
You can find out more about Haki na Sheria here: http://hakinasheria.org/
Find out more about double registration in Keren's piece "In Kenya, thousands left in limbo without ID cards" in CodaStory: https://www.codastory.com/authoritarian-tech/kenya-biometrics-double-registration/
Find out more about the Huduma Namba case on our website: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/3350/why-huduma-namba-ruling-matters-future-digital-id-and-not-just-kenya
Protest surveillance: before, during, and after
With huge numbers of people out on the streets standing up for their rights in the US and Hong Kong, and around the world - we take a look at the surveillance tools police and security forces round the world have been using to monitor people as they exercise their civil rights.
Given everything that's happening at the moment around the world, we've decided to postpone our episode on ID in Kenya until next week.
Some of the resources we mentioned in the episode can be found here:
ACLU: know your rights: https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights/
EFF Attending a protest tool: https://ssd.eff.org/en/module/attending-protest
Netpol - know your rights: https://netpol.org/know-your-rights/
Motherboard: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d3devm/motherboard-guide-to-not-getting-hacked-online-safety-guide
Is there an app for Covid-19?
A quick catch-up on the state of play of apps round the world - though we end up mostly discussing India and the UK - and we celebrate a very special birthday.
You can find a much deeper and more detailed look at the various questions and concerns around coronavirus apps on our website: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3792/covid-contact-tracing-apps-are-complicated-mess-what-you-need-know and all the latest news in our tracker https://privacyinternational.org/examples/tracking-global-response-covid-19
Covid-19 news
This week Gus chats with Edin, PI's Advocacy Director, about the latest Covid-19 news and the trends we're seeing around the world.
Find out more about coronavirus apps around the world: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/3675/theres-app-coronavirus-apps and keep an eye on the global responses: https://privacyinternational.org/examples/tracking-global-response-covid-19
Music by Glass boy - licensed under creative commons
Find more from them here: https://glassboy.bandcamp.com/album/enjoy
Reproductive rights and privacy in India
PI's Reproductive Rights and Privacy Project speaks with Tasneem Mewa and Ambika Tandon from the Center for Internet and Society about data exploitation in reproductive rights in India.
Announcement: New mini-series
We're happy to announce, we're launching a new mini-series!
Every last monday of each month we'll be releasing a new podcast - focusing on reproductive rights and privacy across the world, from Indonesia to Chile to Kenya and more.
Covid-19: the global response
Tech companies, governments, and international agencies have all announced measures to help contain the spread of the COVID-19, otherwise known as the Coronavirus. Unprecedented levels of surveillance, data exploitation, and misinformation are being tested across the world.
Many of those measures are based on extraordinary powers, only to be used temporarily in emergencies. Others use exemptions in data protection laws to share data. Some may be effective and based on advice from epidemiologists, others will not be.
But all of them must be temporary, necessary, and proportionate.
Tracking the global response to Covid-19: https://privacyinternational.org/examples/tracking-global-response-covid-19
Fighting the global Covid-19 power grab: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/fighting-global-covid-19-power-grab
Locked down
This week: it's a weird one - rather than our normal look at technology, we've got recommendations for movies and games you might enjoy while you're locked down.
Music by Simon Mathewson, you can find more from him here: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Simon_Mathewson
Recommendations include:
Sorry to Bother You Legally Blonde S-Club Seeing Double Snowpiercer Broforce Ultimate Chicken Horse Hidden in plain site Don't starve
Marketing and Maternity
Recorded 12th March.
We can’t believe we’re having to say this, but the hours after giving birth are private. If you’re a parent, you may have heard of Bounty, a sales and marketing company allowed access to hospital maternity wards and approach women who have just given birth. This doesn’t happen on any other hospital ward. Can you imagine coming round from major surgery to find a stranger trying to sell you stuff? The physical invasion of privacy is bad enough, but delving into the company’s relationship with you and your baby’s personal data reveals some surprises.
Phone Extraction
You’re a witness or a victim or a suspect of a crime; or even just travelling going on holiday. Officials demand your phone, then disappear with it. What happened to your phone? What happened to your data? What will happen to you?
We all generate vast amounts of data using our mobile phones - more than most of us are aware of - and that data has become increasingly attractive to law enforcement agencies around the world, enabled by ‘extraction technologies’ supplied by companies like Cellebrite. But what can those agencies see, and what does that mean for us?
Find out more: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/police-unlocking-your-data-cloud
Music: Last chance saloon by Sepia
Photo by Antoine Beauvillain on Unsplash
Low Cost Tech
Find out why 53 organisations from all over the world are telling Google it's time they take action on pre-installed apps (bloatware).
Sign the petition: pvcy.org/soundcloudpet
Music by Glass Boy, find more of their work here: glassboy.bandcamp.com/album/enjoy
(creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/)