Technology Pill

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

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

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

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/

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 

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

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. 

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

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

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