Technology Pill

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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/)