Privacy International

This week we're joined by Professor Peter Asaro from Stop Killer Robots, and Frank Slijper, Arms trade project lead at PAX to discuss military uses of AI, including Anthropic's stand-off with the US Department of Defense.Please note this podcast was recorded on the 20th March.**Links**Stop Killer Robots: https://www.stopkillerrobots.org/stop-killer-robots/Pax: https://paxforpeace.nl/who-we-are/organization/Stop Killer Robots at the UN: https://www.stopkillerrobots.org/news/reports-of-ai-enabled-targeting-in-iran-bring-real-world-impacts-to-the-un/Stop Killer Robots on Anthropic stand off: https://www.stopkillerrobots.org/news/press-release-stop-killer-robots-responds-to-the-anthropic-pentagon-standoff/**The Case**- The Anthropic case: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq571w5vllxo- The Anthropic supply chain designation: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn5g3z3xe65o- Access, Tech Justice, and more's amicus: https://techjusticelaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Anthropic-amicus-press-release_updated.pdf*

This week we're speaking to Professor Edgar Whitley - an expert on the design and implementation of ID systems. Links- More about Edgar: https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/edgar-whitley- More about the London School of Economics and ID: https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-impact-case-studies/scrapping-costly-controversial-proposals-identity-cards- Gus and Edgar's joint publications: - Global challenges for identity policies: https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Global_Challenges_for_Identity_Policies.html?id=P7hsCwAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y - Global Identity Policies and Technology:Do we Understand the Question? An open access paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1758-5899.2010.00028.x - Book chapter on Aadhaar: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/90490/- Edgar's report on Women and ID: https://silkstart.s3.amazonaws.com/1967006c-a430-414e-9982-75e204478d6e.pdf- More information on Aadhaar in India: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/819

This week we're discussing what happens when AI is trained on a dead person's data to bring them back as a chatbot. Find out more from Gus and Caitlin, and their guest James Muldoon, Reader in Management at Essex Business School and Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute, about the ethics, the grief, and the companies making it happen.Links- https://jamesmuldoon.org- https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571399277-love-machines/

This week we're talking to Ben Wizner from the American Civil Liberties Union about what the ACLU have been doing in the first year of Trump's second term, what the difference is between this time and last time, and how an earth they can keep up. LinksACLU report: https://www.aclu.org/campaigns-initiatives/aclu-vs-trumpKyllo case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyllo_v._United_StatesUnderground Empire book: https://henryfarrell.net/underground-empire-2/Swift work between PI and ACLU: https://privacyinternational.org/blog/1355/pi-and-aclu-show-swift-auditor-has-extensive-ties-us-governmentYale lectures on National Security law: https://epe.yale.edu/videos/above-law-or-beneath-it-how-national-security-law-subverts-accountability-and-weakens-0Asylum for White South Africans: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/us/politics/trump-refugee-admissions-white-south-africans.htmlFISA reauth: https://theintercept.com/2026/01/29/nsa-702-fisa-surveillance/

Join us as we discuss Border Externalisation - what is it, and why does it drive violence at the border? We're joined by two fantastic guests - Dan from the Border Violence Monitoring Network to discuss the EU's Border Externalisation, and Kathy from Al Otro Lado to discuss the America's.Border Violence Monitoring Network’s workBVMN's website https://borderviolence.eu/Surveillance Tech Serbia Report: https://borderviolence.eu/reports/surveillance-technologies-at-european-borders-serbiaCyprus Borderscape: https://cyprusborderscape.com/BalkanDac: https://borderviolence.eu/reports/decoding-balkandac-navigating-the-eu-s-biometric-blueprintSamos CCAC : https://borderviolence.eu/reports/controlled-and-confined-unveiling-the-impact-of-technology-in-the-samos-closed-controlled-access-centreUse of mercenaries for pushbacks in Cyprus. https://borderviolence.eu/reports/submission-to-the-ohchr-for-the-upcoming-visit-of-the-working-group-on-the-use-of-mercenaries-to-cyprusAl Otro Lado:Al Otro Lado’s Progra

This week we're discussing the end of support (kind of) for Windows 10 - find out more from Chris and Tom about what you should worry about and what you can do now Windows 10 is officially (mostly) End of Life. Links- Read more about your options: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/5686/end-line-windows-10- Learn more about PI's position on the Cyber Resilience Act: https://privacyinternational.org/advocacy/5060/our-position-eu-cyber-resilience-act-cra

This week we talk to Ilia and Serhat about the creeping militarisation of technology, and with it our societies.LinksAll of our militarisation work: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/militarisation-of-techWhat is Militarisation of Tech?: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5668/what-militarisation-techKey Concerns Regarding Governance in the Era of Militarisation of Tech: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5671/key-concerns-regarding-governance-era-militarisation-tech“Killer Robots”: Read PI statement during informal consultations on autonomous weapons systems in New York: https://privacyinternational.org/advocacy/5589/pi-statement-during-informal-consultations-autonomous-weapons-systems-new-yorkHow Data Drives the Militarisation of Tech: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5667/how-data-drives-militarisation-techOn the Applicable Legal Frameworks and Regulatory Gaps: International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/56

This week we're back to discussing stories that have been in the news over the past few months - in particular the stories that have stayed with us and kept us thinking about them.Links- Expansion of ICE biometrics - ⁠Dean Cain joins ICE ⁠- ICE access to medicaid data- Industry Day at the US Customs and Border Protection- Inquiry by Microsoft- Investor concerns about Microsoft use by Israeli government- Israeli government use of Google services- Data sovereignty and Data Localisation across Africa and Asia- Meta violates California's wiretap law- PI's original app data investigation- PI's most recent look at period apps- Amazon Alexa ads?- Grok advertisers- Pew researchers study Google AI summaries- 404 media's experience with Google AI- Cloudflare experimenting with pay per crawl feature for AI companies- You can donate to PI!- Pilot programme - drones in Florida schools- Axon's ethics board resignations over taser drones- UK facial recogntion database searches- ICO complaint

This week Gus and Caitlin are rewilding the Internet with Maria Farrell. What do you want using the internet or your devices to feel like? What can ecology teach us about unwinding corporate capture of the digital commons? How do we take back our home online?Links- Maria's original rewilding article, with Robin Berjon, in Noema: https://www.noemamag.com/we-need-to-rewild-the-internet/- Maria's article 'This is your phone on feminism': https://conversationalist.org/2019/09/13/feminism-explains-our-toxic-relationships-with-our-smartphones/- A talk Maria gave about rewilding: https://www.noemamag.com/we-need-to-rewild-the-internet/- Maria's website where you can keep an eye to find out when her book is coming out! http://mariafarrell.com/- More about PI's work on competition: https://privacyinternational.org/learn/competition-and-data

This week we're talking to Martha Dimitratou from ReproUncensored, and PI's own Sarah Simms about the international landscape for reproductive rights, and including barriers to access to reproductive healthcare, including abortion; and how big tech are collaborating with or supporting tactics to make access to healthcare harder.Links- Learn more about Repro uncensored: https://www.reprouncensored.org/ (incident form)- Repro Uncensored incident report form: https://www.reprouncensored.org/report-incident- Adriana Smith's case: https://www.jezebel.com/georgia-takes-brain-dead-woman-off-life-support-after-using-her-corpse-as-incubator- More about Adriana's case: https://www.npr.org/2025/05/21/nx-s1-5405542/a-brain-dead-womans-pregnancy-raises-questions-about-georgias-abortion-law- UK Decriminalisation: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2le12114j9o- Privacy International's Menstruation apps research: https://privacyinternational.org/learning-resources/no-bodys-business-mine-vol-2- Research

This week we speak to Jen Persson, Director of Defend Digital Me, about the technologies being deployed in schools in England and Wales. Links: Read more from Defend Digital Me: https://defenddigitalme.org/research/PI's work on Securitising Education: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/securitising-education25 Years old - The Database State report: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/database_state/5 safes principles: https://ukdataservice.ac.uk/help/secure-lab/what-is-the-five-safes-framework/Genomics in Education: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/genomics-in-educationTips and Tricks for submitting a Data Subject Access Request: https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/3845/71-tips-how-make-most-out-your-dsarRequest your information from the Department for Education: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/requesting-your-personal-information-from-dfe/requesting-your-personal-information-from-the-department-for-education

This week we're talking to Gus about his experience being targeted by the Russian government, how it felt at the time, and then how it felt when he found out the government may be trying to undermine the tool he uses to keep himself and his family safe. Read more about Privacy International's challenge against the UK's secret TCN powers.

Join us this week as we discuss stories that have been in the news that we're still wondering about, obsessing about, and are as confused about as you are.Links* 2G phone networks are being shutdown; read the Rest of World story - PI's Low Cost Tech research - Listen to our podcast on connectivity and vertical mergers* Google anti-trust case and potential break up; read the Washington Post story - Google buy Wiz* Impact of USAID cuts; read the NY Times article - UK cuts - PI's work on aid funding surveillance; more of PI's work; even more PI work* Um-ing and Ah-ing; Read the Knowable Magazine story* Israel, data and AI: - AI targeting destruction; read the 972 story and the NPR story- Cellphone data for targeting - LLM tool collating surveillance data; read the Guardian story or the 972 story about this new LLM tool- Facial recognition; read the NY Times article about FRT- Read the BBC article about the US's last Afghanistan a

This week we're discussing the 2024 incident in which a malformed update of CrowdStrike Falcon caused 8.5 million computers running Microsoft Windows to crash. Links- Read our in-depth article about what happened and what it tells us about the security and robustness of the modern internet- Find more about the 911 outages across several US states- CrowdStrike's own review of the problem- Our podcast on the XZ exploit- Facebook VPN exploitation- The philosopher Caitlin was thinking of was Paul Virilio

This week we're speaking to Eduardo from Transparencia Electoral about modern elections all over the world that they've observed, and Vladimir from R3D about the 2024 elections in Mexico. We find out more about the technologies that are at use in elections all over the world.LinksGeneral- PI's technology, data and elections checklist- Transparencia Electoral's report- Transparencia's index on data protection in LatAm elections- R3D's report: Censura electoralEpisode links- Obama's 2012 targeted social media campaign- Our work on Cambridge Analytica- Deepfake use in elections- Our report with the Carter Center on the Kenyan Presidential elections- Listen to our episode about our work in Kenya (Election Observation: Data, Elections and a trip to Kenya) on our website and where ever you get your podcasts- DemoTech by Transparencia Electoral- Transparencia on the Venezuelan elections- More information on Chinese tech used in Venezuela- Candidate assasinations in Mexico- Ejército Espía

This week we're talking to Peter Bloom from Rhizomatica and Lũa Cruz from IDEC about internet connectivity, what drives social media companies to expand into internet provision, and what an earth is going on with Starlink in the amazon rainforest. Links: - Read PI's research: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5409/decoding-vertical-tech-integrations-why-do-they-matter - Learn more about Rhizomatica: https://www.rhizomatica.org/ - Learn more about Lũa and his work on Starlink: https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/fellowships/lua-cruz/ - We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts, case studies, or ideas about vertical mergers using this survey: https://share.privacyinternational.org/index.php/apps/forms/s/MYipyBZjQMrnq9NmaNm5KJ6S - More about X and Starlinks' legal trouble in Brazil: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/sep/04/elon-musk-x-starlink-brazil - Our podcast about competition with Dr Deni Mantzari (No Competition: Big Tech Big Problems): https://privacyi

This week we're talking about facial recognition in the UK. Our research shows that members of parliament (MPs) don't know as much as they should about facial recognition use in the UK. So, what is going on? And what do MPs need to be aware of? Links: Write to your MP: https://pvcy.org/endofprivacypod Our previous research about how much MPs know about facial recognition: https://privacyinternational.org/long-read/5155/uk-mps-asleep-wheel-facial-recognition-technology-spells-end-privacy-public Read more about the responses we got from MPs: https://privacyinternational.org/advocacy/5476/uk-mps-ignore-concerned-constituents-questions-about-facial-recognition-technology Liberty's case: https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/issue/liberty-wins-ground-breaking-victory-against-facial-recognition-tech/More about Liberty's South Wales case: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/aug/11/south-wales-police-lose-landmark-facial-recognition-case Our work on UK retailers' use of FRT https://www.privacyinternational.o

This week we take a deep dive into the issues around the rights and privacy of the global disability community in the digital age. We're joined by Rosemary Kayess - Vice Chair of the UN Committee on the Convention of the Rights for Persons with Disabilities, and the Disability Discrimination commissioner of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Marc Workman - CEO of the World Blind Union (WBU), and Heba Hagrass - UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities. Links World Blind Union: https://worldblindunion.org/ Learn more about Heba's work: https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-disability/heba-hagrass Report from the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilies that Rosemary Kayess worked on: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRPD%2FC%2FGBR%2FFUIR%2F1&Lang=en PI's work so far on this: Submission to the UN CRPD Committee on their inquiry into the UK social protection and rights of persons with disabilities: h

This week we're talking to Matthew Hodgson, one of the founders of Matrix - a network for secure, decentralised communication, and CEO/CTO of Element - a communications platform built using Matrix, about the regulatory environment matrix lives in, the difficulty of and the passion for interoperable communications at matrix, and the complications of building an encrypted communications platform both technically and in this day and age. Links for description: - Matrix: https://matrix.org/ - Element: https://element.io/ - Telegram's encryption: https://www.wired.com/story/telegram-encryption-end-to-end-features/ - Blah: https://www.vanillaplus.com/2014/05/22/2663-tim-brasil-deploys-amdocs-unified-communications-for-blah-service/ - Anatel Brazil Whatsapp arrest: https://www.reuters.com/article/technology/facebook-exec-jailed-in-brazil-as-court-seeks-whatsapp-data-idUSKCN0W34WA/ - eEuropean commission 42 point going dark plan: https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/first-insight-42-key-points-of-the-secret-eugoingdark

This week we're talking about a backdoor inserted into a popular Linux file compression tool, which had the potential to massively undermine the security of vast swathes of the internet. What happened? How did it happen? And how was it thwarted? Links - Andres Freund's Mastodon - where he revealed the backdoor: https://mastodon.social/@AndresFreundTec - Read more in Ars Technica's article about it: https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/03/backdoor-found-in-widely-used-linux-utility-breaks-encrypted-ssh-connections/ - Read more in the verge's article about it https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/2/24119342/xz-utils-linux-backdoor-attempt- Read more in Wired's article about it https://www.wired.com/story/jia-tan-xz-backdoor/ - Check out this excellent and very helpful diagram: https://twitter.com/fr0gger_/status/1775759514249445565 - The XKCD comic we mention: https://xkcd.com/538/