Blog

The story so far Since establishing the Migrant Digital Justice Programme (previously known as the Immigration, Data and Technology Programme) in 2020, ORG has been working at the intersection of the migrants’ rights sector and the digital rights ecosystem.

Find Out More

25 Feb 2022 By Jim Killock

The Online Safety Bill: punishing victims

The government has today announced two new regressive and unworkable additions to the Online Safety Bill.

Find Out More

23 Feb 2022 By Sahdya Darr

New name and start for our migration work

Since its inception in 2020, our immigration, data and technology programme has worked to understand the needs and capacities of civil society organisations in the field of migrant’ rights and support them to incorporate digital advocacy in their work.

Find Out More

03 Feb 2022 By Mariano delli Santi

A day of reckoning for IAB and Adtech

In a damning verdict, the Belgian Data Protection Authority ruled the illegality of IAB cookie consent banners.

Find Out More

17 Jan 2022 By Sahdya Darr

Government disregards Court’s Immigration Exemption ruling

This week the House of Commons and the House of Lords will consider the Government’s proposed legislation regarding amendments to the immigration exemption.

Find Out More

22 Dec 2021 By Mike Morel

Our year of action

With Britain still in the throes of Covid-19, 2021 was a truly unique year for the movement to protect our digital rights.

Find Out More

17 Dec 2021 By Robert Sharp

Joint Committee advice cannot fix flawed Online Safety Bill

On 14 December 2021, the Joint Parliamentary Committee charged with scrutinising the draft Online Safety Bill published its report.

Find Out More

14 Dec 2021 By Jim Killock

Online Safety Bill will not tackle monopoly abuse

As Parliament makes its recommendations on the Online Safety Bill, trying to fix the problems of accountability it brings, while perhaps adding new complexities, we need to step back and ask whether the Bill will do the job it is setting out to do.

Find Out More

13 Dec 2021 By Robert Sharp

Online Safety Bill: Sweeping Ministerial Powers

The Joint Parliamentary Committee scrutinising the government’s Draft Online Safety Bill concluded its evidence sessions on 4 November.

Find Out More

12 Dec 2021 By Robert Sharp

What’s the Harm in the Online Safety Bill?

Throughout the development of the government’s Online Harms policy, a central concern of ORG and other human rights organisations is how any legally mandated content moderation policy could practically be achieved.

Find Out More

11 Dec 2021 By Open Rights Group

Our Adtech challenge: what we won, what we lost and what we do next

On Friday 26 November 2021, the Upper Tribunal ruled (in Killock and Veale & Ors v Information Commissioner (GI/113/2021 and ors) on our challenge against the ICO’s handling of our complaint concerning illegal data processing in the AdTech sector.

Find Out More

10 Dec 2021 By Robert Sharp

Online Safety Bill: Kill Switch for Encryption

Of the many worrying provisions contained within the draft Online Safety Bill, perhaps the most consequential is contained within Chapter 4, at clauses 63-69.

Find Out More

01 Dec 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

ORG response to Data: a new direction

We submitted our response to Government plans to deregulate data protection, also known as “Data: a new direction”.

Find Out More

11 Nov 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Newsletter: Migration, Data and Digital Rights

Welcome to the November edition of Migration, Data and Digital Rights!

Find Out More

10 Nov 2021 By Jim Killock and Mariano delli Santi

Lloyd vs Google: UK needs collective redress

In 2012, Google hacked the web browers of million of Apple users to store data on their devices and track their activities online.

Find Out More

13 Oct 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

New UK data laws are Govt revenge against NHS patients

Health data has become one of the most valued prizes of the surveillance economy, but they aren’t being used to “save lives”.

Find Out More

11 Oct 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Migration, Data and Digital Rights

Hello!

Find Out More

01 Oct 2021 By Jim Killock

Lord Frost says: bypass Parliament to rewrite EU rules

Government is considering demanding powers to rewrite any and all ‘retained EU legislation’ while bypassing Parliament.

Find Out More

29 Sep 2021 By Jim Killock and Mariano delli Santi

Weakening privacy will fuel online harms

Government is asking a big question: how do we regulate the tech industry?

Find Out More

22 Sep 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

New UK data laws will harm mothers and children

In data: a new direction, the UK Government proposes to reform legitimate interest.

Find Out More

17 Sep 2021 By Heather Burns

Papers please: nationality checks for the British internet?

Over the course of the debate on how to tackle online harms, we’ve drawn attention to the risks to digital and human rights which can arise when technical solutionism meets poorly drafted legislation.

Find Out More

15 Sep 2021 By Heather Burns

How the Online Safety Bill lets politicians define free speech

The Joint Pre-Legislative Scrutiny committee has opened its work into the draft Online Safety Bill.

Find Out More

14 Sep 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Vandalising your privacy rights

Anything you say and do can and will be used against you.

Find Out More

10 Sep 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Why on earth is the Government mucking about with our privacy laws?

Thursday evening, the UK Government published their long-awaited proposal for a new UK data protection regime.

Find Out More

09 Sep 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Cookie banners, explained

Cookie banners are hitting the headlines, as policymakers and activists across political divides seek to take action on them once and for all.

Find Out More

08 Sep 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Afghans targeted by fake Home Office website

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is currently deciding whether it will take further action against a fake website created by the Home Office.

Find Out More

27 Aug 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Government prepares to take back control – of your privacy

The UK Government has unveiled their plans to deregulate data protection laws.

Find Out More

18 Aug 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Digital deception & disinformation used to deter migrants

The Information Commissioner’s Office has opened an investigation into a fake website created by the Home Office.

Find Out More

30 Jul 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Immigration, Data & Technology Newsletter

Welcome to the July edition of Immigration, Data and Technology!

Find Out More

27 Jul 2021 By Heather Burns

Age verification in the Online Safety Bill

The draft Online Safety Bill’s provisions on mandatory age verification don’t just threaten your rights to privacy and freedom of expression – they also threaten the integrity of the Internet’s architecture.

Find Out More

20 Jul 2021 By Heather Burns

Encryption in the Online Safety Bill

Let’s look at how the Online Safety Bill brings the contents of your private communications into scope for scanning, monitoring, and censorship.

Find Out More

12 Jul 2021 By Heather Burns & Jim Killock

Racists must be prosecuted, not moderated

The wave of racist comments on social media that has followed the England football defeat is reprehensible: but so is the fiction that this problem must be ‘solved’ by social media companies.

Find Out More

06 Jul 2021 By Heather Burns

Access denied: Service blocking in the Online Safety Bill

As the Online Safety Bill approaches the pre-legislative scrutiny process, attention is being drawn to the powers which government will have to redefine, constrain, and censor the boundaries of our free and legal speech.

Find Out More

01 Jul 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Fear and loathing in the UK adequacy decision

On June 28, the European Commission adopted the UK adequacy decision, which will allow personal data to be transferred from the EU to the UK without additional safeguards.

Find Out More

30 Jun 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Newsletter: Immigration, Data and Technology

Welcome to the June edition of Immigration, Data and Technology!

Find Out More

23 Jun 2021 By Heather Burns

Duty to Censor: What’s legal to say should be legal to type

Open Rights Group has joined Index on Censorship’s “Legal to say, legal to type” campaign to scrutinise and push back against the threats to freedom of expression created by government’s Online Safety Bill.

Find Out More

17 Jun 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Stand Up for Privacy

Yesterday, on June 16, the Taskforce on Innovation, Growth and Regulatory Reform published a report outlining their vision to “refresh the UK’s approach to regulation now that we have left the EU”.

Find Out More

14 Jun 2021 By Heather Burns

MPs: Encryption keeps your constituents safe

Today (14 June) Open Rights Group has joined over thirty digital and human rights organisations in calling on MPs to keep their constituents safe by protecting end-to-end encryption from legislative threats.

Find Out More

09 Jun 2021 By Heather Burns & Sahdya Darr

Is government preparing to censor discussions about migration?

Over the weekend, you may have seen news reports discussing how Home Secretary Priti Patel has ordered social media companies to remove posts which “glamourise” dangerous migrant crossings from Europe.

Find Out More

01 Jun 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Adtech: let’s get rid of cookie banners

A nuisance is troubling the Internet and the digital life of Europeans: the consent or ‘cookie’ banner.

Find Out More

28 May 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Newsletter: Immigration, Data and Technology

Welcome to the May edition of Immigration, Data and Technology!

Find Out More

05 May 2021 By Heather Burns

Online abuse: Why management liability isn’t the answer

As part of recent high-profile campaigns against social media abuse, calls have been repeated to impose criminal sanctions and penalties onto the directors and managers of companies where that abuse takes place.

Find Out More

30 Apr 2021 By Sahdya Darr

NEWSLETTER: IMMIGRATION, DATA AND TECHNOLOGY

Welcome!

Find Out More

29 Apr 2021 By Open Rights Group

Don’t let the Government create a digital Police state

You might be aware of plans to give Police more powers through the Police, Crime, Sentencing & Courts Bill 2021.

Find Out More

29 Apr 2021 By Jim Killock

The Government assault on your privacy rights

It has been a busy few months for developments on privacy, even placing the COVID response aside.

Find Out More

27 Apr 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Adtech vs. iOS, explained

With their last update for the iOS operating system, Apple rolled out a feature called App Transparency Tracking framework.

Find Out More

23 Apr 2021 By Sahdya Darr

NFI proposals seek to give police more powers

Many people are aware that the UK Government is trying to give police more powers through the Police,Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill 2021.

Find Out More

22 Apr 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

#StopStalkerAds: adtech is watching you!

Following our open letter to the European Parliament, Open Rights Group are launching a new campaign that wants to #StopStalkerAds.

Find Out More

21 Apr 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

UK Adequacy: it’s only the beginning

The European Data Protection Board issued their opinion about the draft UK adequacy decision.

Find Out More

14 Apr 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Adtech: an Open Letter to the European Parliament

Today, Open Rights Group, Panoptykon and Liberties EU sent an Open Letter to the European Parliament, asking them to stand up for the ePrivacy Regulation and our online privacy.

Find Out More

06 Apr 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Adtech: An industry broken by design and by default

European Digital Rights (EDRi) recently published “targeted online: an industry broken by design and by default”.

Find Out More

01 Apr 2021 By Heather Burns

Endgame for end-to-end encryption

Today, Wired has reported that the Home Office is actively exploring legal and technical mechanisms to compel Facebook and WhatsApp to break end-to-end encrypted messaging.

Find Out More

31 Mar 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Immigration, Data and Technology newsletter

Welcome to the third edition of Immigration, Data and Technology!

Find Out More

29 Mar 2021 By Mariano delli Santi & Heather Burns

First look at vaccine passports

Countries around the world are considering introducing vaccine passports, and the UK is among them.

Find Out More

26 Mar 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Privacy & migrant groups win extension on data matching powers

This week Open Rights Group along with other privacy advocates and organisations working for migrants’ rights were pleased to be informed that the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) agreed to our request to further extend the deadline to respond to the NFI Data Matching Powers and new Code of Data Matching Practice consultation until 5 May.

Find Out More

24 Mar 2021 By Jim Killock & Heather Burns

Nominet’s chance to build a better Internet

This week, during Nominet’s EGM, Open Rights Group cast its organisational membership vote to change the current Board membership.

Find Out More

18 Mar 2021 By Matthew Rice & Mariano delli Santi

Europe cannot rubber stamp the UK’s data laws

The United Kingdom is currently awaiting a decision from Europe on whether it provides adequate standards of data protection.

Find Out More

17 Mar 2021 By Matthew Rice & Heather Burns

Trust is a two-way street: the UK’s digital identity framework

Open Rights Group has recently responded to the DCMS policy paper on the UK’s digital identity and attributes trust framework.

Find Out More

16 Mar 2021 By Heather Burns

#SaveAnonymity: Together we can defend anonymity

In recent days, a petition has circulated online which calls for a legal requirement to provide a verified form of ID in order to open a social media account.

Find Out More

11 Mar 2021 By Heather Burns

Save Online Speech Coalition Launches

Today Open Rights Group has joined our colleagues from Big Brother Watch, the Adam Smith Institute, Article 19, Global Partners Digital, and Index on Censorship in launching a campaign to demand that the Online Safety Bill protects freedom of expression online.

Find Out More

10 Mar 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Blindspots in new guidance on use of data in campaigning

The Information Commissioner’s Office published their new “Guidance for the use of personal data in political campaigning”.

Find Out More

02 Mar 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Wanted: corporate lobbyist to take over the ICO

Communicating “the wider benefits of data sharing”, “commercial and business acumen”, experience “of using data to drive innovation and growth”; and, of course, “excellent communication and relationship management skills”.

Find Out More

26 Feb 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Data & Immigration update – February newsletter

Welcome to the second edition of Immigration, Data and Technology!

Find Out More

25 Feb 2021 By Matthew Rice

The Government’s own goals on data privacy

The UK Government has decided not to take up an optional power to improve data protection enforcement.

Find Out More

24 Feb 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

Adtech – an offer you can’t refuse

This spring, Apple will implement a new policy that will require App Store developers to ask for users’ permission in order to track them online.

Find Out More

27 Jan 2021 By Sahdya Darr

Newsletter: Immigration, Data and Technology

Happy New Year!

Find Out More

25 Jan 2021 By Mariano delli Santi

ICO enforcement: two years after the GDPR

On Tuesday, the Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham will appear in front of the DCMS Committee for a hearing, where she will be questioned about her office’s role in protecting personal data against targeted online advertising, and the use of personal data for tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

Find Out More

Data and Democracy

22 Jan 2021 By Matthew Rice

ORG Takes Political Parties to Privacy Watchdog

On 11 December 2020, the eve of the anniversary of the 2019 General Election Open Rights Group submitted complaints, represented by the data rights firm AWO, to the Information Commissioner’s Office on behalf of data subjects on the processing of personal data by the Labour Party, the Conservative and Unionist Party and the Liberal Democrats.

Find Out More

13 Jan 2021 By Heather Burns

Speech offences: what’s illegal offline should be illegal online

Open Rights Group has worked with David Allen Green of Preiskel & Co.

Find Out More

11 Jan 2021 By Jim Killock

Trump takedowns need accountability

Late last week, in response to the insurrection at the Capitol, Twitter and Facebook removed Donald Trump’s accounts.

Find Out More

21 Dec 2020 By Mike Morel

Our movement turns 15

In 2005, a dedicated group of grassroots activists created Open Rights Group (ORG) to protect the digital rights of people in the UK.

Find Out More

15 Dec 2020 By Heather Burns

Online harms: Freedom of expression remains under threat

Today (15 December) government has published its long-awaited full response to the Online Harms White Paper ahead of the publication of the Online Safety Bill next year.

Find Out More

11 Dec 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

Our fight against Adtech gets bigger

Two years ago, complaints against real time bidding (RTB) were lodged by Jim Killock of Open Rights Group, Michael Veale of UCL, and Johnny Ryan.

Find Out More

24 Nov 2020 By Sahdya Darr

How will the National Data Strategy affect migrants and refugees?

In early September the government launched its National Data Strategy (NDS) which it described as ‘an ambitious, pro-growth strategy that aims to drive the UK in building a world-leading data economy while ensuring public trust in data use.

Find Out More

23 Nov 2020 By Jim Killock

Parliament must hold the ICO to account

The Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport Committee of the House of Commons will hold a hearing with Information Commissioner soon.

Find Out More

19 Nov 2020 By Jim Killock

Commons Committee spells out Japan deal digital risks

The Commons International Trade Select Committee today has politely and clearly signalled that the shift in data protection provisions put forward in the Japan-UK Trade Deal is meaningful.

Find Out More

18 Nov 2020 By Jim Killock

The ICO must fix the Adtech industry

When we first took on the ad industry we knew it would not be simple.

Find Out More

17 Nov 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

Belgian DPA fires a warning shot at adtech, what’s next?

In 2018 we lodged complaints in UK and Ireland against real time bidding (RTB), a technology which powers commercial tracking on the Internet.

Find Out More

16 Nov 2020 By Jim Killock

The democratic deficit weakening privacy in the UK-Japan deal

Trade agreements matter; and Parliament has been cut out of the substance.

Find Out More

13 Nov 2020 By Heather Burns

ORG signs joint civil society statement defending encryption

Open Rights Group has signed onto a joint civil society statement expressing concerns over proposals by the UK government which would undermine encryption, including through its Online Harms Bill.

Find Out More

12 Nov 2020 By Pascal Crowe

10,000,000 voters racially profiled by Conservatives

The summary report of ICO’s audits of UK political parties have finally been published.

Find Out More

12 Nov 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

Bringing sticks to a gunfight: how the ICO fails to enforce the law

As you may be aware of, we are taking the Information Commissioner’s Office to Court over their failure to enforce the law against digital advertising and real time bidding.

Find Out More

11 Nov 2020 By Jim Killock

Parliament must act before it’s too late

Our blog on Monday made a simple point.

Find Out More

09 Nov 2020 By Heather Burns & Jim Killock

Japan Trade Deal punches USA-sized hole in privacy

The UK has just signed its first new free trade agreement, independently from the EU, with Japan.

Find Out More

06 Nov 2020 By Pascal Crowe

Digital Imprints, GDPR and Enforcement

Yesterday ORG submitted its response to the Cabinet Office’s technical consultation on digital imprints.

Find Out More

26 Oct 2020 By Heather Burns

Online Harms: Encryption under attack

The UK government wants to make the web “safer” by using the Online Harms Bill to weaken encryption of private messages.

Find Out More

14 Oct 2020 By Matthew Rice

Speak up and make UK data protection stronger

On October 22 the UK Government consultation on implementing new data protection enforcement powers will close.

Find Out More

13 Oct 2020 By Pascal Crowe

Bigger than Cambridge Analytica

ORG’s view on the ICO’s personal data and political campaigns investigation.

Find Out More

07 Oct 2020 By Sahdya Darr

Data & Trust: Will migrants use the NHS app?

A fortnight ago, the NHSX Covid-19 App was launched across England and Wales following the many concerns raised by civil society and privacy advocates including Open Rights Group (ORG) both collectively and individually regarding privacy and security.

Find Out More

24 Sep 2020 By Jim Killock

NHS App users get privacy; other visitors get nothing

Today the Government launched its England and Wales COVID App, and its new rules to ensure that bars and restaurants keep records of customers who visit.

Find Out More

14 Sep 2020 By Mariano delli Santi

Pubs vs. Privacy: what changes for contact tracing

The Prime Minister announced on Wednesday 9 September that “premises and venues where people meet socially will be legally required to request the contact details of a member of every party, record and retain these details for 21 days and provide them to the NHS Test and Trace without delay when required”.

Find Out More