Carly NystHead of International Advocacy
A race to the bottom? Trends in privacy and
surveillance in Asia, Africa and Latin America
Challenges to privacy
• Surveillance, intelligence and law enforcement
• SIM card registration • ID and Biometrics• DNA databases
Surveillance and interception trends
• Increasingly permissive surveillance laws– Kenya (Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012): indefinite
interception– Philippines (Cybercrime Prevention Act 2012)
• Access to communications data• UK (Communications Data Bill 2012)• South Korea – 36 million times a year
• Establishment of monitoring centres– India CMS– Uganda (Regulation of Interception of Communications Act
2010)– Kenya (Network Early Warning System (NEWS) to monitor
incoming and outgoing email traffic)
• Direct access to telecommunications infrastructure– Colombia (Ministries of Justice and ICTs Decree
1704/2012)– NSA/GCHQ/Five Eyes spying arrangements
• More power to intelligence services– Kenya (National Intelligence Services Act 2012)– South Africa (General Intelligence Laws Amendment
Bill 2011)• Extraterritorial application of surveillance
technologies– Pakistan (FTB 2012)
New surveillance technologies
SIM card registration
• 48/54 countries in Africa require mandatory registration of SIM cards
Identity cards and biometrics
DNA databases
Positive developments – data protection
• Scaling back of data retention laws• “the globalisation of Convention 108” • Heading towards the ubiquity of data
protection legislation• However, still regional weaknesses
Data retention
• Cf. African Union (?)• Australia• Romania• Germany• Czech Republic• Argentina• Canada• Sweden• Austria (?)
Data protection – global landscape
Data protection – Latin America
Legislation existing in• Argentina (2000)• Chile (1999)• Colombia (2012)• Costa Rica (2011)• Mexico (2010)• Nicaragua (2012)• Peru (2011)• Uruguay (2008)
Draft bills in• Brazil• Dominica • Dominican republic• Grenada• Jamaica• Barbados• Cayman Islands
Data Protection – Asia-Pacific
Legislation existing in• Hong Kong (1995)• Japan (2003)• Malaysia (2010)• Nepal (2007)• Philippines (2012) • Singapore (2012)• Vietnam (2010)• Taiwan (2010)• New Zealand (2010)• Australia (2001)
Draft bills in• Thailand
Data protection – Africa and Middle East
Legislation existing in• Cape Verde (2001)• Ghana (212)• Morocco (2009)• Senegal (2008)• Tunisia (2004)• Yemen (2012)• Zimbabwe (2002)
Draft bills in• Tanzania• South Africa• Nigeria• Niger• Mali• Madagascar• Kenya
The future?