Amie Stepanovich

U.S. intelligence agencies are failing to provide a mechanism to allow non-U.S. persons to file complaints with the government about human rights abuses.

In issuing the Privacy Shield data-transfer agreement, the European Commission has made critical errors when it comes to United States surveillance laws and practices.

Access Now filed an amicus brief in the Central District of California in support of Apple.

The E.U.-U.S. Privacy Shield is supposed to replace the “Safe Harbor” data-transfer agreement that was invalidated by the Court of Justice of the European Union. Yet a newly released draft of the agreement shows it has the same fundamental flaws — and includes a carve-out for mass data collection.

The U.S. Department of Justice is asking Apple to re-engineer the iPhone operating system so it is more vulnerable to a brute-force attack, citing the need to fight terrorism. This dangerous request runs contrary to international human rights law and provides political cover for oppressive regimes to seek the same authority.

The United Kingdom is considering a dangerous surveillance law that puts human rights at risk. Proposed changes to the law fail to address its fundamental flaws.

Access Now has intervened in a case before the European Court of Human Rights, detailing how the surveillance conducted by the British intelligence agency GCHQ violates international human rights law and policy.

The White House has announced the Cybersecurity National Action Plan, a series of steps aimed at hardening U.S. government systems against security threats.

Negotiators in the European Union and the United States have agreed on a stop-gap measure to allow companies to transfer private data overseas. But the “EU-US Privacy Shield” is not likely to withstand legal challenge. To protect privacy, we need reform, not rebranding.

The European Commission has announced a new agreement to allow companies like Facebook to transfer users’ data between the E.U. and U.S. It’s not clear whether this “E.U.-U.S. Privacy Shield” — formerly the “Safe Harbor” agreement — will protect privacy and withstand legal scrutiny or challenge.