When data protection eclipses national security: Brazil’s Supreme Court leans towards unconstitutionality of ministerial dossier on antifascists
In June 2020, the headline “classified governmental action aims at antifascist professors and police officers” was published by a Brazilian newspaper of national circulation. According to the outlet, the Ministry...
Use of Facial Recognition Technology in India: A Function Creep Breaching Privacy
Criminal investigation has become convenient for the law enforcement agencies after the advent of “Facial Recognition Technology” (FRT) in India. Regardless of its benefits, it’s a threat to privacy and...
Sealing the Records of Irish Institutional Abuse
The Irish Oireachtas (parliament) has passed controversial legislation relating to the Mother and Baby Homes Commission archives. The Commission’s report should be published by the end of the year. It...
The Unconstitutionality of the “Publication of Notice of Intended Marriage” clause under the Indian Special Marriage Act
The Special Marriage Act was enacted in 1954 to allow citizens of India to solemnize inter-faith and inter-caste marriages without the need to renounce their religion. The Supreme Court of...
Ensuring the lawfulness of automated facial recognition surveillance in the UK
In R(Bridges) v South Wales Police, the England and Wales Court of Appeal reviewed the lawfulness of the use of live automated facial recognition technology (‘AFR’) by the South Wales...
Supreme Court of Pakistan grants federal government the power to arbitrarily restrict mobile services
The federal government of Pakistan often issues directions to suspend cellular mobile services, ostensibly for reasons of national security. Mobile services (2G/3G/4G/LTE) are usually ordered to be suspended on specified...
Schrems II: Data Privacy Triumphs Over Mass Surveillance
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued its anticipated judgement in the Schrems case, invalidating the EU-US Privacy Shield which had been the mode of transferring data...
The Politics of Global Health Data (with Sara Davis)
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought questions around global healthcare financing and equitable access to treatments to the fore. But this is not the first time a spotlight has been thrown...
National Security and Constitutional Rights: Recent Developments in Hong Kong
The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (the “Law”) aims to safeguard national security by criminalising activities capable...
Brazil’s ‘fake news’ bill threatens to harm internet freedom and individual rights
The Brazilian Senate approved a bill to fight fake news on 30 June 2020. The bill now goes to the lower house and will need the President’s approval afterwards. This...
Rethinking Patients’ Privacy in light of the Coronavirus Epidemic in India
The past months have truly tested our global healthcare systems with over 5,240,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Many countries are at the stage of ‘community outbreak’ with...
Does India’s covid-19 Contact Tracing App Violate Digital Rights?
On 14 April 2020, during his speech on the extension of the lockdown in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged citizens to download the Aarogya Setu app to supplement the...
