Privacy is Global

“¿Qué pasaría si hubiera un monstruo mítico que chupa datos biológicos en vez de sangre?” Como parte de nuestra serie 'ficciones creativas', Privacy is Global se complace en presentar Datachiri. 2.0. Te invitamos a entrar en el paisaje sonoro de La Paz, Bolivia, en 2043. El gobierno se ha disuelto en gran medida y la gente depende de los dispositivos proporcionados de forma gratuita por una organización llamada 'la Congregación'. Allí vive Sascha, una joven en silla de ruedas que también depende en buena medida de la Congregación para poder usar su silla y desplazarse. Sin embargo, un peligro parece estar al acecho, de boca a oído la gente en La Paz habla de un monstruo mitológico capaz de hackear las redes de la Congregación y alimentarse de biodatos. Cuando el dispositivo de Sascha deja de reconocerla comienza una búsqueda para saber qué hay detrás de esta desaparición sospechosa, y qué significa existir, o dejar de hacerlo, en tiempos del Datachiri. Datachiri 2.0 es una historia escrita por Marianne Díaz Hernández basada en el cómic escrito por Alejandro Barrientos e ilustrado por Joaquín Cuevas en colaboración con Internet Bolivia. Las ‘ficciones creativas’ de ADAPT reunió a equipos de escritores de ficción, activistas, abogades, dibujantes de cómics, comediantes, ingeniero/as de audio e ilustradores para pensar en cómo podríamos lograr que más personas se interesen en la privacidad de los datos y la defensa de los derechos digitales a través de la ficción especulativa, el humor y los nuevos modos de comunicación. Para ver el cómic, consulta https://internetbolivia.org/datachiri-2-0/ Para saber más sobre el estado de la protección de datos en Bolivia, escucha nuestro episodio anterior producido en colaboración con Internet Bolivia, visita la línea del tiempo sobre el proceso de promoción de la ley de protección de datos y lee sobre toda la situación en ese país aquí.

Produced by Coding Rights for the series Privacy is Global. In many places around the world, facial recognition technologies are gradually being deployed in several moments of our lives: be it in surveillance cameras installed across the streets we normally walk around or when we need to authenticate our IDs to allow access to social services or to enter banks and other private services. But what happens when we use a binary algorithm to control and influence non-binary and very diverse lives and experiences? Who gets excluded? What historical oppressions are being exacerbated and automated? Vanessa Koetz and Bianca Kremer, both Coding Rights fellows on Data and Feminisms, talked to two Brazilian experts: Mariah Rafaela Silva, scholar and activist in transgender rights and to Pablo Nunes, black scholar and activist specialist in public security and racism. Through this podcast, we will discuss the risks of implementing this kind of tech without an informed public debate about potential consequences. We even spoke to an algorithm, Dona Algô (Misses Algô… short for algorithm)! Are you curious? Press play!

“What if there was a mythical monster that sucked our biodata instead of our blood?” As part of our ‘creative fictions’ series, Privacy is Global is excited to bring you Datachiri. 2.0. We invite you to sonically enter 2043 La Paz, Bolivia. Sascha lives in a society where the government has largely dissolved, and people rely on devices provided for free by an organization called ‘the Congregation.’ There are rumors of the Datachiri, a mysterious entity that is able to hack the Congregation’s networks to feed on biodata. Sascha’s device no longer recognizes her and she goes on a quest to discover why she’s been disconnected. Datachiri 2.0 is a story written by Marianne Díaz Hernández based on the comic book written by Alejandro Barrientos and illustrated by Joaquin Cuevas in collaboration with Internet Bolivia. The ADAPT Creative fictions project assembled teams of fiction writers, activists, lawyers, comic book artists, comedians, audio engineers, and illustrators to think about how we could get more people interested in data privacy and digital rights advocacy through speculative fiction, humor, and new modes of communication. To view the comic book, please see https://internetbolivia.org/datachiri-2-0/ To understand more about the status of data protection in Bolivia, please listen to our previous episode produced in collaboration with Internet Bolivia, read a blog post by Diandra Cespedes,  or visit the timeline of advocacy here.

“From a private message to police knocking on your door” As part of our ‘creative fictions’ series, Privacy is Global is excited to bring you Crime and Prejudice.  Crime and Prejudice is a series of three radio dramas produced by Paradigm Initiative. The series follows the online controversy when the police arrive at Dr. Ewem’s door to arrest her based on information that could only have been obtained from the company Moontech. There is an uproar and backlash on Nigeria twitter. When #boycottmoontech starts to trend, we see how Moontech responds. The ADAPT Creative fictions project assembled teams of fiction writers, activists, lawyers, comic book artists, comedians, audio engineers, and illustrators to think about how we could get more people interested in data privacy and digital rights advocacy through speculative fiction, humor, and new modes of communication. To understand more about data protection and privacy in Nigeria, please listen to the previous episode of Privacy is Global.

“O que você faria se grandes coorporações pudessem ler seus pensamentos?” O episódio “Você Está Lendo Minha Mente?” faz parte da segunda temporada do podcast Privacidade é Global (Privacy is Global). A história começa com Sofia entrando em uma biblioteca carioca em busca de um livro de ficção científica da Octavia Butler, mas o que ela acaba encontrando é um portal para interagir com seu "eu" futuro. É aí que ela fica sabendo  de um tempo em que pensamentos podem ser transparentes… Esta história foi co-escrita por Joana Varon e Lucía Egaña Rojas e produzida em parceria entre o projeto ADAPT e a Coding Rights. Para esta temporada, o projeto ADAPT reuniu escritoras de ficção, ativistas, advogadas, quadrinistas, comediantes, engenheiros de áudio e ilustradoras para, através de ficção especulativa e do humor, instigar o interesse das pessoas em temas de privacidade, proteção de dados e  defesa dos direitos digitais Para entender mais sobre questões de privacidade e vigilância no Brasil, visite o site da Coding Rights (www.codingrights.org), e ouça os episódios anteriores de Privacy is Global.

“How would you fight back against corporatized mind reading?” As part of our ‘creative fictions’ series, Privacy is Global is excited to bring you  Você Está Lendo Minha Mente? (Are You Reading My Thoughts?).  In this story, Sofia enters a library in Rio de Janeiro looking for an Octavia Butler book but ends up finding a portal to interact with her future self. That is when she is told about a time in which thoughts can be transparent... This story co-written is by Joana Varon and Lucía Egaña Rojas and produced in partnership with Coding Rights. The ADAPT Creative fictions project assembled teams of fiction writers, activists, lawyers, comic book artists, comedians, audio engineers, and illustrators to think about how we could get more people interested in data privacy and digital rights advocacy through speculative fiction, humor, and new modes of communication. To understand more about privacy and surveillance issues in Brazil, please see these resources from Coding Rights and listen to the previous episodes of Privacy is Global.

“VANESSA sabe que he estado ahorrando para mis vacaciones en la playa… ¡y también los hackers!” Como parte de nuestra serie 'ficciones creativas', Privacy is Global se complace en presentarles La Culpa Es De Graciela, una historia escrita por el dramaturgo ecuatoriano Sebastián Bravo Montenegro y producida en alianza con la Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo de Ecuador. Esta historia sigue a Graciela en su primer día de trabajo en una importante institución financiera como estratega de redes sociales. Todo empieza muy bien, pero muy pronto aprende por las malas lo importante que es que las instituciones tengan protecciones adecuadas para los datos personales y que el gobierno haga cumplir las leyes y reglamentos. Esta historia está inspirada en hechos reales: la fuga de datos de 2019 de los datos personales de casi todos los y las ecuatoriana/os. Las ‘ficciones creativas’  de ADAPT reunieron a equipos de escritore/as de ficción, activistes, abogades, dibujantes de cómics, comediantes, ingeniero/as de audio e ilustradores para pensar en cómo podríamos lograr que más personas se interesen en la privacidad de los datos y la defensa de derechos digitales a través de la ficción especulativa, el humor y otros innovadores modos de comunicación. Para escuchar más sobre la política de protección de datos en Ecuador y el impulso de las regulaciones, escucha nuestro podcast anterior sobre el tema.

“The VANESSA app knows that I’ve been saving for my beach vacation… and so do the hackers!” As part of our ‘creative fictions’ series, Privacy is Global is excited to bring you La Culpa Es De Graciela (Graciela is to Blame). This is a story written by Ecuadorian playwright Sebastián Bravo Montenegro and produced in partnership with Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo in Ecuador. This story follows Graciela on her first day working at a major financial institution as their social media strategist. Graciela learns the hard way how important it is that institutions have adequate safeguards for personal data and that the government enforces laws and regulations! The story is inspired by a true story, the 2019 data leak of almost every Ecuadorian citizen’s personal data The ADAPT Creative fictions project assembled teams of fiction writers, activists, lawyers, comic book artists, comedians, audio engineers, and illustrators to think about how we could get more people interested in data privacy and digital rights advocacy through speculative fiction, humor, and new modes of communication. To hear more about the politics of data protection in Ecuador and the push for regulations, listen to our previous podcast on the subject.

“What if there was a mythical monster that sucked our biodata instead of our blood?” “Can you imagine the CEO’s reaction when he realized the whole country’s personal data was stolen from his company’s databases?” “What if we could send messages back in time and warn ourselves about the dangers of losing our privacy?” These are some of the questions that emerged when we asked teams of fiction writers, activists, lawyers, comic book artists, comedians, audio engineers, and illustrators to think about how we could get more people interested in data privacy and digital rights. Over the past 6 months, Internews’ ‘ADAPT’ Project, in collaboration with the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Internet Bolivia, Coding Rights, Paradigm Initiative, and Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo have produced a series of speculative audio fictions. These stories are meant to entertain, inspire, amaze, educate, and activate – and we hope that they let listeners experience the urgency of data privacy as a basic civil right. In this introductory episode, we interview key collaborators from Brazil, Ecuador, Nigeria, and Bolivia who contributed to our four creative audio fictions projects. We discuss why we decided to produce audio fictions, and some of the challenges and opportunities around collaborations between activists and creatives. We invite you to listen to the series and enjoy. Projects include: La Culpa Es De Graciela (Graciela is to Blame) is a story written by playwright Sebastián Bravo Montenegro and produced in partnership with Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo in Ecuador. This story follows Graciela on her first day working at a major financial institution as their social media manager. Graciela learns the hard way how important it is that institutions have adequate safeguards for personal data and that the government enforces laws and regulations! The story is inspired by a true story, the 2019 data leak of almost every Ecuadorian citizen’s personal data. Você Está Lendo Minha Mente? (Are You Reading My Mind?) is a story co-written by Joana Varon and Lucía Egaña Rojas and produced in partnership with Coding Rights. In this story, Sofia enters a library in Rio de Janeiro looking for an Octavia Butler book but ends up finding a portal to interact with her future self. That is when she is told about the future surveillance capabilities of the Tech Brotherhood and the seeds of resistance that need to be planted. Datachiri 2.0 is a story written by Marianne Díaz Hernández based on the comic book written by Alejandro Barrientos and illustrated by Joaquin Cuevas in collaboration with Internet Bolivia. This story is set in 2040 in La Paz, Bolivia, in a society where the government has largely dissolved, and people rely on devices provided for free by an organization called ‘the Congregation.’ There are rumors of a mythological monster that is able to hack the Congregation’s networks to feed on biodata. Crime and Prejudice is a series of three radio dramas produced by Paradigm Initiative. The series follows the online controversy when the police arrive at Dr. Ewem’s door to arrest her based on information that could only have been obtained from the company Moontech. There is an uproar and backlash on Nigeria twitter. When #boycottmoontech starts to trend, we see how Moontech responds.

Produced by Internews. Data politics have played an immense role in Kenya’s tumultuous election history. In part, this is due to the centrality that ethnicity has played in Kenyan politics, and the ways in which data about ethnicity has been used, misused, and manipulated. Kenya is again headed to the polls in August 2022 for the first general election since the Data Protection Act (2019) came into effect. The question in most Kenyans’ minds is - will this law protect the integrity of Kenyan elections in this election cycle and moving forward? How can the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner protect against misuse of data in party politics and elections and the downstream effects of this data manipulation on legitimacy, trust in democratic politics, and stability? What can civil society and the general public do to push for the protection of data in electoral processes?  Kenyan lawyers, Mugambi Laibuta, Grace Mutungu, Hashim Mude and Tevin Gitonga join us on this episode to talk more about Kenya’s history of data’s use and misuse in elections and the role of Kenya’s new Data Protection Act in the 2022 election. And yes, we’ll touch on the boogeyman, Cambridge Analytica!

Produced by Internews. WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging platform with over 2.5 billion active users. People from India to Mexico to Ghana use the platform for everything from sharing memes, communicating with family, selling goods and services, mobilizing political actions, and even engaging in remote teaching and learning. When Facebook bought WhatsApp in 2014, Mark Zuckerberg promised users that nothing would change for them or their data. But in 2016, Facebook broke that promise and began sharing WhatsApp user data with Facebook. In January 2021, Facebook announced another change to the WhatsApp privacy policy that forced users to accept the changes, with no opt-out, or lose all functionality. A coalition of advocacy organizations, lawyers, and regulatory bodies across the globe came together to #stopFacebook and #saveWhatsApp for the billions of users that rely on it for work, family, and everything else. Advocates and experts Renata Avila, Mishi Choudhary, and Eduardo Carrillo join the podcast to tell the story of the campaign, its path to victory, and what we can learn from this success for wider global digital rights advocacy.

Produzido pela Coding Rights. O que você faria se um sistema de Inteligência Artificial (IA) te dissesse que sua filha vai engravidar nos próximos seis meses? Bem, algumas famílias em Salta, na Argentina, quase tiveram essa experiência com a implementação de um sistema de IA projetado para "prever" gravidezes não planejadas em adolescentes com base no local onde vivem. Soa como ficção científica, mas não é. Os dados extraídos de nossos corpos estão progressivamente alimentando diferentes tipos de IA utilizados por governos para "prever" situações futuras que podem realmente influenciar como acessamos os serviços públicos e exercemos nossos direitos. Será que o sempre crescente sistema de coleta, processamento e previsão de dados poderia realmente acabar ditando quem nós somos e quem nos tornaremos? Considerando quem pressiona pela implementação desses sistemas, é possível que estas previsões sejam mais prováveis de ampliar e automatizar desigualdades e preconceito? Neste episódio exploraremos algumas razões pelas quais devemos considerar a IIA como uma questão feminista, e por que as abordagens e políticas de inteligência artificial continuarão a influenciar os tópicos no centro de várias agendas feministas. Junte-se a nós para ouvir a Joana Varon, diretora da Coding Rights, em conversas com Fernanda Campagnucci, diretora da Open Knowledge Brasil, e Natalia Viana, pesquisadora do Observatório de Favelas.

Produced by Coding Rights for the series Privacy is Global. What would you do if an AI system told you that your daughter will get pregnant in the next six months? Well, some families in Salta, Argentina, almost had the experience with the implementation of an AI system designed to “predict” unplanned pregnancies in teenagers based on where they live. It sounds like science fiction, but it is not. Our data bodies are progressively feeding different kinds of A.I. systems used by governments to "predict" future situations that can actually influence how we access public services and exercise our rights. Could the ever-increasing system of data collection, processing and prediction actually end up dictating who we are and who we will become? Considering the powerful forces pushing for these automated systems, it is possible that these predictions are more likely to amplify and automate existing inequalities and societal prejudices. In this episode we will explore some reasons why we should consider A.I as a feminist issue, and why artificial intelligence approaches and policies will continue to influence topics at the heart of several feminist agendas. Join us to listen to Coding Rights founder directress Joana Varon in conversations with enlightening decolonial feminists Paz Peña, consultant in technology, gender and social justice, speaking from Chile from Chile, and Paola Ricaurte, associate professor at Tecnologico de Monterrey and co-founder of Tierra Comum Network, speaking from Mexico.

Un episodio producido por Internet Bolivia.Org. En 2018 miles de bolivianos se encontraron en bases de datos de partidos políticos en los que nunca se habían registrado, todo esto en medio de fuertes tensiones y polarizaciones políticas. La gente estaba furiosa, pero el incidente sirvió para que la conversación sobre protección de datos y también sobre la gobernanza alrededor de la información que la gente comparte (y hay que ver que a veces la gente comparte bastante) dentro y fuera de internet. Experiencias como esta ayudaron a centrar el interés en estos temas y ayudaron a InternetBolivia.Org a promover una discusión más inclusiva sobre privacidad, así como sobre la necesidad de una ley comprensiva de datos personales. Esto significa que el impulso por la ley no está teniendo lugar solamente dentro de los típicos círculos de poder, sino también entre grupos locales y municipios rurales. La estrategia se basa en la configuración tan particular que tiene el Estado plurinacional de Bolivia, uno en que departamentos y municipalidades pueden hacer sus propias normas y hasta establecer sus sistemas locales de justicia, algo de gran ventaja a la hora de impulsar una ley a nivel nacional. Con este acercamiento los activistas y propulsores de estas protecciones pueden trabajar en estos niveles para generar políticas públicas a nivel local que generen interés; y también que sirvan de referencia para que estas iniciativas se expandan “de abajo hacia arriba”.

Produced by Internet Bolivia.org. In 2018, thousands of Bolivians found themselves in databases identified as members of political parties they had never registered for- in the midst of political tension, sensitivity and polarization. These events  forced the conversation around data protections and the need for better data governance around the information people share (and overshare)  online and also offline.  Experiences like this have catalyzed interest in these topics and helped Internet Bolivia.Org push for a more inclusive discussion around privacy and the need for a comprehensive data protection law. This means that advocacy efforts around data protection and privacy  are not only taking place in the traditional circles of power in the capital, but also through a more grassroots and local “bottom up” approach. This strategy takes advantage of Bolivia’s unique decentralized system, in which decentralized and autonomous territorial entities- from the departmental, regional, municipal and indigenous- can make their own rules and in some cases, even have their own justice systems. In this way, activists can work at these levels to generate policy proposals and norms around data protection, access and privacy that could potentially build interest and “trickle up” to the national level.

Un episodio producido en coordinación con la Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo. En 2019 Ecuador pasó por la mayor fuga de datos de toda su historia con la distribución en línea de la información personal de prácticamente toda su población. Las consecuencias son aún difíciles de medir, pero la gravedad de la situación hizo que expertos y activistas pudieran empujar el proyecto que resultó en la Ley Orgánica de Protección de datos, aprobada (¡por fin!) en mayo de este año. Ahora, la mejor parte de la historia –que es la que contamos en este episodio–,  es el proceso que llevó a Ecuador a tener una ley técnica, comprensiva e innovadora. Ricardo Chica nos llevó de la mano desde Quito para explorar lo que guió el proceso y lo que se viene ahora que la legislación es un hecho.

Produced by Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo In 2019, Ecuador went through the biggest data breach in its history, with the personal data of most citizens leaked online. The consequences are still difficult to measure, but the gravity of the situation pushed everyone to act- FINALLY privacy advocates who had been pushing for data protection legislation for years were able to capitalize on this event to get a law passed in May of this year. The best part of the story, –and the one we’re telling in this episode– is, what happened behind the scenes: how privacy advocates and experts in Ecuador came together to discuss the issues and build a comprehensive and innovative privacy law. Guided by Ricardo Chica from Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo we also look at what activists are doing now that the law has passed and what needs to change in Ecuador to not only prevent future data breaches and violations but to also promote a culture of privacy in the country.

Produced by Internews for the series Privacy is Global. We know that these days everything is ‘datafied’: our shopping habits, our daily commutes, our relationships and interactions- companies and governments alike are collecting servers and servers of information about us- but why should we care about the policy and politics of data governance? What really is ‘data protection’? What is at stake? Who are the players? How can we ensure our data is respected and that the most egregious abuses of our data are protected against? And how do we make these issues, often highly technical and legal, compelling for the average citizen? In this episode of Privacy is Global, Laura Vidal and Laura Schwartz-Henderson dive deep on the history of data protection policymaking and privacy advocacy priorities in countries around the world through conversations with experts and activists from Ghana, Nigeria, Bolivia, Brazil and Kenya. We discuss the importance of cultivating cultures of privacy not just to build the political will to pass comprehensive data protection legislation but also to ensure that these laws are adequately enforced.

Produced by Paradigm Initiative for the series Privacy is Global. Promoting privacy policies and culture has always been a struggle for Nigerian activists, as historical traditions emphasize communal culture and values over Western-style notions of individual privacy.  Calls for better protections of personal privacy are often met with responses like “but what do I have to hide?”. However, with the advancement of digital technologies and more personal data being collected, processed and abused, the need for comprehensive data protection has become urgent. Currently in Nigeria, conversations about data protection take place with representatives from certain industries and specialized lawyers- but the subject matter can be highly technical and legal. Digital rights groups like Paradigm Initiative champion rights-respecting data protection policies and seek to strategize and coordinate with other stakeholders- but there is significant need to mainstream data protection advocacy and engage in more outreach and coordination with a variety of impacted sectors and constituencies.  In this episode of Privacy is Global, Khadijah El-Usman speaks to individuals on how to mobilize and build support for data protection policies amongst different stakeholder groups and to discuss the advocacy challenges and opportunities that exist for such a highly technical issue in Nigeria. We will discuss these issues from the lens of three prototype ‘individuals’ who need to be more engaged: ‘The citizen’, who has a vague understanding of privacy rights and what happens with their data and why they should care; The lawyer, who understands the laws and legal precedent, but needs to broaden the debate; and the advocate, who struggles to bridge the gap between many communities and stakeholders to build a holistic rights-respecting data protection regime in Nigeria. Want to know more? Listen now!

Pelo mundo, tecnologias de reconhecimento facial estão sendo gradualmente implantadas em nossas vidas: nas câmeras de vigilância instaladas nas ruas ou quando precisamos autenticar nossas identidades para acessar serviços sociais ou entrar em bancos e outros locais privados. Mas o que acontece quando usamos um algoritmo binário para autenticar nossas diversidades não binárias. Quem fica de fora? Quais opressões históricas estão sendo automatizadas? Vanessa Koetz e Bianca Kremer, fellows da Coding Rights em Dados e Feminismos, conversaram com especialistas do Brasil sobre o assunto: Mariah Rafaela Silva, acadêmica e ativista em direitos da população trans e Pablo Nunes, estudioso negro, ativista e especialista em segurança pública e racismo. Queremos entender os riscos da implementação desta tecnologia sem debate público sobre suas consequências. E pra não restar dúvidas, conversamos também com a responsável por tudo isso… Dona Algô. Bateu a curiosidade? Dá play!