The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Privacy International released the sixth annual Privacy and Human Rights survey on Sept. 5. The report reviews the state of privacy in over fifty-five countries around the world. It is the most comprehensive report on privacy and data protection ever published. The report was released at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, DC.

Privacy and Human Rights 2003 documents several new challenges and developments in the international privacy arena in the past year. Advancements in technology, combined with a shifting international political climate, have set the stage for increased government experimentation with new systems of surveillance, affecting many fundamental human rights, including privacy.

Under the banner of anti-terrorism, several nations have implemented traveler profiling tools and databases, and new systems of identification. Most prominent among these is the United States’ CAPPS II system, an airline passenger profiling system that uses passengers’ personal data and records in an attempt to detect potential security threats.

Other surveillance methods gaining prominence include the use of biometrics and computerized national ID databases and cards. Biometrics — the science of using physical identifiers such as fingerprints, iris/retina, or facial patterns — has received increasing attention from governments and law enforcement agencies in the past year.

Several nations are also developing new identification and authentication systems, such as smart cards and digital identification cards. Japan launched a computerized national ID system which compiles the personal data of residents into a centralized national database that can be accessed by the government. Other countries, including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia and Spain are establishing similar systems.

The WHOIS database is another system threatening privacy rights. Originally intended to allow network administrators to find and fix problems with minimal hassle to maintain the stability of the Internet, it now exposes the personally identifiable information of domain name registrants’ to spammers, stalkers, criminal investigators, and copyright enforcers.

But while nations have taken advantage of the unstable international environment to promote privacy-endangering policies, individuals and advocacy groups have made headway in opposing many of these efforts. In the United States, public outcry over the Pentagon’s Total Information Awareness program led to a curb in its funding and the eventual resignation of the program’s chief, retired admiral John Poindexter. In Taiwan, a coalition successfully fought against a next-generation national ID system. In Canada, advocacy efforts led to a modification of a government data gathering scheme on travelers entering the country.