Privacy International is a London-based human rights NGO dedicated to defending the right to privacy around the world. We've been fighting the UK government in the courts for four years over their extraordinary powers to secretly hack people's computers and phones - even if those individuals are not suspected of any criminal behaviour.

On 3rd-4th December, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom will hear this critical privacy case. We are seeking to raise £5k towards our costs and need your help. Please contribute now and share this page on social media and with your friends and family.

We are facing significant potential costs. If we lose, the court may order us to pay for the government’s very expensive army of lawyers. Any donation you make, large or small, will help us both pursue this important case and protect the future ability of Privacy International to fight for people’s right to privacy all over the world.

Case Background 

Through hacking, the government can gain access to your private messages, photos and all kinds of other sensitive, personal information without you ever knowing. And it's not just your computers and phones. As devices in our home get increasingly hooked up to the internet, almost every aspect of our lives is now hackable by our government.

Incredibly, the UK government wants to prevent the general courts from even hearing our concerns about whether such extensive hacking is lawful.

So much is at stake for both your privacy and your access to justice that our case is now being considered by the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court.  

Our lawyers explain why the UK government's argument as to why the courts should have no say in determining this case is so dangerous.

Our intelligence agencies do important work, but they have also used their extraordinary powers to target people not suspected of any wrongdoing. If the government wins this case, it will not only mean the government will continue to carry out mass hacking, but it will also make it more difficult for the UK courts to correct miscarriages of justice.

How much are we raising and why?

If we lose, the court may order us to pay for the government’s very expensive army of lawyers. We have a ‘Protective Costs Order’ which currently limits our potential costs to £35k – but that’s still a lot of money for a charity with very limited resources. We are seeking to raise £5k towards our costs. 

Please contribute if, like us, you believe our intelligence agencies should not be treated as if they are above the law. Indeed, given the extraordinary powers they have to peer into our personal lives, they must be fully accountable to us through the courts. 

And if you want to learn more about the dangers of government hacking watch our animated video (3m 45s)