Privacy International has compiled data on the privacy provisions in national constitutions around the world, including which countries have constitutional protections, whether they come from international agreements, what aspects of privacy are actually protected and when those protections were enacted. We are pleased to make this information available under a Creative Commons license for organizations, researchers, students and the community at large to use to support their work (and hopefully contribute to a greater understanding of privacy rights).
The categories
Though the right to privacy exists in several international instruments, the most effective privacy protections come in the form of constitutional articles. Varying aspects of the right to privacy are protected in different ways by different countries. Broad categories include:
- protection against searches of the home
- protection of personal communications and correspondence
- the right to have one’s data protected from misuse
- right to family life
- habeas data, i.e. the right to see what data someone or some agency holds about you and correct if it is incorrect
We have used similar categories to organize the relevant articles, making it possible to quickly gain an overview a given countries constitutional privacy regime. Here to read more.
