*Includes reports on:

Argentine Republic
Commonwealth of Australia
Republic of Austria
Kingdom of Belgium
Federative Republic of Brazil
Republic of Bulgaria
Canada
Republic of Chile
People's Republic of China
Czech Republic
Kingdom of Denmark
French Republic
Federal Republic of Germany
Hellenic Republic (Greece)
Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong
Republic of India
Ireland
State of Israel
Italian Republic
Japan
Republic of Korea (South Korea)
Malaysia
United Mexican States
Kingdom of the Netherlands
Republic of the Philippines
Republic of Peru
Republic of Poland
Republic of South Africa
Kingdom of Spain
Switzerland
Republic of China (Taiwan)
United Kingdom
United States of America

*partial list

In this survey of privacy, data protection, surveillance and freedom of information laws and practices in over fifty countries, EPIC and Privacy International find that there is strong recognition of privacy as a fundamental human right.

There is a growing movement towards enacting comprehensive data protection laws. Adoption of these laws is driven by a desire to promote electronic commerce, to address past human rights violations, and to ensure international trade. Many countries have also adopted Freedom of Information laws.

At the same time, there are frequent abuses of privacy by both governments and corporations, even in countries with strong privacy laws. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies, in particular, are actively opposing legal and technical barriers to surveillance.