Open Rights Group

TODAY ⏰️

We've partnered with SFLC India and other groups in a special event.

The expert panel, including ORG's James Baker, will explore how governments are shaping age assurance laws, the role of platforms and the risks to our rights and the open Internet.

Watch live from 3pm BST ⬇️

What Age Assurance means for the future of digital rights, online safety and the internet at large In collaboration with Open Rights Group, Open Net Korea, Stop Killi...

Yesterday we hosted an event on how the UK can build Digital Sovereignty.

Our panel explored open source and the Digital Commons in creating a more resilient, transparent and equitable future.

Public money should be spent on public code that benefits us all.

Catch up on the event with Jim Killock, Megan Kirkwood and Jordan Maris.

Watch now ⬇️

From Digital Dependence to Digital Sovereignty The UK’s over reliance on a small number of foreign technology companies is putting our economy, security and democracy at risk. But now the movement away from Big Tech and towards Digital Sovereig...

NEW: 20 civil society organisations have called for an investigation into the ICO for failing to uphold data protection law in relation to eVisas.

This scheme has been plagued with breaches and accessibility issues. And the ICO has done nothing to hold the Home Office to account.

The Home Office has known about problems with the eVisa scheme from the start. Its poor design and lack of Data Protection Impact Assessment has resulted in breaches. But the Home Office is still failing to be transparent about the volume of complaints and how and when they will deal with them.

Last year, ORG and 18 other civil society organisations called on the ICO to investigate breaches resulting from the eVisa scheme. Seven months later, the ICO hasn't taken any action to address these infringements of data protection law. Meanwhile, migrants continue to have their lives affected.

In an FOI response, the ICO did reveal that they'd received 851 complaints about the Home Office as a whole between 2023 and 2025. The volume of complaints was so significant, the ICO was unable to identify how many were about the eVisa scheme specifically. The Select Committee must investigate.

These failings are not just in relation to the eVisa scheme, but a wider issue with the ICO’s poor track record on enforcement. The letter calls on the Committee to investigate what institutional changes are needed to strengthen the ICO's ability to oversee the government and other public bodies.

This comes after John Edwards’ resignation as Information Commissioner last week. ORG calls on the government to appoint a regulator with teeth. We must reset the regulators’ approach of providing data protection in name only and have them actually enforce our data rights.

Sign our petition ➡️ https://action.openrightsgroup.org/reset-ico

Find out more ⬇️

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/press-releases/civil-society-organisations-call-for-ico-to-be-investigated-over-evisas/

Civil society organisations call for ICO to be investigated over eVisas 20 immigration, data protection, and human rights organisations have asked the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee to investigate the Information Commissioner’s Office’s failure to uphold data protection law in relation to the Home Office’s eVisa scheme.