UN expert highlights global challenges to international collection of personal data  

UN | 2026.03.11

GENEVA – Adopting measures to prevent impunity on the internet regarding the processing of personal data is vital to ensure an ethical approach and protect fundamental human rights in the digital age, a UN expert said today.

In a report to the 61st session of the Human Rights Council, Ana Brian Nougrères, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, analysed the current practice of international collection of personal data and expressed concern that the rules on international data transfer do not cover all international collection of personal data and this puts individuals’ right to privacy at risk.

“The global technological context has changed dramatically since the need to protect individual’s rights against the improper processing of their personal data first arose,” the expert said.

“The internet has unleashed a host of challenges to the law, including those relating to the international collection of personal data, since it has not been defined as a legal phenomenon in international documents and lacks a comprehensive and legally binding regime to protect the rights of individuals who may be subject to a privacy violation.”

The guidelines governing international data transfers are not applicable to international data collection because there is no data sender that can be controlled by the local authorities of the country of origin of the data.

“The challenge in international data collection is that billions of people with internet access who, from anywhere in the world, collect data from other people located in countries other than that of the collector,” Brian Nougrères explained.

“Therefore, the international collection of personal data presents challenges that require a coordinated response at the national and international level,” the expert said.

The Special Rapporteur called on States to draft an international treaty that comprehensively addresses the challenges posed by the international collection of personal data to protect individuals’ rights. The expert also encouraged States to modify the scope of application of national and local regulations on personal data processing, so they also cover extraterritorial scope of application regarding the international collection of personal data.

The new report complements the expert’s 2024 General Assembly report which proposed to update GA Resolution 45/95 entitled "Guiding principles for the regulation of computerized personal data files."

Dr. Ana Brian Nougrères is the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organisation, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

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