Mwendwa,

Good news: The final vote on Tunisia’s privacy-threatening national biometric ID proposal has been delayed.  And with the parliament heading into its August recess, the vote is not likely to be rescheduled until at least September.

Access Now and our partners have been hard at work raising awareness about the bill here in Tunisia and around the world. We have been meeting with individual parliamentarians in the capital and with the local press, and we can tell you, your message is being heard. After meeting with us, several key members of parliament said they agree that, as it stands, this proposal does not provide sufficient protections for Tunisians’ privacy.

The parliament has been under pressure from the Ministry of Interior to pass the biometric ID law quickly, without properly consulting civil society, the national Data Protection Authority, or other important stakeholders. Many Tunisians — and even many members of parliament — have been kept in the dark about the proposal and what’s at stake if it should pass.

But our efforts — together with the invaluable work of our partners, including Al Bawsala and the Democratic Transition & Human Rights Support Center (DAAM) — have helped to balance the scales, and leaders in Tunisia’s parliament decided to focus on other priorities before the August recess.

Any delay is a big victory for our rights. We now have another six weeks to make as much noise as we can about the proposal. First order of business, we’ll be urging Tunisia’s legislators to vote against the ID program. But we’ll also be working closely with partner organizations and concerned parliamentarians to introduce much-needed amendments, so if the law does pass, it will be as rights-respecting as possible.

Our team here in Tunisia will be doing everything we can to take advantage of this opportunity to defend fundamental privacy rights. Here’s how you can help us:

Keep sharing the Facebook note to members of Tunisian parliament.

Just a few weeks ago, very few people in Tunisia or globally had heard of this all-in-one ID system. Now, because of all the noise that we and our partners are making, politicians are taking notice. All this social media you have generated is being taken straight to the parliament and is forming a key part of our conversation with decision makers, which is why we’re asking you to keep it up over the next six weeks before the bill comes back up for a vote.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates and more ways to take action.

Consider making a donation to support Access Now's work to defend and extend human rights online for Tunisians and users at risk around the world.

Politicians chasing shiny new technology without considering its impact on human rights is bad news — and not just in Tunisia. Casting the data collection net as wide as possible, without the safeguards required by both domestic and international law, puts us all at risk. Together, we can make our privacy rights central to these debates.

Ever forward,

Wafa Ben-Hassine
Access Now, Tunis