Murray Hunter

Senior Analyst // Researcher

public law, emergent technology, information rights

advisory, analysis, research, training, tech

special projects

Developing international human rights law

ABOUT MURRAY

Learn more about Murray and his work

Overview

Murray Hunter is a specialist on digital rights, advocacy and communications. Before joining ALT Advisory, he held various advocacy and leadership roles at the Right2Know Campaign (2010-2012; 2014-2019), Open Secrets (2012-2013), and the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism (2020). He has also given media consulting to a range of civil society initiatives, most recently the South Africa Media Innovation Program.

Murray has authored investigative reports and publications on communications surveillance and data protection, and in 2019 published a children’s book about surveillance capitalism.

He received a Bertha Activist Fellowship in 2014, and the Ruth First Fellowship in 2021.
Academic Qualifications
- B.A in English Literature, Film Studies & Media Studies (with Distinction), B.A. Hon. in Media Theory & Practice (with Distinction) (University of Cape Town)
- M.A in Anthropology of Media (with Merit) (School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London)
Recent Publications / Presentations
- Murray Hunter, Track and trace, trial and error: Assessing South Africa’s approaches to privacy in Covid-19 digital contact tracing (2020), report for the Media Policy and Democracy Project, University of Johannesburg
- Murray Hunter & Admire Mare, A patchwork for privacy: Mapping communications surveillance laws in southern Africa (2020), report for the Media Policy and Democracy Project, University of Johannesburg
- Murray Hunter, Cops & Call Records: policing and metadata privacy in South Africa (2020), report for the Media Policy and Democracy Project, University of Johannesburg
- Murray Hunter, Boris the BabyBot: a little book about Big Data (2019)
- Murray Hunter & Tymon Smith, Spooked: Surveillance of Journalists in South Africa (2018) report for the Right2Know Campaign
- Co-author, R2K, Stop the Surveillance: Activist guide to RICA and State Surveillance in South Africa (2017), report for the Right2Know Campaign
- Murray Hunter, Big Brother Exposed: Stories of South Africa’s intelligence structures monitoring and harassing activist movements(2015), report for the Right2Know Campaign
Contact Murray