Online surveillance becomes a priority for the Human Rights Council, as Pakistan joins the wrong side of the debate. Below is a joint statement from Privacy International and Bytes for All. This Friday, 27 September, marks the conclusion of the 24th session of the UN Human Rights Council, a session which has, for the first time, seen issues of internet surveillance in the spotlight. Privacy International and Bytes for All welcome the attention given at the Human Rights Council to this issue. However, we are concerned about developments which took place that threaten privacy rights and freedom of expression, especially because these alarming suggestions are masked as solutions to address the increase in State surveillance.
We agree with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, who urged States “to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place against security agency overreach and to protect the right to privacy and other human rights.” Privacy International and Bytes for All reject this call for more regulation of the internet, which should remain free, independent and open for all to use. EU leaders: Stop mass surveillance. NSA Spying. The US government, with assistance from major telecommunications carriers including AT&T, has engaged in massive, illegal dragnet surveillance of the domestic communications and communications records of millions of ordinary Americans since at least 2001. Since this was first reported on by the press and discovered by the public in late 2005, EFF has been at the forefront of the effort to stop it and bring government surveillance programs back within the law and the Constitution.
History of NSA Spying Information since 2005 (See EFF’s full timeline of events here) News reports in December 2005 first revealed that the National Security Agency (NSA) has been intercepting Americans’ phone calls and Internet communications. Those news reports, combined with a USA Today story in May 2006 and the statements of several members of Congress, revealed that the NSA is also receiving wholesale copies of American's telephone and other communications records.
EFF Fights Back in the Courts Jewel v. Are We Moving To A World With More Online Surveillance? : Parallels. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was angered by reports that the National Security Agency was spying on her. She has called for giving individual countries greater control over the Internet. Getty Images Many governments around the world have expressed outrage over the National Security Agency's use of the Internet as a spying platform.
But the possible response may have an unforeseen consequence: It may actually lead to more online surveillance, according to Internet experts. Some governments, led most recently by Brazil, have reacted to recent disclosures about NSA surveillance by proposing a redesign of Internet architecture. But privacy advocates warn that some of the changes under consideration could actually undermine Internet freedom, not strengthen it. "Unfortunately, there is enormous blowback," says Bruce Schneier, a cybersecurity expert who has worked closely with Britain's Guardian newspaper in reporting on NSA surveillance activities. An Absence Of Government Control. The Enemies of Internet - Special Edition : Surveillance.