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A general view of the 24-hour operations room at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Cheltenham, UK, 17 November 2015, Ben Birchall/AFP via Getty Images Privacy International analyses the court s judgement and takes a look at what comes next.
This statement was originally published on privacyinternational.org on 26 May 2021.
The 25 May 2021, Grand Chamber judgment against the UK broke new ground in the regulation of bulk interception capabilities requiring enhanced safeguards to protect the rights to privacy and freedom of expression against abuse. It is a complex judgment with lights and shades, and the fight against mass surveillance is not over. Find here our initial take on the judgment and what comes next.
UK Bulk Surveillance Violated Right To Privacy forbes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from forbes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
GCHQ’s bulk interception of communications data, including data about telephone calls and emails of UK citizens unlawfully breached privacy rights of UK citizens, the European Court of Human Rights ruled today. The court found that the UK’s regime for interception bulk communications data and for obtaining data from phone and internet companies breached citizens rights to privacy. The decision follows an eight-year legal battle by 11 NGOs, including Liberty, Privacy International and Amnesty. They brought the case in the wake of revelations of the UK’s involvement in mass surveillance following the leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden in 2013.
The highest chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has delivered a blow to anti-surveillance campaigners in Europe by failing to find that bulk interception of digital comms is inherently incompatible with human rights law which enshrines individual rights to privacy and freedom of expression. Governments in Europe that fail to do so are opening such laws up to further legal challenge under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Grand Chamber ruling also confirms that the UK's historic surveillance regime under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (aka RIPA) was unlawful because it lacked the necessary safeguards.