Mass Surveillance is Fundamental Threat to Human Rights, says European Report

[DamianTV]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/26/mass-surveillance-threat-human-rights-council-europe


Europe’s top rights body says scale of NSA spying is ‘stunning’ and suggests UK powers may be at odds with rights convention

Europe’s top rights body has said mass surveillance practices are a fundamental threat to human rights and violate the right to privacy enshrined in European law.

The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe says in a report that it is “deeply concerned” by the “far-reaching, technologically advanced systems” used by the US and UK to collect, store and analyse the data of private citizens. It describes the scale of spying by the US National Security Agency, revealed by Edward Snowden, as “stunning”.

The report also suggests that British laws that give the monitoring agency GCHQ wide-ranging powers are incompatible with the European convention on human rights. It argues that British surveillance may be at odds with article 8, the right to privacy, as well as article 10, which guarantees freedom of expression, and article 6, the right to a fair trial.

“These rights are cornerstones of democracy. Their infringement without adequate judicial control jeopardises the rule of law,” it says.

There is compelling evidence that US intelligence agencies and their allies are hoovering up data “on a massive scale”, the report says. US-UK operations encompass “numerous persons against whom there is no ground for suspicion of any wrongdoing,” it adds.

The assembly is made up of delegates from 47 member states, including European Union and former Soviet countries. It is due to debate the report’s recommendations on Tuesday.

Though the recommendations are not binding on governments, the European court of human rights looks to the assembly for broad inspiration, and occasionally cites it in its rulings.

Several British surveillance cases are currently before the Strasbourg court. Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union, Privacy International and Liberty all argue that GCHQ’s mass collection of data infringes European law. In December the UK’s investigatory powers tribunal (IPT) dismissed their complaint.

The 35-page assembly report, written by a Dutch MP, Pieter Omtzigt, begins with a quote from the Russian novelist Alexander Solzhenitysn: “Our freedom is built on what others do not know of our existences”. It says the knowledge that states do engage in mass surveillance has a “chilling effect” on the exercise of basic freedoms.

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[BarryDonegan]

It's staggering that the threat of mass surveillance to privacy isn't obvious to everyone in all of society.

[DamianTV]

It's staggering that the threat of mass surveillance to privacy isn't obvious to everyone in all of society.

As much as it should be, it only appears that it isnt obvious. Those that are willing to give up some privacy to speak their minds are the ones that are heard, while those that are not willing to give up privacy wont be heard at all. The result is that we only see those who are willing to give up a little privacy, but what we see is not the way the world truly is. And I'd say this is a good thing.

Now lets look at the flip side. Those that have zero value of privacy. Typically, youth. Some even consider privacy to be a sign of criminal intent and think it should be outlawed. I spend a lot of time talking about the dangers of a whole populus that surrenders all of its privacy, but I dont spend a lot of time talking about how the people play the part. So this is a bit of a switch for me.

Let me see if I can validate my point. Take two people and put them side by side. One that understands the value of privacy, and one that thinks privacy is an obstacle. The person that values privacy doesnt reveal their real name, they dont stand on the soapbox and speak to be heard, they give out and generate as little information about themselves, and barely even register to others as even existing. The one that cant stand privacy and throws all of their own out the window becomes very vocal about their opinion, they do stand at the podium and transmit their message for all others to hear. They repeat their message through their actions. They give up some personal information about themselves, sign up for advertisements, allow all websites to track them, use club cards and savings cards, talk constantly on facebook, and may even work for an advertising firm themselves. Their message is heard loud and clear while the privacy advocate is not heard at all. The privacy advocate even hears the message of the anti privacy advocate and is frightened by their message. They listen to the methods by which they are tracked and monitored and surveilled and feel powerless to resist and overwhelmed by things they dont know enough about to stop themselves. Instead of blocking cookies due to the lack of technical knowledge, they simply do not use the internet at all. I know enough people like this in real life. They do have a message, and it is not heard what so ever. If everyone were waiting patiently for both of these people to speak, they would hear one, loud, bolstering, convicting, and always heavily biased. They hear nothing from the other and conclude "Silence is Compliance". This is a Perspective Bias, where based on a lack of information, the most commonly repeated thing they do hear is projected on to those that have said nothing. The perception is that both pro and anti privacy advocates have the SAME MESSAGE.

This is why it is important that if you are a Pro Privacy Advocate, you SPEAK about it. You have to make sure that no Void exists for the perceptions of the masses to be ruled by only one side. Basically, it is your JOB to prevent the "Silence is Compliance" message from being heard by creating a new context for people to discuss, an alternate point of view that opposes the one sided argument. Your JOB is to stop the Perceptual Bias. You have to speak about Privacy. Use your skills to protect your own Privacy while still being heard. You can retain a great deal of your Anonymity, nearly ALL of it, depending on how you get your message out. No one here on this forum knows my Street Address, Bank Acct numbers, what other websites I visit, what my hobbies are. You know what I tell you. Facebook does not know me at all. Not just individuals, but not in their system. I do have a public street address and bank acct numbers, the greatest problem any of you will ever have is connecting the dots. Very very few will be able to do this. And those that can will be able to do the same thing to everyone because they have usurped the Law in order to do so. No offense is intended, but I dont feel any of you need to know my shopping habits in order to hear my message. What you see of me is not the real me, only the part of me that I want you to see. And you all are just as capable of doing the exact same thing, but probably are not willing to commit to this to the extent that I do. I do hope that I am wrong about that also. You all have a song in your hearts and a message in your minds, a message that is just as important, a message that you can share with the world without revealing the most intimate sides of yourselves. You need to make your message heard. Repeat it. Debate it. Point out the flaws and inherit dangers to the end of privacy as to the best of your ability as you will conclude different things than I do. And you are not wrong. You can fill in the blanks that I have left open, and if you do not speak, then through your silence, you allow me to control your message. You all have your own message, your own ideas and conclusions and perspectives unique from my own. I can not win this War on Privacy by myself. Try as hard as I might, I simply have a different set of experiences than you all do. You must speak or your Silence will become Compliance. Be loud. Be heard. Make people think the way you think, if only for even a brief moment. You do not have to surrender to the surveillance and have everyone knowing your sexual preferences in order to hear your message. Use the public version of yourself to transmit your message and expose the dangers of remaining completely silent on the matter. Make your message known far and wide while making your message not about yourself.

I am one man. You are an Army. Change the world.