Digital Surveillance and the Right to Privacy (original) (raw)

The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age

Journal of Human Rights Practice, 2017

Human Rights Council Twenty-seventh session Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development The right to privacy in the digital age Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary In its resolution 68/167, the General Assembly requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit a report on the protection and promotion of the right to privacy in the context of domestic and extraterritorial surveillance and/or the interception of digital communications and the collection of personal data, including on a mass scale, to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-seventh session and to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, with views and recommendations, to be considered by Member States. The present report is submitted pursuant to that request. The Office of the High Commissioner will also submit the report to the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, pursuant to the request of the Assembly.

The Human Right of Privacy in the Digital Age

2017

The right to privacy in the digital age generates new challenges for the international jurisdiction. The following article deals with such challenges. Therefore it firstly defines the term of privacy in general and presents an international legal framework. With whisteblower Snowden a huge political discourse was initiated and the article gives insights into its further development. In 2015 the Human Rights Council for the first time announced a special rapporteur on the right to privacy. However, the discourse is not only taking place on a political level, also civil society organizations advocate more stringent regulations and prosecutions against violations of the right to privacy. Moreover the importance of the technology sector becomes clear. Companies like Microsoft are increasingly taking responsibility to protect digital media against unjustified data misuse, surveillance, collection and storage. But whereas the IT sector is developing very quickly, legislative processes do ...

Surveillance in the Digital Age

European Scientific Journal, ESJ, 2024

Purpose: As technology advances, electronic devices have become ubiquitous among individuals of all backgrounds. From mobile phones to computing devices, people rely on these tools on a daily basis for both personal and professional purposes. The presented research seeks to investigate the extent to which individuals are being monitored in the digital realm and identify solutions to safeguard citizens from the threat of mass surveillance. Findings: In the modern era, it is common for people to utilize various devices for a multitude of purposes, such as search engines and social networks. However, many are unaware that the information they share online is not always erased from cyberspace. This study aims to shed light on how this data is obtained and utilized and the potential risks humanity faces if privacy is not safeguarded in the digital age. Research limitations/implications: The objective of this research is to thoroughly examine the current scientific literature, studies, and articles regarding the perils of surveillance in the digital era. The paper aims to highlight the challenges associated with combating surveillance. In the concluding section of the analysis, a concise set of recommendations will be provided, which are crucial to uphold in order to safeguard individuals' constitutional rights in the face of the potential ramifications of streamlined surveillance. Originality/value: In today's digital age, it has become almost universal for people to communicate through electronic devices in cyberspace, whether for work or personal purposes. Unfortunately, this environment is often not secure, and automated surveillance models can be used to acquire people's data without their knowledge or consent. This raises serious concerns about privacy and the protection of fundamental human rights. That is why it is essential to conduct research that sheds light on the means of surveillance and explores ways to fight against it.

Technology and the Deterioration of Right to Privacy

IJAPS, 2011

The infringement of privacy is a rising phenomenon, which is only accelerated as technology advances. This article provides a critical review of the concept of right to privacy, the cases involving deterioration of privacy due to technology and the legal ...

E-Surveillance Vis-à-Vis Digital Privacy Rights under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)Act- 2006: Inquesting of New Hope or Hype?

International Journal of Ethics in Social Sciences, 2015

The sophistication of science and technologies has profoundly altered the way of social life. This also led to a paradigm shift in the methodology of taking preventive measures for conforming security, both nationally and transnationally throughout the world. The newly adopted Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act- 2006 [Act No. 39 of 2006] has raised new controversies relating to constitutional and privacy issues in Bangladesh by allowing the law enforcement agents to impose electronic monitoring as well as other types of technologically aided surveillance software for the purpose of intruding conversations of the citizens of Bangladesh on the whole. This processing of personal information by dint of wiretapping by the security officers intersects with a very basic notion of individuals‟ data privacy, „protection of home and correspondence‟ and „Protection of right to life and personal liberty‟ which were protected by the Constitution of Bangladesh to some extent. With the latest legislative and judicial supports thrown on the right to data privacy of individuals, questions now emerge on whether this support to privacy the right will be short-lived by the newly-passed ICT law, which legally introduces the power of electronic surveillance in Bangladesh? This paper seeks to initially explore this intersection and to outline the roadmap for better legal development in Bangladesh.

Privacy is not the Antidote to Surveillance

Surveillance Society, 2009

We live in a surveillance society 2. The creation, collection and processing of personal data is nearly a ubiquitous phenomenon. Every time we use a loyalty card at a retailer, our names are correlated with our purchases and entered into giant databases. Every time we pass an electronic toll booth on the highway, every time we use a cell phone or a credit card, our locations are being recorded, analyzed and stored. Every time we go to see a doctor, submit an insurance claim, pay our utility bills, interact with the government, or go online, the picture gleaned from our actions and states grows finer and fatter. * An earlier version of this essay, co-authored with Jesse Hirsh, has been published as Privacy Won't Help Us (Fight Surveillance) on the nettime mailing list (June 26, 2002).

Surveillance, Privacy and Security

Surveillance, Privacy and Security, 2017

This volume examines the relationship between privacy, surveillance and security, and the alleged privacy-security trade-off, focusing on the citizen's perspective. Recent revelations of mass surveillance programmes clearly demonstrate the everincreasing capabilities of surveillance technologies. The lack of serious reactions to these activities shows that the political will to implement them appears to be an unbroken trend. The resulting move into a surveillance society is, however, contested for many reasons. Are the resulting infringements of privacy and other human rights compatible with democratic societies? Is security necessarily depending on surveillance? Are there alternative ways to frame security? Is it possible to gain in security by giving up civil liberties, or is it even necessary to do so, and do citizens adopt this trade-off? This volume contributes to a better and deeper understanding of the relation between privacy, surveillance and security, comprising in-depth investigations and studies of the common narrative that more security can only come at the expense of sacrifice of privacy. The book combines theoretical research with a wide range of empirical studies focusing on the citizen's perspective. It presents empirical research exploring factors and criteria relevant for the assessment of surveillance technologies. The book also deals with the governance of surveillance technologies. New approaches and instruments for the regulation of security technologies and measures are presented, and recommendations for security policies in line with ethics and fundamental rights are discussed. This book will be of much interest to students of surveillance studies, critical security studies, intelligence studies, EU politics and IR in general.

Ethical Issues and Citizens Rights in the Era of Digital Government Surveillance

Over recent years, terrorism has pressed democracy and Westerners to their ethical limits not only regarding torture but also the ways citizens are secretly spied. The use of current digital technologies to monitor lay persons or activists is one of the aspects that triggered a hot-debate in Europe and US. After Snowden`s case, citizenry not only realized the dark side of government, but how slowly democracy is dying. Doubtless, this is the intersection where this book is inserted. Based on 13 high-quality chapters, organized in three sections, editors Robert Cropf and Timothy Bagwell provide to readers with a pungent work containing a great varieties of themes discussing how e-surveillance is often used for Government to enhance security, as well as some individual rights are harmed. Over recent years, terrorism has pressed democracy and Westerners to their ethical limits not only regarding torture but also the ways citizens are secretly spied. The use of current digital technologies to monitor lay persons or activists is one of the aspects that triggered a hot-debate in Europe and US. After Snowden`s case, citizenry not only realized the dark side of government, but how slowly democracy is dying. Doubtless, this is the intersection where this book is inserted. Based on 13 high-quality chapters, organized in three sections, editors Robert Cropf and timothy Bagwell provide to readers with a pungent work containing a great varieties of themes discussing how e-surveillance is often used for Government to enhance security, as well as some individual rights are harmed. The dichotomy security vs. rights, seems to be one of the salient points throughout this argument. At a closer look, the security of citizens corresponds with some of the sacred-duties of any government but at the same time, privacy or private life represents one of the rights of that citizens who should be protected. How both contrasting values can be organized in democracy? The three sections, which are oriented to respond the above formulated question, reflect different viewpoint which oscillates from conceptual ethical issues towards legal research and