SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A European human rights court ruled on Thursday that the U.K.'s mass surveillance program was unlawful and violated human rights. (Photo: Kjetil Korslien/Flickr/cc)
'Major Victory' as Top Court Says UK Snoopers Charter Violates EU Convention on Human Rights
"This sends a clear message: Similar programs, such as those conducted by the NSA, are incompatible with human rights."
Sep 13, 2018
Civil rights groups applauded a European court's ruling against the U.K.'s "Snooper's Charter," its mass surveillance program put in place after September 11, 2001, with a 5-2 vote stating that the country's spying practices were a violation of human rights--and called on other governments to end their own surveillance programs.
The European Court of Human Rights also ruled 6-1 that the program was unlawful and did not provide adequate safeguards for privacy and "confidential journalistic material," with the potential to chill free speech for journalists.
Corey Stoughton, advocacy director for the civil rights group Liberty, called the ruling "a major victory for those of us who think there ought to be balance in the government's ability to engage in surveillance."
Liberty joined with the ACLU, Amnesty International, Privacy International, and 13 other organizations to challenge the Snooper's Charter, officially known as the Investigatory Powers Act, after former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the U.K. was obtaining and storing massive amounts of data about communications throughout the country.
Snowden himself was among those who praised the decision.
\u201cFor five long years, governments have denied that global mass surveillance violates of your rights. And for five long years, we have chased them through the doors of every court. Today, we won. Don't thank me: thank all of those who never stopped fighting. https://t.co/ARgbI5PKaa\u201d— Edward Snowden (@Edward Snowden) 1536839046
The ACLU stressed that the ruling sends a clear message that government surveillance is a violation of the human right to privacy in all countries.
\u201cIn an important victory, the European Court of Human Rights sided with us and ruled the UK's mass surveillance activities violate fundamental human rights.\n\nThis sends a clear message: Similar programs, such as those conducted by the NSA, are incompatible with human rights.\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1536864840
"Governments in Europe and the United States alike must take steps to rein in mass spying and adopt long-overdue reforms that truly safeguard our privacy," said ACLU attorney Patrick Toomey.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Civil rights groups applauded a European court's ruling against the U.K.'s "Snooper's Charter," its mass surveillance program put in place after September 11, 2001, with a 5-2 vote stating that the country's spying practices were a violation of human rights--and called on other governments to end their own surveillance programs.
The European Court of Human Rights also ruled 6-1 that the program was unlawful and did not provide adequate safeguards for privacy and "confidential journalistic material," with the potential to chill free speech for journalists.
Corey Stoughton, advocacy director for the civil rights group Liberty, called the ruling "a major victory for those of us who think there ought to be balance in the government's ability to engage in surveillance."
Liberty joined with the ACLU, Amnesty International, Privacy International, and 13 other organizations to challenge the Snooper's Charter, officially known as the Investigatory Powers Act, after former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the U.K. was obtaining and storing massive amounts of data about communications throughout the country.
Snowden himself was among those who praised the decision.
\u201cFor five long years, governments have denied that global mass surveillance violates of your rights. And for five long years, we have chased them through the doors of every court. Today, we won. Don't thank me: thank all of those who never stopped fighting. https://t.co/ARgbI5PKaa\u201d— Edward Snowden (@Edward Snowden) 1536839046
The ACLU stressed that the ruling sends a clear message that government surveillance is a violation of the human right to privacy in all countries.
\u201cIn an important victory, the European Court of Human Rights sided with us and ruled the UK's mass surveillance activities violate fundamental human rights.\n\nThis sends a clear message: Similar programs, such as those conducted by the NSA, are incompatible with human rights.\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1536864840
"Governments in Europe and the United States alike must take steps to rein in mass spying and adopt long-overdue reforms that truly safeguard our privacy," said ACLU attorney Patrick Toomey.
Civil rights groups applauded a European court's ruling against the U.K.'s "Snooper's Charter," its mass surveillance program put in place after September 11, 2001, with a 5-2 vote stating that the country's spying practices were a violation of human rights--and called on other governments to end their own surveillance programs.
The European Court of Human Rights also ruled 6-1 that the program was unlawful and did not provide adequate safeguards for privacy and "confidential journalistic material," with the potential to chill free speech for journalists.
Corey Stoughton, advocacy director for the civil rights group Liberty, called the ruling "a major victory for those of us who think there ought to be balance in the government's ability to engage in surveillance."
Liberty joined with the ACLU, Amnesty International, Privacy International, and 13 other organizations to challenge the Snooper's Charter, officially known as the Investigatory Powers Act, after former U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the U.K. was obtaining and storing massive amounts of data about communications throughout the country.
Snowden himself was among those who praised the decision.
\u201cFor five long years, governments have denied that global mass surveillance violates of your rights. And for five long years, we have chased them through the doors of every court. Today, we won. Don't thank me: thank all of those who never stopped fighting. https://t.co/ARgbI5PKaa\u201d— Edward Snowden (@Edward Snowden) 1536839046
The ACLU stressed that the ruling sends a clear message that government surveillance is a violation of the human right to privacy in all countries.
\u201cIn an important victory, the European Court of Human Rights sided with us and ruled the UK's mass surveillance activities violate fundamental human rights.\n\nThis sends a clear message: Similar programs, such as those conducted by the NSA, are incompatible with human rights.\u201d— ACLU (@ACLU) 1536864840
"Governments in Europe and the United States alike must take steps to rein in mass spying and adopt long-overdue reforms that truly safeguard our privacy," said ACLU attorney Patrick Toomey.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.