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Journalists and online activists, did GCHQ or NSA spy on you? printable version

27 Feb 2015: posted by the editor - Journalism, Internet news

By Reporters Without Borders
A recent historic ruling by an independent British tribunal that handles complaints about surveillance has made it possible for individuals to ask the British signals intelligence agency GCHQ if it spied on them. Reporters Without Borders is inviting journalists, bloggers and online activists to participate in a campaign that will help them to discover whether they were the victims of illegal spying.

This ruling provides all news and information providers with a unique opportunity to hold this British intelligence agency to account about the extent and consequences of its mass surveillance practices.

The Investigatory Powers Tribunal ruled on 6 February that, from 2007 to December 2014, the US National Security Agency and GCHQ illegally shared personal communications data gathered by means of mass surveillance. The IPT said this violated two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights – article 8 (on the right to privacy) and article 10 (on freedom of expression).

The decision that this intelligence sharing should be subjected to public examination was the result of a joint submission to the IPT by Privacy International, Bytes for All, Liberty and Amnesty International based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden. It is the first time since its creation that this tribunal has ruled against the British intelligence and security agencies.

Individuals who want to participate in this campaign are invited to register at a webpage created by Privacy International. It will receive individual requests and submit them to the IPT, which will be obliged to investigate and determine whether the communications of each plaintiff were shared illegally. If they were, this would constitute a violation of articles 8 and 10 of the European Court of Human Rights. Plaintiffs would be notified and would be able to request the deletion of their data.

In June 2013, a few days before the start of Edward Snowden’s leaks, Frank la Rue, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, released a report on surveillance in which he stressed the close relationship between protection of privacy and freedom of expression, pointing out that mass surveillance makes it difficult for journalists to protect their sources and guarantee their anonymity.

Along with Privacy International and Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders is a member of CAUSE, a coalition that aims to promote responsible behaviour by governments and private companies regarding the sale of surveillance technologies when they are used to violate human rights.

Tags: surveillance, GCHQ, NSA, spying

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