International governments must respect civil liberties and rights on Internet

London-based Cyber-Rights and Cyber-Liberties group made recent waves with its call to carefully respect civil liberties in the face of encroaching regulations dealing with surveillance, terrorism and crime. In its conclusion, the group makes the now-oft-repeated argument that on its current course, the Internet could end up being "the most regulated medium in history." The following is an edited excerpt of its manifesto. The Internet is a social, cultural, commercial, educational and entertainment global communications system whose legitimate purpose is to benefit and empower online users, lowering the barriers to the creation and the distribution of expressions throughout the world. Governments, the Internet industry, the NGOs, and the online users have each an important role to play in building and keeping open, consistent with this purpose, global communications networks. Respect for Human Rights Privacy and freedom of expression are fundamental human rights recognized in all major international and regional agreements and treaties: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, articles 12, and 19; The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, articles 17, and 19; European Convention on Human Rights, articles 8, and 10; European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights, articles 7, 8, and 11 These important international instruments should be taken into account by governments and regional and international organizations in the development of their policies. Any coordinated policy initiative at a supranational level (e.g. in the European Union), or at an international level (e.g. with the CoE Cyber-Crime Convention) should also offer the best protection for individual rights and liberties. We believe that the principles within these important international instruments should not be forgotten or put aside even in the aftermath of horrific crimes such as the attacks on America on September 11, 2001. Respect for human rights includes respect for freedom of expression, and respect for privacy of communications and personal data. We note that privacy is not an absolute right, and do not oppose lawful interception of communications based on clear legal powers and subject to effective judicial control and adequate remedies for abuse. However, we are particularly concerned about the lack of democratic oversight on data being intercepted, stored and processed within systems like Echelon. We dispute that the UK’s Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 is compatible with articles 6 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Statements which describe the RIP Act as the "greatest safeguard that exists in any democracy in the world…. for protecting our rights" (Per David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, House of Commons Hansard Debates for 15 October, 2001, at column 935) are in our view simply untrue. Even a comparison within Western Europe shows that the United Kingdom has the most intrusive legislation. The Government should also be criticized for promoting new legislation such as the Anti-Terrorism, Crime, and Security Act 2001 and extending its powers before the inadequacy of its existing powers has been established. European Convention on Human Rights and privacy of communications The monitoring of communications including interception of content data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, and the retention of communications data under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime, and Security Act 2001 can constitute an interference with the right to respect for private life and correspondence in breach of Art. 8(2) of the European Convention on Human Rights, unless these surveillance activities are carried out in accordance with a legal provision capable of protecting against arbitrary interference by the state with the rights guaranteed. However, the exceptions provided for in Article 8(2) are to be interpreted narrowly, and the need for them in a given case must be convincingly established. Echelon interception systems and the UK government As a civil liberties organisation based in the UK, we are particularly concerned with the alleged involvement of the UK Government, a member of both the European Union and the Council of Europe, with the Echelon interception systems. So far, the UK government’s preferred practice in relation to the existence and use of Echelon systems has been not to comment on such allegations. However, in September 2001, the European Parliament in a resolution concluded that "the existence of a global system for intercepting communications, operating by means of cooperation proportionate to their capabilities among the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand under the UKUSA Agreement, is no longer in doubt." The European Parliament also urged the Member States to review and if necessary to adapt their own legislation on the operations of the intelligence services to ensure that it is consistent with fundamental rights as laid down in the ECHR and with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Secret surveillance and interception of all forms of communications including Internet communications cannot be acceptable in democratic societies. By welcoming the resolution of the European Parliament on the existence of Echelon, we call for accountability in the global interception of communications. Resist censorship of the Internet New media historically face suspicion and are liable to excessive regulation as they spark fears as to the potential detrimental effects they may have on society. Now, the Internet is receiving the same kind of treatment with various attempts to censor and control its content. However, as the European Court of Human Rights stated "... freedom of expression constitutes one of the essential foundations of a democratic society, one of the basic conditions for its progress," and censorship should be resisted at all costs. We note that freedom of expression via the Internet can be further threatened if the law imposes heavy responsibilities on ISPs for the third party content they carry. ISPs should not be forced into being the defendant, judge, and the jury at the same time. In Europe, in the long term, laws including notice & takedown provisions could turn ISPs into proxy censors as a risk avoidance measure while deflecting the blame from governments. Conclusion We call on the governments, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, the OECD, and the G8 to encourage freedom of expression, privacy of communications, data protection, and security on the Internet. Governments and supranational and international organizations should co-operate to respect fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression and privacy, and should encourage rather than limit the peoples’ usage of the Internet through excessive regulation at the national level. Responses to problems that are associated to the Internet need to be proportionate and effective. Otherwise, far from free and unregulated, the Internet may end up as the most regulated medium in history.

International governments must respect civil liberties and rights on Internet

Broadcast | February 7, 2002

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