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<h1
style="padding:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-bottom-style:none;outline:0px;font-size:2.917em;background-color:transparent;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;word-spacing:-0.06em;letter-spacing:-0.04em;line-height:35px"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/11/20/exclusive_inside_americas_plan_to_kill_online_privacy_rights_everywhere"
title="Exclusive: Inside America's Plan to Kill
Online Privacy Rights Everywhere"
style="border:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(51,51,51);margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-size:35px;background-color:transparent"
target="_blank">Exclusive: Inside America's Plan
to Kill Online Privacy Rights Everywhere</a></h1>
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<h2
style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border-top-width:0px;border-right-width:0px;border-left-width:0px;border-bottom-style:none;outline:0px;font-size:1.208em;background-color:transparent;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);word-spacing:-0.02em;letter-spacing:-0.01em;font-weight:normal"><span
style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent">Posted
By <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/blog/16159"
style="border:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,51,102);margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent"
target="_blank">Colum Lynch</a> </span><img
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src="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/images/091022_meta_block.gif"
style="border:none;padding:0px;outline:none;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent"> <span
style="margin:0px;padding:0px 4px 0px
0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent">Wednesday,
November 20, 2013 - 6:10 PM</span> <img
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<div
style="padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent"><img
moz-do-not-send="true"
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<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">The
United States and its key intelligence allies are
quietly working behind the scenes to kneecap a
mounting movement in the United Nations to promote
a universal human right to online privacy,
according to diplomatic sources and an internal
American government document obtained by <i
style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent">The
Cable</i>.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">The
diplomatic battle is playing out in an obscure
U.N. General Assembly committee that is
considering a proposal by Brazil and Germany to
place constraints on unchecked internet
surveillance by the National Security Agency and
other foreign intelligence services. American
representatives have made it clear that they won't
tolerate such checks on their global surveillance
network. The stakes are high, particularly in
Washington -- which is seeking to contain an <a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/10/25/exclusive_21_nations_line_up_behind_un_effort_to_restrain_nsa"
style="border:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,51,102);margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold"
target="_blank">international backlash against
NSA spying</a> -- and in Brasilia, where
Brazilian President Dilma Roussef is personally
involved in monitoring the U.N. negotiations.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">The
Brazilian and German initiative seeks to apply the
right to privacy, which is enshrined in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR), to online communications. Their
proposal, <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/10/24/exclusive_germany_brazil_turn_to_un_to_restrain_american_spies"
style="border:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,51,102);margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold"
target="_blank">first revealed by <i
style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent">The
Cable</i></a>, affirms a "right to privacy
that is not to be subjected to arbitrary or
unlawful interference with their privacy, family,
home, or correspondence." It notes that while
public safety may "justify the gathering and
protection of certain sensitive information,"
nations "must ensure full compliance" with
international human rights laws. A final version
the text is scheduled to be presented to U.N.
members on Wednesday evening and the resolution is
expected to be adopted next week.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">A
draft of the resolution, which was obtained by <i
style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent">The
Cable</i>, calls on states to "to respect and
protect the right to privacy," asserting that the
"same rights that people have offline must also be
protected online, including the right to privacy."
It also requests the U.N. high commissioner for
human rights, Navi Pillay, present the U.N.
General Assembly next year with a report on the
protection and promotion of the right to privacy,
a provision that will ensure the issue remains on
the front burner.</p>
<div style="margin:0px 20px 0px
0px;padding:0px;border-right-width:1px;border-bottom-width:1px;border-left-width:1px;border-style:double
solid solid;border-color:rgb(170,170,170)
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rgb(221,221,221);outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;float:left;width:208px">
<h4 style="margin:0px 0px 8px;padding:4px
0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:1.4em;background-color:rgb(236,236,236);font-family:garamond,georgia,times,serif;font-weight:normal;text-transform:uppercase;text-align:center;color:rgb(0,0,0)"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/archive/taxonomy/NSA"
style="border:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-size:19px;background-color:transparent"
target="_blank"><span
style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:0.8em;background-color:transparent;font-style:italic;display:block;text-transform:none">More
FP Coverage</span>THE NSA LEAKS</a></h4>
<ul style="margin:10px 0px;padding:0px
20px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;list-style-type:none">
<li style="margin:10px;padding:0px 0px
10px;border-width:0px 0px
1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(221,221,221);outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-image:none;color:rgb(140,27,46);min-height:auto;list-style:disc;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/21/the_obscure_fbi_team_that_does_the_nsa_dirty_work"
style="border:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent"
target="_blank">Meet the Spies Doing the
NSA's Dirty Work</a></li>
<li style="margin:10px;padding:0px 0px
10px;border-width:0px 0px
1px;border-bottom-style:solid;border-bottom-color:rgb(221,221,221);outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-image:none;color:rgb(140,27,46);min-height:auto;list-style:disc;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2013/11/19/spy_copters_lasers_and_break_in_teams_fbi_spies_on_diplomats"
style="border:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent"
target="_blank">Spy Copters, Lasers, and
Break-In Teams</a></li>
<li style="margin:10px 10px
0px;padding:0px;border:none;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-image:none;color:rgb(140,27,46);min-height:auto;list-style:disc;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans"><a
moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://killerapps.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/11/14/the_fbi_is_helping_the_nsa_spy_but_senators_don_t_want_to_know_about_it"
style="border:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,0,0);margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent"
target="_blank">The FBI is Helping the NSA
Spy, but Senators Don't Want to Know About
It</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">Publicly,
U.S. representatives say they're open to an
affirmation of privacy rights. "The United States
takes very seriously our international legal
obligations, including those under the
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights," Kurtis Cooper, a spokesman for the U.S.
mission to the United Nations, said in an email.
"We have been actively and constructively
negotiating to ensure that the resolution promotes
human rights and is consistent with those
obligations."</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">But
privately, American diplomats are pushing hard to
kill a provision of the Brazilian and German draft
which states that "extraterritorial surveillance"
and mass interception of communications, personal
information, and metadata may constitute a
violation of human rights. The United States and
its allies, according to diplomats, outside
observers, and documents, contend that the
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights does not
apply to foreign espionage.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">In
recent days, the United States circulated to its
allies a confidential <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="http://columlynch.tumblr.com/post/67588682409/right-to-privacy-in-the-digital-age-u-s"
style="border:0px;text-decoration:none;color:rgb(0,51,102);margin:0px;padding:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;font-weight:bold"
target="_blank">paper</a> highlighting American
objectives in the negotiations, "Right to Privacy
in the Digital Age -- U.S. Redlines." It calls for
changing the Brazilian and German text so "that
references to privacy rights are referring
explicitly to States' obligations under ICCPR and
remove suggestion that such obligations apply
extraterritorially." In other words: America wants
to make sure it preserves the right to spy
overseas.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">The
U.S. paper also calls on governments to promote
amendments that would weaken Brazil's and
Germany's contention that some "highly intrusive"
acts of online espionage may constitute a
violation of freedom of expression. Instead, the
United States wants to limit the focus to <i
style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent">illegal</i>surveillance
-- which the American government claims it never,
ever does. Collecting information on tens of
millions of people around the world is perfectly
acceptable, the Obama administration has
repeatedly said. It's authorized by U.S. statute,
overseen by Congress, and approved by American
courts.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">"Recall
that the USG's [U.S. government's] collection
activities that have been disclosed are lawful
collections done in a manner protective of privacy
rights," the paper states. "So a paragraph
expressing concern about illegal surveillance is
one with which we would agree."</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">The
privacy resolution, like most General Assembly
decisions, is neither legally binding nor
enforceable by any international court. But
international lawyers say it is important because
it creates the basis for an international
consensus -- referred to as "soft law" -- that
over time will make it harder and harder for the
United States to argue that its mass collection of
foreigners' data is lawful and in conformity with
human rights norms.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">"They
want to be able to say ‘we haven't broken the law,
we're not breaking the law, and we won't break the
law,'" said Dinah PoKempner, the general counsel
for Human Rights Watch, who has been tracking the
negotiations. The United States, she added, wants
to be able to maintain that "we have the freedom
to scoop up anything we want through the massive
surveillance of foreigners because we have no
legal obligations."</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">The
United States negotiators have been pressing their
case behind the scenes, raising concerns that the
assertion of extraterritorial human rights could
constrain America's effort to go after
international terrorists. But Washington has
remained relatively muted about their concerns in
the U.N. negotiating sessions. According to one
diplomat, "the United States has been very much in
the backseat," leaving it to its allies,
Australia, Britain, and Canada, to take the lead.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">There
is no extraterritorial obligation on states "to
comply with human rights," explained one diplomat
who supports the U.S. position. "The obligation is
on states to uphold the human rights of citizens
within their territory and areas of their
jurisdictions."</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">The
position, according to Jamil Dakwar, the director
of the American Civil Liberties Union's Human
Rights Program, has little international backing.
The International Court of Justice, the U.N. Human
Rights Committee, and the European Court have all
asserted that states do have an obligation to
comply with human rights laws beyond their own
borders, he noted. "Governments do have obligation
beyond their territories," said Dakwar,
particularly in situations, like the Guantanamo
Bay detention center, where the United States
exercises "effective control" over the lives of
the detainees.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">Both
PoKempner and Dakwar suggested that courts may
also judge that the U.S. dominance of the Internet
places special legal obligations on it to ensure
the protection of users' human rights.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">"It's
clear that when the United States is conducting
surveillance, these decisions and operations start
in the United States, the servers are at NSA
headquarters, and the capabilities are mainly in
the United States," he said. "To argue that they
have no human rights obligations overseas is
dangerous because it sends a message that there is
void in terms of human rights protection outside
countries territory. It's going back to the idea
that you can create a legal black hole where there
is no applicable law." There were signs emerging
on Wednesday that America may have been making
ground in pressing the Brazilians and Germans to
back on one of its toughest provisions. In an
effort to address the concerns of the U.S. and its
allies, Brazil and Germany agreed to soften the
language suggesting that mass surveillance may
constitute a violation of human rights. Instead,
it simply deep "concern at the negative impact"
that extraterritorial surveillance "may have on
the exercise of and enjoyment of human rights."
The U.S., however, has not yet indicated it would
support the revised proposal.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">The
concession "is regrettable. But it’s not the end
of the battle by any means," said Human Rights
Watch’s PoKempner. She added that there will soon
be another opportunity to corral America's spies:
a U.N. discussion on possible human rights
violations as a result of extraterritorial
surveillance will soon be taken up by the U.N.
High commissioner.</p>
<p style="margin:0px 0px
1.2em;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;background-color:transparent;line-height:1.7em;color:rgb(31,31,31)">***</p>
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