[bestbits] ECHR judgment on UK mass surveillance

[APdeC]

Hey all,

I wanted to pass on the message below from my colleague Tomaso on a judgement from the European Court of Human Rights for our case challenging the UK's mass interception powers and intelligence sharing arrangements.

The judgement is not what we wanted but it still has many positive elements to celebrate after five long years of litigation even if there is still more work to be done...
If you have any questions, feel free to get with Tomaso directly (tomasof at privacyinternational.org <mailto:tomasof at privacyinternational.org>)

Thanks for spreading the word!

Best,

Alex

————————

Dear all,

On 13 September 2018, the European Court of Human Rights released its judgement in our case against the UK's mass interception powers and intelligence
sharing arrangements in the UK (link to the Court’s press release here: http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-press?i=003-6187848-8026299)

The case challenged the UK bulk interception of communication that happens to traverse the UK and to store the content of these communications as well as any related communications data; and the UK capacity to obtain similar bulk access to communications and data intercepted by the intelligence services of other states, such as the US.

The top lines of the judgement are:
The UK’s historical bulk interception regime violated the right to privacy protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and to free expression, protected by Article 10.
The interception of communications data is as serious a breach of privacy as the interception of content, meaning the UK regime for bulk interception of communications data was unlawful.
The UK’s regime for authorising bulk interception was incapable of keeping the “interference” to what is “necessary in a democratic society”.
Here’s our analysis <https://privacyinternational.org/feature/2267/uk-mass-interception-law-violates-human-rights-fight-against-mass-surveillance> of the decision. And here’s our press release <https://privacyinternational.org/press-release/2265/press-release-campaigners-win-vital-battle-against-uk-mass-surveillance-european> with Amnesty International and Liberty.

All the best,

Tomaso


Ms. Alexandrine Pirlot de Corbion

Lead - Global Programme
Privacy International
62 Britton Street
London, EC1M 5UY
United Kingdom

E: alex at privacyinternational.org
W: www.privacyinternational.org
T: +44 (0) 203 422 4321
Skype: alexpdec.pi


Privacy International is a registered charity (No. 1147471).

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