Because so many new technologies involve the handling of our most personal information, online privacy has never been in more jeopardy. China may be making headlines with its highly controversial internet censorship laws and taut surveillance systems, but similar issues seem to be arising at all ends of the globe and the fight between security and privacy is on.
In June 2008, Sweden’s parliament approved new laws allowing the country’s intelligence bureau to track sensitive words in international phone calls, faxes and e-mails without a court order. In the United States’ Patriot Act of 2001, the Bush administration authorized the National Security Agency to conduct warrantless domestic wiretaps, expanding wiretaps to Internet connections. Now, the US’s Cybersecurity Act of 2009 grantsthe federal government unprecedented power over the Internet, giving the president full authority to shut down Internet traffic if need be. And in Australia, the Surveillance Devices Bill of 2004 allows Australian Federal Police to obtain warrants for the use of data, optical, listening and tracking surveillance devices.
These are just a few examples of the fragile state of people’s online privacy rights around the world. There are however some initiatives taking place helping to ensure that a citizen’s basic right to privacy isn’t violated.
For instance:
Germany
Germany has been at the forefront Internet privacy rights, doing its best to adapt German Basic Law to the demands of modern information technology. In 2008, the German Constitutional Court ruled that government surveillance of personal computers was a violation of its citizens’ privacy rights. A prior law passed in 2007 gave police and state officials the right to use Trojan horse software to scan the contents of people’s hard drives. The court acknowledged that this not only violated a citizen’s privacy rights but also a citizen’s basic right to “a guarantee of confidentiality and integrity in information-technology systems”. German law now holds that computer users have the right to trust their IT equipment.
German privacy protection officials have long now been skeptical of Google too. Their concerns are to the mass amounts of information collected by the search engine giant, all stored in servers located in the US. In 2009, several German federal and regional government officials even tried to put a ban on Google Analytics, Google’s free software tool that details search behaviour and statistics. Google’s Analytics tool remained within European Union privacy laws however, as it only aggregates anonymous user information.
Canada
When Google released its newest social networking tool, Buzz, Canada’s Privacy Office was quick to raise concerns. There was widespread alarm as to the fact that the program was automatically going through Gmail users’ emails and adding their most emailed contacts as followers. This left some users feeling more exposed to contacts they may not have wanted to share information with. Within four days of the launch, Google changed the Buzz auto-follow feature to auto-suggest.
Canada also released a report that criticized Facebook for retaining user information even after users closed their accounts. Though Facebook claimed it was willing to make necessary changes, as of yet, it has not followed through on its promises.
Canada is also a forerunner of Internet privacy thanks to its 2004 Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act. This act regulates how private-sector organizations collect, use, and disclose personal information, by instating stricter privacy policies.
Despite these steps towards privacy, this past summer the Conservative government put forth a proposed surveillance legislation in which Internet service providers would have to make it possible for police and intelligence officers to intercept online communications and get personal information about subscribers.
Switzerland
Google Maps’ Street-View, a service which allows people to view street-level pictures (including pictures of people without their knowledge or consent) over the Internet, has been highly criticized in Switzerland, a country adamant about privacy rights. Swiss privacy watchdogs want Google to ensure that all faces and car plates are blurred; that it removes pictures of enclosed areas such as walled gardens and private streets, and that it declares at least one week in advance which towns and cities it plans to photograph and post online. Google for the most part declined to comply with the requests, prompting Switzerland’s federal data protection commissioner to take the matter to Switzerland’s Federal Administrative Tribunal.
Madrid Privacy Declaration
In November of 2009, privacy experts from around the world met in Madrid, Spain to draft an international standard for the protection of privacy and personal data. The Madrid Privacy Declaration is a substantial document that “reaffirms international instruments for privacy protection, identifies new challenges, and calls for concrete actions”. The purpose of the Madrid Standard is to become a binding international instrument.
Highlights:
Affirming that privacy is a fundamental human right set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other human rights instruments and national constitutions;
Reminding all countries of their obligations to safeguard the civil rights of their citizens and residents under the provisions of their national constitutions and laws, as well as international human rights law;
Noting with alarm the dramatic expansion of secret and unaccountable surveillance, as well as the growing collaboration between governments and vendors of surveillance technology that establish new forms of social control;
For the time being, it seems security is taking precedence over privacy but with the help of nations striving to uphold privacy rights, there is still a chance to balance the two. Along with the Madrid Privacy Declaration, Google is also calling for international standards on Internet privacy. “The ultimate goal should be to create minimum standards of privacy protection that meet the expectations and demands of consumers, businesses and governments.” |
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