International Law

International Action Day "Freedom not Fear 2009 - Stop Surveillance Mania!" on 12 September 2009

Details of UK protests (and others mostly around the European Union), set for Sunday 12th September 2009, can be found via FreedomNotFear2009.org

There is also the German manifesto (in English, very similar to last year's) at the www.freedom-not-fear.eu wiki.

We demand:

1. Cutback on surveillance measures

• no blanket registration of all air travellers (PNR data)
• no information exchange with the US and other states lacking effective data protection
• no secret searches of private computer systems, neither online nor offline
• abolish the blanket logging of our communications and locations (data retention)
• abolish the blanket collection of our biometric data as well as RFID passports
• abolish the blanket collection of genetic data
• abolish permanent CCTV camera surveillance and automatic detection techniques
• scrap funding for the development of new surveillance techniques
• protect us from surveillance at the workplace by effective personal data protection in employment law
• e-government projects must take into account the protection of citizens' and employees' data right from the start
• no standardization of public databases in Europe (Stockholm programme)
• no systematic surveillance of monetary transactions or any other mass data analysis within the EU (Stockholm programme)
• no information exchange with the US or any other nation lacking effective human rights
• no hidden searches of private computer systems, neither online nor offline

We are not sure what the difference between" "secret" and "hidden" searches of private computer systems is.

2. Evaluation of existing surveillance powers

We call for an independent review of all existing surveillance powers as to their effectiveness and harmful side-effects.

3. Moratorium on new surveillance powers

Following the homeland armament of the past few years we demand an immediate hold to new homeland security laws that further restrict civil liberties.

4. Guaranteeing freedom of expression, dialogue and information on the Internet

• no restrictions on Internet access by governmental institutions or internet service providers
• ban the installation of filtering infrastructure on ISP networks
• only independent and impartial judges may request the removal of Internet content
• create a full right to quote multimedia, today indispensable to public debate in democracies
• protect common internet places of expression (participatory sites, forums, comments on blogs) today threatened by inadequate laws encouraging self-censorship (chilling effect)

There does not seem to have been any progress on these demands in the last year - see the previous Freedom Not Fear Day - Saturday 11th October 2008.

There is more anger, more frustration and contempt bordering on hatred, from ordinary people, from all parts of the political spectrum, directed at our morally weak and technologically inept Government politicians and apparatchiki, jobsworth securocrats and other vested interests,

What does it take to get these alleged "public servants" to listen to , and act on, our privacy and freedom concerns ?

Full post as published by Spy Blog on August 16, 2009 (boomark / email).