Rights probe: UK stalling Council of Europe inquiry into internet espionage – report
UK representatives are said to be blocking a European inquiry into the covert gathering of “vast amounts of electronic communications.” In the wake of the NSA scandal, the Council of Europe wants to prevent abuses that could “destroy democracy.”
The Council of Europe, an organization that brings together 47
countries to consider human rights issues, met in the Serbian
capital of Belgrade this week to reassess intelligence practices
and establish guidelines governed by the European Convention on
Human Rights.
Given the “growing technological capabilities” of security
agencies, ministers attending the conference said that safeguards
need to be put in place against “abuse which may undermine or
even destroy democracy.”
The Council drew up three draft resolutions, calling for a probe
into security agencies' intelligence practices.
One of the clauses in the document, entitled “Political
Declaration and Resolutions,” specifically references the
“gathering vast amounts of electronic communications data on
individuals by security agencies, the deliberate building of
flaws and ‘backdoors’ in the security system of
the internet or otherwise
deliberately weakening encryption.”
According to reports from the Guardian newspaper, a UK official
from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport raised particular
concerns about this part of the document. The refusal to endorse
an investigation echoes the stance of UK spy organization the
Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) that has sought to
defend and justify its data gathering activities.
The Council of Europe’s resolutions do not forbid the practice of
intelligence gathering, but merely set out guidelines for
security agencies.
"Data can be collected and processed for a legitimate aim
including the objectives set out in the Council of Europe's
Statute,” the document states. The document also mentions the
“precarious situation” of journalists and the importance
of protecting their sources.
In the wake of the revelations about the joint spying practices
of GCHQ and the NSA, released by former NSA contractor Edward
Snowden, the UK has sought to defend its intelligence-gathering
practices. According to Snowden’s leaks, GCHQ intercepted
millions of phone calls and electronic communications, using the
NSA’s Tempora program to circumvent UK law.
Intelligence chiefs spoke out in support of GCHQ’s activities
Thursday at a parliamentary committee hearing, and condemned
Edward Snowden for what they described as putting citizens in
danger.
“The leaks from Snowden have been very damaging, they've put
our operations at risk,” said MI6 chief Sir John Sawers at
the unprecedented hearing before the parliamentary Joint Security
Committee. “It’s clear that our adversaries are rubbing their
hands with glee, al-Qaeda is lapping it up.”
Speaking at the same hearing, GCHQ chief Iain Lobban rejected the idea that UK spies were monitoring the e-mails and phone calls of the innocent majority of UK nationals and foreigners. “That would not be proportionate, that would not be legal, and we would not do it,” he said.
Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty, a civil liberties and
human rights campaign group, criticized the hearing, and said
that an immediate “inquiry into this grand breach of trust
must now begin."