The Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) and Global Partners Digital are launching a new publication, Travel Guide to the Digital World: Surveillance and International Standards, aimed at helping Internet users understand digital surveillance and its human rights implications. The report, part of the Travel Guide to the Digital World series, is designed to be broadly accessible and is written for a non-technical audience. It aims to provide readers with an understanding of how surveillance is being conducting, relevant international standards and better national practice, and emerging debates around surveillance.
“In the context of the Snowden revelations, it is abundantly clear that many governments are operating surveillance regimes which breach international human rights law,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “This publication will help readers understand why these surveillance practices are problematical and how they should be improved.”
The report reviews digital surveillance practices from the perspective of international human rights standards, particularly freedom of expression and the right to privacy. Drawing on international standards and better practice legislation from around the world, the report presents a set of standards for regulating and conducting surveillance in a way which is consistent with human rights. It concludes with a discussion of emerging debates, and how the questions around online surveillance have altered the global discourse around human rights on the Internet.
“The Internet is the defining technology of our age, and internet policy and governance decisions have a real impact on human rights,” said Andrew Puddephatt, Executive Director of Global Partners Digital. “The Travel Guide to the Digital World series aims to arm a new generation of activists to fight for internet rights and freedoms”.
For further information, please contact:
Michael Karanicolas
Legal Officer
Centre for Law and Democracy
email: michael@law-democracy.org
tel: +1 902 448-5290
www.law-democracy.org
Twitter: @law_democracy
