A
billboard by German artist Nils Knoblich warns passersby about the
United States' widespread international surveillance. (Photo: Nils
Knoblich/ cc via Flickr)
With the United States' National
Security Agency 'setting trends' among the international community for
worldwide surveillance and privacy abuses, soon there will be "no safe
haven," a human rights watchdog group warned in their annual report
published Tuesday.
"As the world’s information moves into
cyberspace, surveillance capabilities have grown commensurately," writes
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) in their annual
World Report (pdf).
"The U.S. now leads in ability for global data capture, but other
nations and actors are likely to catch up, and some already insist that
more data be kept within their reach."
"As the birthplace of the Internet, home to major related industries,
and with most global online communications running through its
territory or facilities, the U.S. is uniquely placed to conduct global
surveillance," the report continues.
Further, HRW notes, the United States' exploitation of constitutional
loopholes—particularly those limiting protections for foreigners and
regarding the bulk collection of "metadata"—has enabled the broad
expansion of surveillance of individuals both domestically and abroad.
"In the end, there will be no safe haven if privacy is seen as a
strictly domestic issue, subject to many carve-outs and lax or
non-existent oversight," the report warns.
The publication comes days after President Obama gave a nationally
televised speech to discuss reforming the extreme overreach of the NSA.
Though critics
slammed the address as "little more than a PR attempt to mollify the public," others
noted the triumph of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden for forcing these issues into national awareness.
Following publication of the report, HRW executive director Kenneth Roth
said in an interview that, led by the example of the U.S., other countries will be quick to follow suit.
"The US government, for better or worse, is a trendsetter with respect to Internet privacy and Internet freedom," Roth told
AFP.
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