Access Now Blog
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UN Human Rights Committee calls for U.S. surveillance reform
Last Thursday, the U.N. Human Rights Committee released a report criticizing NSA surveillance, for among things, failing to protect rights of non-U.S. persons. The Committee’s report comes in the context of its overall review of civil and political rights in the U.S. in accordance with its treaty obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).…
1 April 2014
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U.S. top privacy board takes on extraterritorial surveillance
Wednesday’s public hearing held by the US Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) showed the government’s deep reluctance towards substantial reform of US surveillance conducted under FISA Section 702. The hearing committed considerable time to questions on the…
21 March 2014
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Access welcomes historic USG announcement on IANA transition to global community
Access has supported greater international oversight of internet resources. We welcome today’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Commerce intends to transition its current coordinating role over the internet’s domain name system — the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, or IANA — to the ‘global multistakeholder community.’
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14 March 2014
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US surveillance program under scrutiny by UN Human Rights Committee
This week the United States will stand before an expert body at the United Nations and be forced to face difficult questions regarding its human rights record, including its performance on the right to privacy. Among the list of issues prepared by the Human Rights Committee for the review and shadow reports by human rights organizations is mass government surveillance and the U.S.’s refusal to recognize the extraterritorial application of human rights obligations.
…12 March 2014
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FCC’s tender touch won’t save the internet
Nearly a month after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit) struck down the U.S. Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) authority to enforce existing network neutrality rules, the FCC announced its response. In a statement today, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler engaged in impressive verbal acrobatics to avoid the simple truth: In order to protect the open and innovative internet the FCC must correct its earlier mistakes and expand the agency’s regulatory authority over internet service providers (ISP) under Title II of the 1996 Communications Act.
…20 February 2014
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Structural changes to surveillance court offer hope for new protections for non-US users
When it comes to US surveillance reform, structural changes don’t grab as many headlines as, say, ending bulk collection programs. Yet, ultimately, reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) system, including its Court of Review (FISCR), would be one of the most feasible and effective solutions to protecting the rights of users everywhere against the abuses of intrusive surveillance.
…24 January 2014
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US privacy oversight board slams legality & usefulness bulk data collection
Access sees the PCLOB’s recommendations as a major step toward ending the practice of indiscriminate bulk collection of user data. While the report is limited in its scope, it makes bold statements casting doubt on both the legality and the utility of the NSA’s mass surveillance programs.…
23 January 2014