Amnesty International Urges EU to Drop Secret Mass Surveillance
EU member states and other countries should abandon secret surveillance practices violating human rights, a prominent watchdog said in January in a report on counterterrorism measures in Europe.
Most notably, Poland’s 2016 Counterterrorism Law allows conducting secret surveillance of foreigners without any judicial oversight for up to three months, while other EU states also practice mass surveillance, according to Amnesty International.
“Amnesty International calls on all states, including EU member states, to reject laws and policies governing secret surveillance and encryption that violate international human rights standards; abandon indiscriminate mass surveillance laws and practices”, the watchdog said in a report entitled Dangerously disproportionate: The ever-expanding national security state in Europe.
“Mass surveillance powers have been granted or otherwise expanded in the UK, France, Germany, Poland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands, among others, allowing the mass interception of and possible access to the data of millions of people”, the report reads.
The Amnesty International urged Brussels to conduct surveillance only on individuals who have been suspected of wrongdoing, in order to counter crimes posing threats to national security.
European countries have been tightening their security measures in relation to series of terrorist attacks, including attacks in Paris on November 13, 2015 and in Berlin on December 19, 2016, claimed by Daesh.
yogaesoteric
November 15, 2017
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