Blog | Privacy
One year after Snowden: Where are we now?
It’s now a year since Edward Snowden went public with evidence of mass surveillance and extensive abuses by the NSA, GCHQ and other intelligence agencies. What has changed since then? A global study published today examines responses by governments, parliaments, media and others, finding that …
ECJ says: EU-mandated mass surveillance “entails an interference with the fundamental rights of practically the entire European population”
Europe’s highest court has given a judgement in the challenge taken by Irish human rights advocacy group Digital Rights Ireland (DRI) to the EU’s regime of Data Retention and mass surveillance. The Court has found that data retention “entails a wide-ranging and particularly serious interference …
European Court ruling condemns mass surveillance
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice today gave an important opinion in our favour in a case brought by Digital Rights Ireland to challenge European mass surveillance law. The challenge – which we started in 2006 – is to the Data Retention …
Data retention threatens journalists also
Henry McDonald in today’s Guardian has an alarming story about Garda surveillance of crime journalists, including routine monitoring of their mobile phone calls and messages: Journalists in Ireland have raised concerns about the country’s draconian gagging orders on police officers talking to the media, including …
Garda who abused phone records to spy on ex will not be prosecuted, will keep job
Recent media reports have confirmed that a Garda detective sergeant will not face criminal prosecution and will keep her job despite abusing the data retention system to spy on an ex-boyfriend. In November 2010 the annual report of the judge who oversees the data retention …
Judge’s report reveals allegations that Garda used phone records to spy on her ex
Mark Tighe has an important story in today’s Sunday Times about apparent abuse by a garda of the data retention system. Unfortunately it’s behind a paywall, but I’ve taken the liberty of scanning the hardcopy and placing it here as it raises a number of …
In defence of online anonymity
In a week when whistleblowing by an anonymous blogger was crucial to exposing problems in the Irish Red Cross it becomes all the more important to stand up for the right to online anonymity. The following is an attempt to make the case for the …
Leaked report on Data Retention Directive shows fundamental flaws
Under Article 14 of the Data Retention Directive the Commission must produce a public evaluation of the application of the Directive before 15 September 2010. A draft version of that document has now been leaked (along with the Irish Government’s submission) and makes for very …
Why German data retention decision means Irish Bill should be scrapped
Karlin Lillington writes in today’s Irish Times about the German decision striking down data retention law as a breach of privacy and what it means for the Data Retention Bill currently before the Oireachtas. Here’s an excerpt: ANALYSIS: Data retention proposals about to become law …
Press Release on German Data Retention Decision
The civil rights organisation which brought the successful challenge to data retention before the German Constitutional Court has now issued a press release on that decision. Here’s the full text: Press release by the German Working Group on Data Retention (AK Vorrat) 2 March 2010: …
German Constitutional Court strikes down data retention law
Great news from Germany, where the Federal Constitutional Court has found data retention law to be incompatible with the right to privacy under the German Constitution. More thoughts on the decision and the implications for our own case at a later stage, but for the …
Reform of search warrants must take computer searches into account
The Law Reform Commission has just published a consultation paper on search warrants and bench warrants. In relation to search warrants it points out there is currently a bewildering array of statutory provisions (over 100 different Acts and Regulations) which deal with searches, with different …