As Wikileaks’ claims of CIA hacking lead people the world over to reconsider their privacy, the UN’s Special Rapporteur says privacy may not fully exist in the digital age.<\/b>
Think the CIA is the only government agency that could be listening in?
Goverments the world over are playing the \u00ab\u00a0fear card\u00a0\u00bb with their citizens, pushing through \u00ab\u00a0extremely intrusive\u00a0\u00bb surveillance laws that are a major threat to privacy.
That’s the verdict of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, Joseph Cannataci, who has released a scathing report on the creeping threat of surveillance in the digital age.
According to Cannataci, it’s a case of world leaders trying to look busy in the face of growing global security threats, passing surveillance laws that \u00ab\u00a0legitimize practices that should never have been implemented. \u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0The issue of governmental surveillance deserves more attention than ever,\u00a0\u00bb said Cannataci. \u00ab\u00a0I am deeply concerned that the right to privacy will simply not experience a full transition to the digital age. \u00a0\u00bb
The Rapporteur raised concerns about intrusive surveillance laws passed in the US, UK, Germany and France, saying that governments and world leaders need to respect privacy as a \u00ab\u00a0truly universal right\u00a0\u00bb — especially when it comes to surveillance carried out online.
\u00ab\u00a0True political leadership does not play the fear card,\u00a0\u00bb he said. \u00ab\u00a0What the world needs is not more State-sponsored shenanigans on the internet but rational, civilized agreement about appropriate State behavior in cyberspace. \u00ab\u00a0<\/p>\n