As James Bond-spying cases
continue in the United Kingdom, it’s no surprise that a group of leading human
rights NGOs would pressure the GCHQ to finally admit to its wrongdoings and
accept reforms.
Privacy International, Bytes
for All, Amnesty International, Liberyt and other civil liberties groups have
filed a case against the UK GCHQ to overturn a ruling by Britain’s surveillance
court the IPT or Investigatory Powers Tribunal.
The IPT found that GCHQ’s
Tempora program, which functions to monitor web traffic in Britain using fibre
optic cables is entirely lawful. IPT also found that British and American
intelligence sharing service Prism is also legal.
NGOs appealed the IPTs ruling
to the European Court, which states that the Regulation of Investigatory Powers
Act 2000 (RIPA) complies with the duty of the UK Government to protect its
citizens human rights.
The European Court of Human Rights
will consider RIPA’s violation of Article 14 of the Convention, which bans
illegal discrimination.
The GCHQ said in response to the
appeal:
"We completely reject
the assertions made in the press release from Amnesty International and others,
which do not reflect the judgments of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal. The
IPT was clear in its December judgment that the legal regime is lawful, and
that GCHQ does not seek to carry out mass surveillance. The government will be
vigorously defending this case at the European Court of Human Rights,"
