UNITED NATIONS, (Reuters) – Germany and Brazil are pushing the United Nations to be tougher on spying by beefing up an earlier U.N. resolution raising concerns that mass surveillance, interception of digital communications and personal data collection could harm human rights.
In a follow up to a U.N. resolution adopted last year, the two countries have drafted a new text that now includes metadata. The draft says unlawful or arbitrary surveillance, interception of communications and collection of personal data, including metadata, are “highly intrusive acts.”
Metadata is detail about communications such as which telephone numbers were involved in a call, when calls were made and how long they lasted, when and where someone logged on to an email account or the internet, who was emailed and what Web pages were visited.
The draft text circulated to the 193 U.N. members says these acts “violate the right to privacy and can interfere with the freedom of expression and may contradict the tenets of a democratic society, especially when undertaken on a mass scale.”
It calls on states to provide an effective remedy when a person’s right to privacy has been violated by individual or mass surveillance.
The draft also asks the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council to consider appointing a special rapporteur to identify and clarify standards protecting privacy rights.
The U.N. General Assembly’s Third Committee, which deals with human rights, will vote on the draft later this month, and the resolution is then expected to be put to a vote by the General Assembly in December.
