Policy Observatory

The Romanian intelligence agency (SRI) declared that it is not cooperating with NSA. Yet, an article from The Intercept....

On December 5, the Article 29 Working Party published a Working Document on surveillance, electronic communications and national security. The Working Document is specifically intended to address data protection issues arising out of the Snowden revelations that began in 2013 and the bulk data collection activities of various intelligence and security agencies. The Working Document examines the boundaries between the concepts of privacy and national security, and emphasizes the importance of privacy as a fundamental right in the EU. The Working Document concludes that the activities of intelligence and security agencies should not always fall within the scope of the national security exemption under EU data protection law, and that where the meaning of the term “national security” is unclear, the exemption should be construed narrowly.

This consultation seeks views on a measure within the Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill which will enable the Home Secretary to create a Privacy and Civil Liberties Board to support the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation. The consultation invites comments on a number of details (such as membership of the board) that will be set out in the regulations. These regulations will be subject to affirmative resolution. The consultation is open until 30 January 2015.

The National Law Review announced that on November 26, the Article 29 Working Party released a short joint statement containing a series of declarations on:  (i) “European values”; (ii) “surveillance for security purposes”; and (iii) the “European influence”. The joint statement emphasizes the balance to be struck between protecting data protection rights and allowing national intelligence agencies to perform their duties, and the fundamental importance of European data protection rights more generally. These affirmations are particularly significant in the context of both the Snowden revelations and the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations.

EFF published a statement saying that introducing information sharing proposals with broad liability protections, increasing penalties under the already draconian Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and potentially decreasing the protections granted to consumers under state data breach law are both unnecessary and unwelcome.

On March 19, the Australian House of Representatives passed a new data retention bill. The bill — formally called the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014 — requires companies providing telecommunications services in Australia to keep a prescribed set of telecommunications data for two years, and was introduced to the Parliament in October 2014 by the Minister for Communications, Malcolm Turnbull. According to Turnbull, the bill is intended to introduce common industry standards for data retention practices and to “prevent the further degradation of the investigative capabilities of Australia's law enforcement and national security agencies.” It followed two earlier tranches of national security legislation.