Civil liberties group hosts symposium on digital privacy

The UN special rapporteur on privacy, Professor Joseph Cannataci, led a panel of international experts to discuss instances where surveillance activities in many jurisdictions have operated in clear violation of civil and human rights.

He was joined by Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s speech, privacy and technology project and legal advisor for Edward Snowden.

The symposium also heard from T.J. McIntyre, Lecturer in Law at University College Dublin whose independent civil liberties group, Digital Rights Ireland (DRI), has been involved in legal actions relation to data retention and privacy in Ireland and in Europe.

Speaking ahead of the event, Liam Herrick, executive director of the ICCL, said: “The threat posed to individual privacy rights by state surveillance and misuse of data is one of the great civil liberties issues of our time. The challenge is international in nature, involves both private sector and state actors, and is becoming increasingly complex as technology and mechanism for sharing data develop.

“As Ireland provides the European Headquarters for a number of global technology companies, Ireland is now a major focus of this global interface of surveillance and privacy. European and Irish data protection, surveillance and data retention laws are a key influencer in the scope of the activities of data gathering corporations which reach far beyond our borders. In that regard, concerns about Irish oversight and accountability systems in relation to surveillance, interception and data retention – concerns consistently identify by organisations such as ICCL and Digital Rights Ireland - now take on a global significance.”

The event was held in conjunction with International Network Civil Liberties Organisations (INCLO), of which ICCL is a member.

The symposium included the European launch of the INCLO’s Surveillance and Democracy Report, which recounts examples of serious violations of privacy rights in ten different states.

The symposium was moderated by The Irish Times journalist and expert in technology and privacy issues, Karlin Lillington.