Drew Mitnick

President Obama’s Executive Order is a great first step towards protecting user security. But it is now time to get serious about providing the level of security our personal data deserves. As National Cybersecurity Awareness month winds down, Obama should instruct administration officials to respect and support the increased use of encryption.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism, Ben Emmerson, released a report on October 15 critiquing mass surveillance of digital communications. Examining surveillance through the lens of state obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Special Rapporteur’s report takes issue with the lack of authorizing surveillance legislation, the failure to respect the human rights of those located outside national boundaries, and the need for surveillance to be governed by principles of proportionality, necessity, oversight, judicial authorization, and transparency.

The process for sharing criminal investigation information between countries is broken: official exchanges between nations are slow, underfunded, and lacking in user protections. Human rights are at risk.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (Hivos) released the 2014 Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch) report covering the state of digital surveillance around the globe. Access wrote the GISWatch country report for the U.S., The Necessary and Proportionate Principles and the US government.

Access provides a timeline and analysis of the Heartbleed vulnerability

Last Thursday, the U.N. Human Rights Committee released a report criticizing NSA surveillance, for among things, failing to protect rights of non-U.S. persons. The Committee’s report comes in the context of its overall review of civil and political rights in the U.S. in accordance with its treaty obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Today, Turkish President Abdullah Gül signed a law increasing the government’s already tight grip on the internet. Even before Gül put pen to paper, Turkey was home to one of the world’s most restrictive internet censorship regimes — and this new legislation will only further undermine Turkish internet users’ fundamental rights.

When it comes to US surveillance reform, structural changes don’t grab as many headlines as, say, ending bulk collection programs. Yet, ultimately, reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) system, including its Court of Review (FISCR), would be one of the most feasible and effective solutions to protecting the rights of users everywhere against the abuses of intrusive surveillance.