Secrets and Lies: The Proliferation of State Surveillance Capabilities and the Legislative Secrecy Which Fortifies Them – An Activist&apos;s Account

Nyst, Carly

doi:10.13169/statecrime.7.1.0008

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State Crime Journal

Volume 7, Issue 1

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Article: found

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Secrets and Lies: The Proliferation of State Surveillance Capabilities and the Legislative Secrecy Which Fortifies Them – An Activist's Account

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research-article

Author(s): Carly Nyst ¹

Publication date (Print): 1 April 2018

Journal: State Crime Journal

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: surveillance, privacy, secrecy, Internet, digital, technology

Abstract

As new technologies upend traditional power structures grounded in an information asymmetry between the state and its populace, governments are finding new ways to entrench state secrecy and inhibit individual secrecy. The global migration of everyday activities to the online realm is being met by surveillance technologies and techniques which have turned the Internet into a virtual panopticon. As states seek to legitimize the extension of surveillance into almost every realm of public and private lives, they are constructing legal frameworks that embed technical capabilities in layers of secrecy and opacity, rolling back hard-won legal protections and removing surveillance from the jurisdiction of accountability and redress mechanisms. This article focuses on the multiple layers of human rights violations inflicted by modern state spycraft. First, the inhibition of the enjoyment of rights such as privacy, free association, speech and opinion, and second, the deprivation of citizens from access to information, redress and the ability to engage in legislative and democratic debates on an even playing field.

Content

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (doi): 10.13169

Journal ID (publisher-id): statecrime

Title: State Crime Journal

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 20466056

ISSN (Electronic): 20466064

Publication date (Print): 1 April 2018

Volume: 7

Issue: 1

Pages: 8-23

Affiliations

[1 ] Independent Consultant on Technology and Human Rights

Article

Publisher ID: statecrime.7.1.0008

DOI: 10.13169/statecrime.7.1.0008

SO-VID: 2851cc3d-bb5c-4f1a-b984-578b7c952875

License:

All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

References

Briant, E.L. ( 2014) Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change . Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Chatterjee, P. ( 2011) “The State of Surveillance”, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism , 30 November. Available online at https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2011-11-30/the-state-of-surveillance (accessed 1 May 2018).
Coalition Against Unlawful Surveillance Exports ( 2015) A Critical Opportunity: Bringing Surveillance Technology within the EU Dual-Use Regulation . Available online at https://privacyinternational.org/sites/default/files/2018-02/CAUSE_8.pdf (accessed 18 July 2018).
Foucault, M. ( 1991) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison . New York: Random House.
Greenwald, G. ( 2013) “XKeyscore: NSA Tool Collects ‘Nearly Everything a User Does on the Internet’”, The Guardian , 31 July. Available online at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/31/nsa-top-secret-program-online-data (accessed 1 May 2018).
Heggary, K.D. and Ericson, R.V. ( 2000) “The Surveillant Assemblage”, British Journal of Sociology 51 ( 4): 605– 622.
Motion for declaratory judgment of Google Inc's First Amendment right to publish aggregate information about FISA orders, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, filed 18 June 2013.
Office of the Deputy Attorney General ( 2014) Letter to electronic communications providers, 27 January.
Privacy International ( 2013) “Eyes Wide Open: Special Report”. Available online at https://vdocuments.mx/documents/eyes-wide-open-569110a67ece8.html (accessed 18 July 2018).
Privacy International ( 2015) “In the Wake of Paris Attacks, France Introduces Dangerous and Broad Surveillance Bill”, 25 March. Available online at https://privacyinternational.org/node/548 (accessed 28 April 2017).
Privacy International ( 2016) “The Global Surveillance Industry”. Available online at https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/1632/global-surveillance-industry (accessed 1 May 2018).
Risen, J. and Poitras, L. ( 2013) “NSA Report Outlined Goals for More Power”, The New York Times , 22 November. Available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/23/us/politics/nsa-report-outlined-goals-for-more-power.html (accessed 1 May 2018).
Savage, C. ( 2017) “NSA Halts Collection of Americans’ Emails about Foreign Targets”, The New York Times , 28 April. Available online at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/us/politics/nsa-surveillance-terrorism-privacy.html (accessed 1 May 2018).
Warner, M. ( 2014) The Rise and Fall of Intelligence: An International Security History . Washington: Georgetown University Press.
Warner, M. ( 2015) “Here's the Little-Known Legal Loophole That Permitted Mass Surveillance in the UK”, The Register , 9 November. Available online at https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/09/hawktalk_wip/ (accessed 1 May 2018).
Whyte, S. ( 2014) “Asylum Seeker Campaign ‘Distasteful’ and ‘Embarrassing’”, The Sydney Morning Herald , 12 February. Available online at http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/new-asylum-seeker-campaign-distasteful-and-embarrassing-20140212-32h04.html (accessed 1 May 2018).
Wikileaks ( 2013) “The Spy Files 3”. Available online at https://wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/VASTECH_2011_StraTeleNetw_en.html (accessed 1 May 2018).
Wright, L. ( 2008) “The Spymaster”, New Yorker , 21 January. Available online at http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/01/21/the-spymaster (accessed 1 May 2018).

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Briant, E.L. ( 2014) Propaganda and Counter-Terrorism: Strategies for Global Change . Manchester: Manchester University Press.

[2] Chatterjee, P. ( 2011) “The State of Surveillance”, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism , 30 November. Available online at https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2011-11-30/the-state-of-surveillance (accessed 1 May 2018).

[3] Coalition Against Unlawful Surveillance Exports ( 2015) A Critical Opportunity: Bringing Surveillance Technology within the EU Dual-Use Regulation . Available online at https://privacyinternational.org/sites/default/files/2018-02/CAUSE_8.pdf (accessed 18 July 2018).

[4] Foucault, M. ( 1991) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison . New York: Random House.

[5] Greenwald, G. ( 2013) “XKeyscore: NSA Tool Collects ‘Nearly Everything a User Does on the Internet’”, The Guardian , 31 July. Available online at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/31/nsa-top-secret-program-online-data (accessed 1 May 2018).

[6] Heggary, K.D. and Ericson, R.V. ( 2000) “The Surveillant Assemblage”, British Journal of Sociology 51 ( 4): 605– 622.

[7] Motion for declaratory judgment of Google Inc's First Amendment right to publish aggregate information about FISA orders, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, filed 18 June 2013.

[8] Office of the Deputy Attorney General ( 2014) Letter to electronic communications providers, 27 January.

[9] Privacy International ( 2013) “Eyes Wide Open: Special Report”. Available online at https://vdocuments.mx/documents/eyes-wide-open-569110a67ece8.html (accessed 18 July 2018).

[10] Privacy International ( 2015) “In the Wake of Paris Attacks, France Introduces Dangerous and Broad Surveillance Bill”, 25 March. Available online at https://privacyinternational.org/node/548 (accessed 28 April 2017).

[11] Privacy International ( 2016) “The Global Surveillance Industry”. Available online at https://privacyinternational.org/explainer/1632/global-surveillance-industry (accessed 1 May 2018).

[12] Risen, J. and Poitras, L. ( 2013) “NSA Report Outlined Goals for More Power”, The New York Times , 22 November. Available online at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/23/us/politics/nsa-report-outlined-goals-for-more-power.html (accessed 1 May 2018).

[13] Savage, C. ( 2017) “NSA Halts Collection of Americans’ Emails about Foreign Targets”, The New York Times , 28 April. Available online at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/us/politics/nsa-surveillance-terrorism-privacy.html (accessed 1 May 2018).

[14] Warner, M. ( 2014) The Rise and Fall of Intelligence: An International Security History . Washington: Georgetown University Press.

[15] Warner, M. ( 2015) “Here's the Little-Known Legal Loophole That Permitted Mass Surveillance in the UK”, The Register , 9 November. Available online at https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/11/09/hawktalk_wip/ (accessed 1 May 2018).

[16] Whyte, S. ( 2014) “Asylum Seeker Campaign ‘Distasteful’ and ‘Embarrassing’”, The Sydney Morning Herald , 12 February. Available online at http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/new-asylum-seeker-campaign-distasteful-and-embarrassing-20140212-32h04.html (accessed 1 May 2018).

[17] Wikileaks ( 2013) “The Spy Files 3”. Available online at https://wikileaks.org/spyfiles/docs/VASTECH_2011_StraTeleNetw_en.html (accessed 1 May 2018).

[18] Wright, L. ( 2008) “The Spymaster”, New Yorker , 21 January. Available online at http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/01/21/the-spymaster (accessed 1 May 2018).