UK Tribunal Claims Mass Surveillance Doesn’t Violate Human Rights

The UK has started the fight against the GCHQ, but it looks like privacy advocate groups have hit a wall at the first round. The Investigatory Powers Tribunal claimed it was not a violation of human rights for the government to employ mass surveillance through phone and broadband networks.
After a few weeks to review the revelations by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the tribunal came to a rather unconvincing decision. This is the same tribunal that has sided with the government in various other black-and-white cases.

The GCHQ has actively worked with the NSA on PRISM and TEMPORA, two mass surveillance networks utilized in both the U.S. and the UK. Australia, New Zealand and Canada are also partners in the “Five Eyes Defeat”, creating a cross-continental surveillance service.
Privacy International refutes the decision made by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and will fight the case at the European Court of Human Rights. The E.U. has been much more demanding when it comes to the removal of surveillance services — after German Chancellor Angela Merkel was spied on by U.S. networks.
Other countries, like Brazil, are defending the right to privacy. They recently removed a fiber line between Brazil and the U.S., setting up a new one that connects to Portugal — a close ally to Brazil.
The UK government is still denying some of these programs exist, even after Edward Snowden’s leaks have been brought up by journalists. The government is taking a very dormant approach to allegations, where the NSA is at least fighting for their voice to be heard.
Edward Snowden has said the UK is in a much more difficult position than the U.S., due to the lack of constitution, allowing the GCHQ to spy and attack anyone at will. The UK has been using surveillance tools since the early 2000’s, meaning both Labour and the Conservatives have kept the programs running.