NSA Spied On Human Rights Watch And Amnesty International
from the because-of-course-they-did dept
Ed Snowden testified (via video, of course) for the Council of Europe, the "top human rights body" of Europe, and told them that the NSA spied on various human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.He told council members: "The NSA has specifically targeted either leaders or staff members in a number of civil and non-governmental organisations … including domestically within the borders of the United States." Snowden did not reveal which groups the NSA had bugged.Of course, one of the things that's bugged me most of all about the response from NSA defenders is the typical line: "we're not listening to you talk to your grandmother" or whatever similar line may be. But, as more and more revelations have come out, they get closer and closer to the kinds of communications I actually do have on a regular basis. Talking to sources working on interesting technology projects, talking to human rights and civil society groups around the globe. Spying on journalists. Each day there's more and more evidence that while the NSA might not care about some mythical person talking to his or her mythical grandmother, it is very much collecting all sorts of information that those very same people thought were private -- and which clearly have nothing to do with national security.
The assembly asked Snowden if the US spied on the "highly sensitive and confidential communications" of major rights bodies such as Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, as well as on similar smaller regional and national groups. He replied: "The answer is, without question, yes. Absolutely."
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: council of europe, ed snowden, human rights, nsa, surveillance
Companies: amnesty international, human rights watch
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Makes sense
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
this is the very thing that people are up in arms about. all the personal and private conversations and messages that dont mean a damn thing to anyone, security wise, are just being taken, because they can be, and because no one can be arsed to sort the chaff from the grain!
what is needed is a much more positive approach from the government, from the courts and from Congress, as has been applied in the EU! instead, what do we have here? indecision and purposeful avoidance, in the hope that the people will forget all about the violation that has been and is happening, so that the NSA can carry on regardless!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
See, you Mike are not qualified enough, to discuss the national security! Everything is related to National Security!!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Definition of 'listening'
They are not 'listening to you talk to your grandmother'... They are 'recording you talking to your grandmother'. To us normal people, that's still very creepy.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Definition of 'listening'
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
NSA spied on and stored everything today. Again.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
This breaking news just in, the NSA is still bad!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Well, Duh
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Unrelated to national security?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Unrelated to national security?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Unrelated to national security?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It's also amazing how far we've gone in being able to assess statements and discern truth thanks to the Internet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
im spying right now
i also want the right to put a camera in YOUR bathroom for that very reason to make sure you are doing it right.....for national security
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Let's see, they have spied on their own citizens's and officials, they have spied on friendly governments and their officials, they have spied on human right organisations, and even spied on the U.N.
If you ever wonder when something has run amok, the NSA fits that description to a "T". I guess the NSA has run out of groups to spy on ( watch out Girl Guides and Boy Scouts, you could be next )
Obama and any government that comes after it will need a ton of chap stick on hand because they are going to be kissing ass for years to come to fix all the damage that the NSA has done with it's spying program run amok.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hilarious
Why the need of spy on them if looks like a NSA arm instead of a menace?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
consistent NSA 'logic'
Now, as we learn more about USAID, of course the NSA will assume that some government is using Amnesty International and other organizations to destabilize our government. And, then, any group like Human Rights Watch can't be trusted when you're associated with others trying to cover up a torture report or trying to subvert privacy protections.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]