Technologists To NSA Review Group: Don't Forget About The Interests Of Non-US Persons

from the because-that-matters-too dept

We've been arguing about why the tech industry should be furious and a hell of a lot more vocal about the NSA's spying. One of the big issues is that it's leading to tremendous trust issues with anyone using US-based internet services. In an age where so many internet companies are looking at a global audience, these revelations put them at a significant disadvantage. And, unfortunately, in most of the discussions about all of this spying, the focus has been mainly on whether or not the actions by the NSA have been targeted at US persons. This is important -- because the nature of FISA is that it's supposed to limit NSA activities on US persons -- and there's basically no limit towards what it can do when it comes to non-US persons. That's the nature of the law (and the fact that non-US persons aren't actually under the jurisdiction of the US Constitution in the first place). But that's the legal side of things, not the practical realities. We shouldn't just assume that the issue of spying on non-US persons can be ignored as "perfectly legal." For companies, it can be a complete disaster if non-US persons won't use their services.

Thus, it's good to see that when a group of prominent US technologists, academics and activists sent a letter to the NSA Review Group, that (beyond some other key points) includes a discussion of how the impact on non-US persons should not be ignored:

Part of the Review Group's charge is to evaluate the extent to which the NSA surveillance programs respect "our commitment to privacy and civil liberties." In an increasingly global information environment, these commitments undoubtedly extend to non-U.S. persons. The United Nation's Human Rights Council has resolved that, "the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online." If U.S. providers of services must ignore the rights of non-U.S. persons due to domestic surveillance obligations, the free flow of information that Internet activities depend upon will stagnate. On the contrary, if jurisdictions accept -- as the United States does at the UN -- that all users have some rights to privacy regardless of a user's location, this sets a necessary condition for people of the world to feel comfortable engaging in cross-border Internet activities, upon which the promise of a global connected society rests.

While I doubt any review, or even any legislative attempt to roll back the NSA's efforts will address this, it's going to become an increasingly important issue. At the very least, it seems like the tech industry should be addressing this head on, rather than letting the NSA and the intelligence community set the frame for the debate.

Filed Under: non-us persons, nsa, nsa review group, nsa surveillance, technologists