"Mass Surveillance Threatens Digital Security And Human Rights, Says European Report", 27 Jan 2015

A...report into mass surveillance by...[the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)] has warned that digital dragnets set up by U.S. government intelligence agencies, and some of the U.S.' allies...elsewhere, are endangering...human rights — such as the right to privacy, to freedom of information and expression, to freedom of religion, and to the right to a fair trial...In its report PACE expresses specific concerns about the anti-democratic practices and structures that have developed...[, such as] secret laws, secret courts and secret interpretations of such laws, which are very poorly scrutinized"...PACE's report is not anti-surveillance, rather it is arguing for "effective, targeted surveillance" of specific suspects...A new privacy-protecting legal framework is required...to rebuild trust between...States...Building in robust protections for whistleblowers, such as Snowden, who are exposing unlawful surveillance practices is also key...