Justify GCHQ mass surveillance, European court tells ministers
Source: The Guardian
Justify GCHQ mass surveillance, European court tells ministers
Nick Hopkins
theguardian.com, Friday 24 January 2014
Ministers have been ordered to justify GCHQ's mass surveillance programmes by judges at the European court of human rights who have fast-tracked a case brought by privacy and human rights campaigners.
The court in Strasbourg has told the government to provide submissions by the beginning of May about whether GCHQ's spying activities could be a violation of the right to privacy under article 8 of the European convention.
Marking the case a priority, campaigners are hopeful the court will bring a ruling before the end of the year.
The case was brought last September by Big Brother Watch, the Open Rights Group and English PEN, along with the German internet activist Constanze Kurz.
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http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jan/24/justify-gchq-mass-surveillance-european-court-human-rights