Mass surveillance programs do not violate human rights, UK tribunal rules

Internet mass surveillance programs are lawful and do not violate human rights, a U.K. tribunal has ruled.

The U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) made the ruling in a case that rights groups brought against the U.K. government over alleged mass surveillance on U.K. citizens via programs run by the British intelligence agency GCHQ and the U.S. National Security Agency. Both programs were brought to light in documents leaked by Edward Snowden last year.

However, those programs are legal under the 14-year-old Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), which regulates the U.K. government’s surveillance powers, the Tribunal ruled Friday.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here