Description: Suggest Good Practice All democracies rely on intelligence agencies to keep their open societies safe. They provide actionable intelligence to decision-makers…
All democracies rely on intelligence agencies to keep their open societies safe. They provide actionable intelligence to decision-makers on a wide range of security and foreign policy matters. Intelligence services master a range of clandestine methods to acquire such information. Some methods – including the electronic surveillance of communications data – are difficult to reconcile with the fundamental principles of democratic governance, such as rule of law, transparency, and accountability. They may als
Nevertheless, all major democracies allow their intelligence services to intercept communications data in enormous quantities – most parliaments have even expanded those powers in recent years. The process of bulk surveillance , that is the untargeted interception, collection, and processing of telecommunications data and its subsequent data management (including transfers), has developed into a standard intelligence practice. In order to ensure public trust and the legitimacy of intelligence governance, de
Unprecedented public debates about intelligence governance following the revelations of Edward Snowden have not changed the fact that all major democracies allow their national intelligence services to intercept communications data in enormous (and growing) quantities. Many people question the efficiency of bulk surveillance practices and their compatibility with fundamental rights. Others worry about its effect on the social fabric of democratic societies.