Privacy in the Post-NSA Era: Time for a Fundamental Revision?

• Author: Bart van der Sloot
• Position: Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam
• Pages: 2-11

2014

Bart van der Sloot

2

1

A. Introduction

1

The data collection by the NSA and other secret

service organizations is part of a broader trend

also known as Big Data,2 in which large amounts

of personal data are being collected by means

of cameras, telephone taps, GPS systems and

Internet monitoring, stored in large databases and

analysed by computer algorithms. These data are

 

analysed on the basis of statistical relationships and

 

are used to individualize persons that meet a certain

 3 This technique, called



   

person may be monitored or followed when he (in



male, Muslim, Arab origin and frequent trips to

Yemen). Similarly, banks and insurance companies

    

decisions, and Internet companies like Google and



        

university degree, living in London”, he might get

an advertisement for the latest Umberto Eco book

or for an apartment in one of the richer suburbs.4

2 In such processes, there is basically no demarcation

in person, time and space, as simply everyone could

be subjected to them. Data collection and processing

do not start after a particular ground or reason has

arisen, but the value and use of the information

will only become apparent at a later stage. The

gathered data are often meta-data – regarding the

length of and participants to a telephone call, for



of the communication. Meta-data can be compared

to the information visible on an envelope in the

ordinary mail, such as the addressee, the size and

the weight and possibly the sender. These data

traditionally do not fall within the realm of privacy

and the secrecy of communication. Still, through

the use of modern techniques, these data can be

     5

Thus although they are not privacy-sensitive data

initially, they may become identifying data at a later

stage. In addition, the collected data are not linked

directly to one person, but they are used to generate

Privacy in the Post-NSA Era: Time

for a Fundamental Revision?

by Bart van der Sloot, Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam1

© 2014 Bart van der Sloot

Everybody may disseminate this ar ticle by electronic means and m ake it available for download under the terms and

conditions of the Digita l Peer Publishing Licence (DPPL). A copy of the license text may be obtaine d at http://nbn-resolving.

de/urn:nbn:de:0009-dppl-v3-en8 .

Recommended citation: Ba rt van der Sloot, Privacy in the Pos t-NSA Era:Time for a Fundamental Revision?, 5 (2014) JIPITEC

2, para 1

Keywords: NSA, Human Rights, ECHR, Big Data, Privacy, Right of Complaint, Right to Privacy

European Court of Human Rights will find a violation.

This article discusses three possible challenges for

these types of complaints and analyses whether the

current privacy paradigm is still adequate in view of

the development known as Big Data.

Abstract: Big Brother Watch and others have

filed a complaint against the United Kingdom under

the European Convention on Human Rights about a

violation of Article 8, the right to privacy. It regards

the NSA affair and UK-based surveillance activities

operated by secret services. The question is whether

it will be declared admissible and, if so, whether the