Thirty Australian authors including David Malouf, Thomas Keneally, Helen Garner and Nick Cave have joined an international call for a bill of digital rights to protect people’s privacy on the internet.
Five hundred authors from 100 countries signed the petition, saying they have been pushed into action by the growing knowledge of the extent of mass surveillance, a reference to the revelations in documents provided by the US National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden and published by the Guardian.
Lily Brett, Larissa Behrendt and Frank Moorhouse have put their names to the statement, which says all humans have the right to remain unobserved and unmolested.
“With a few clicks of the mouse the state can access your mobile device, your email, your social networking and internet searches,” the petition says.
“It can follow your political leanings and activities and, in partnership with internet corporations, it collects and stores your data, and thus can predict your consumption and behaviour.
“The basic pillar of democracy is the inviolable integrity of the individual.”
The petition calls on the UN to create an international bill of civil rights which explicitly protects civil rights in the digital age. It has been signed by international authors including Björk, Arundhati Roy and Margaret Atwood.
The petition says mass surveillance treats everyone like a suspect, overturning the presumption of innocence and making the individual “transparent” while the state operates in secret.
More
Five hundred authors from 100 countries signed the petition, saying they have been pushed into action by the growing knowledge of the extent of mass surveillance, a reference to the revelations in documents provided by the US National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden and published by the Guardian.
Lily Brett, Larissa Behrendt and Frank Moorhouse have put their names to the statement, which says all humans have the right to remain unobserved and unmolested.
“With a few clicks of the mouse the state can access your mobile device, your email, your social networking and internet searches,” the petition says.
“It can follow your political leanings and activities and, in partnership with internet corporations, it collects and stores your data, and thus can predict your consumption and behaviour.
“The basic pillar of democracy is the inviolable integrity of the individual.”
The petition calls on the UN to create an international bill of civil rights which explicitly protects civil rights in the digital age. It has been signed by international authors including Björk, Arundhati Roy and Margaret Atwood.
The petition says mass surveillance treats everyone like a suspect, overturning the presumption of innocence and making the individual “transparent” while the state operates in secret.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment