Digital surveillance now unprecedented on a global scale

Governments can now easily see where we’re going, who we’re talking to, and what interests we have. All without our knowledge or consent, writes Elizabeth Farries.

On Tuesday, human rights organisations including the Irish Council of Civil Liberties brought a major challenge against the lawfulness of the UK government’s mass digital surveillance regime.

They argued at the European Court of Human Rights that the UK government’s ability to access people’s private communications data, without their knowledge or consent, is unlawful.