• An undated aerial handout photo shows the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters building in Fort Meade, Maryland.
    Handout via Reuters
    US: Urgent Need for Surveillance Reforms
    Recent revelations about the scope of US national security surveillance highlight how dramatic increases in private digital communications and government computing power are fueling surveillance practices that impinge on privacy in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. There is an urgent need for the US Congress to reevaluate and rewrite surveillance laws in light of those technological developments and put in place better safeguards against security agency overreach.
More news »

Featured Content

Subscribe to content feed

Reports

More >>

Internet Freedom

  • Saudi Arabia: 7 Convicted for Facebook Postings About Protests
    Jun 29, 2013
    Saudi Arabia sentenced seven government critics to prison on June 24, 2013, for allegedly inciting protests and harming public order, largely by using Facebook. The Specialized Criminal Court sentenced the men, all from the Kingdom’s Eastern Province, to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years and barred them from travelling abroad for additional periods.
  • Burma: Telecom Winners Should Safeguard Users
    Jun 27, 2013
    Burma’s new telecom license winners should make a public commitment to strong human rights policies and broad transparency measures, Human Rights Watch said. Firms should say how they plan to protect users from illegal surveillance and censorship, given the current lack of legal human rights protections in Burmese telecommunications law.
  • US: Protect National Security Whistleblowers
    Jun 18, 2013
    The United States should protect people who use classified or other sensitive government information to expose what appear to be serious human rights violations and other government wrongdoing, Human Rights Watch said in a statement released today.
  • US: Statement on Protection of Whistleblowers in Security Sector
    Jun 18, 2013
    The recent public disclosures of US National Security Agency (NSA) dragnet surveillance have given new urgency to an important global debate on what controls are needed to ensure that the rights of people everywhere to privacy, expression, information and association are adequately protected.
  • US/Germany: End Mass Surveillance
    Jun 18, 2013
    On Tuesday (18 June), the German chancellor and the US president will embrace each other. Eyes will be shining as both sides praise the German-American friendship. After all, this visit from Washington is an election campaign present for Angela Merkel, and the president can hope for symbolic pictures to build his own legend.
  • US: Urgent Need for Surveillance Reforms
    Jun 11, 2013
    Recent revelations about the scope of US national security surveillance highlight how dramatic increases in private digital communications and government computing power are fueling surveillance practices that impinge on privacy in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. There is an urgent need for the US Congress to reevaluate and rewrite surveillance laws in light of those technological developments and put in place better safeguards against security agency overreach.
  • UN Human Rights Council: Adoption of the Outcome of the UPR of the United Arab Emirates
    Jun 7, 2013
    The Human Rights Council’s review of the United Arab Emirates comes at a time of serious concern about the rights situation in the country. Human Rights Watch has described the mass trial of 94 Emirati dissidents as “fundamentally unfair” and has documented numerous violations of fair trial rights and credible allegations of torture at UAE state security facilities.
  • Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 7 June 2013
    Jun 7, 2013
    The news at the moment is dominated by the PRISM scandal...
  • Singapore: Licensing Regime Chills News Climate
    Jun 7, 2013
    The Singaporean government should withdraw an onerous new licensing requirement for online news sites. The new rules will further discourage independent commentary and reporting on the Internet in Singapore.
  • India: New Monitoring System Threatens Rights
    Jun 7, 2013
    The Indian government should enact clear laws to ensure that increased surveillance of phones and the Internet does not undermine rights to privacy and free expression, Human Rights Watch said today.
more documents on this topic »