Regulation of Converged Communications Surveillance

Brown, Ian

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Regulation of Converged Communications Surveillance

NEW DIRECTIONS IN SURVEILLANCE AND PRIVACY, D. Neyland and B. Goold, eds., pp. 39-73, Exeter: Willan, 2009

26 Pages Posted: 31 Aug 2008 Last revised: 7 Jan 2009

See all articles by Ian Brown

Ian Brown

Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) - Fundação Getulio Vargas Law School at São Paulo

Date Written: August 30, 2008

Abstract

Telecommunications and computing technologies have seen radical change over the last decade. The mainstream adoption of e-mail, mobile telephones and the Web and the growing use of peer-to-peer Voice over IP telephony have significantly altered the way we communicate. Massive increases in computing and data storage capability have given states new tools for eavesdropping on these communications. The legal frameworks controlling such invasions of privacy have struggled to keep up. Using the extensive legislative framework recently developed in the UK as a case study, along with examples from other common law and European jurisdictions, this chapter describes legal measures that can be put in place to prevent the abuse of these powerful new surveillance technologies by governments.

Keywords: privacy, surveillance, oversight

JEL Classification: K40

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Brown, Ian, Regulation of Converged Communications Surveillance (August 30, 2008). NEW DIRECTIONS IN SURVEILLANCE AND PRIVACY, D. Neyland and B. Goold, eds., pp. 39-73, Exeter: Willan, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1261192