UN General Assembly and Human Rights Council In December 2013, the UN General Assembly adopted its first resolution on the right to privacy in the digital age. The development of the resolution followed the 2013 Snowden revelations that the National Security Agency (NSA) in the United States and the General Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in the United Kingdom were undertaking extensive surveillance and interception of global internet traffic, digital personal information records and metadata. 13 The resolution expressed “deep concern at the negative impact that surveillance and interception of communications may have on human rights.” In doing so, it emphasised the need for States to: • Respect and protect the right to privacy; • Review domestic practices and laws regarding communications surveillance, interception and collection of personal data in line with international human rights obligations; • Establish effective oversight mechanisms; and • Ensure that any practice that limits or interferes with the right to privacy is subject to a “careful and critical assessment” of its necessity, legitimacy and proportionality, in accordance with international law.14 Two further resolutions on the right to privacy in the digital age were adopted by the General Assembly in 2014 and 2016. Both resolutions reaffirmed and built upon the principles established in the 2013 resolution and included additional calls for: • States to provide access to an effective remedy for individuals whose rights have been violated by the use of unlawful or 13 See Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age, A/HRC/27/37 (30 June 2014) paras. 4-5 14 General Assembly Resolution, Right to Privacy in the Digital Age, A/ RES/68/167 (18 December 2013) http://undocs.org/A/RES/68/167. arbitrary surveillance; and15 • Business enterprises to respect human rights in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights; to establish transparency policies; and to take measures to enable secure communications and protect customers from interference with their privacy.16 On 1 April 2015, the Human Rights Council adopted a similar resolution on the right to privacy in the digital age. The resolution reflected the General Assembly’s resolutions and, in recognition of the global nature of the internet and rapid advancement of information and communication technology, affirmed that “the same rights that people have offline must also be protected online.”17 Most significantly, the resolution established the role and mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy, an independent expert appointed by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme in relation to the right to privacy.18 In March 2017, the Human Rights Council adopted an updated resolution on the same issue that reflects many of the points made in the General Assembly resolutions.19 UN Reports Since 2013, the OHCHR and several Special Rapporteurs have produced reports that further extrapolate the international human rights standards relevant to the interception, surveillance and sharing of digital communications. The reports of the Special Rapporteurs examine specific practices and are applicable to related policy development by 15 General Assembly Resolution, Right to Privacy in the Digital Age, A/ RES/69/166 (18 December 2014) http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_ doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/69/166. 16 General Assembly Resolution, Right to Privacy in the Digital Age, A/ RES/71/199 (19 December 2016) http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_ doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/71/199 17 Human Rights Council Resolution, The right to privacy in the digital age, A/HRC/RES/28/16 (1 April 2015) http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/ dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/RES/28/16. 18 In July 2015, Professor Joseph Cannataci was appointed to this role. See http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Privacy/SR/Pages/SRPrivacyIndex. aspx 19 Human Rights Council Resolution, The right to privacy in the digital age, A/HRC/RES/34/7 (7 April 2017) http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/ dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/RES/34/7 10