/06

The biggest European impact of Edward Snowden’s revelations may be yet to come
▻https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/10/06/the-biggest-european-impact-of-edward-snowdens-revelations-may-be-ye

A lawsuit filed by 10 organizations challenging U.K. mass #surveillance has now reached the European Court of Human Rights in a development that constitutes the most significant legal challenge based on the Snowden revelations outside the United States, so far. The court’s judgments are legally binding. Although Britain has decided to leave the European Union, the country would have to separately withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights or resign as a member of the Council of Europe to ignore any ruling.

Human rights advocates hope the court will rule in their favor, in part because such legal challenges have been successful in the past. The European Court of Justice, another institution, struck down transatlantic plans to allow private companies to share personal data on individuals last year. In an explanation, the court cited the #Snowden revelations.

A decision in favor of the 10 NGOs could impact American intelligence gathering that relies on access to British data, as well as its technical operation centers, which are believed to be located in Germany.