| posted by

500 leading authors warn state surveillance is undermining democracy

A group of 500 of the world’s leading authors have issued a joint statement condemning the scale of state surveillance, warning that it is undermining democracy.

Amongst the British signatories to the letter are Ian McEwan, Irvine Welsh and Martin Amis, each of whom argues that an international charter enshrining digital rights is now called for to protect freedoms.

The statement warns that the scope of today’s surveillance is such that it undermines people’s right to ‘remain unobserved and unmolested’ saying: “This fundamental human right has been rendered null and void through abuse of technological developments by states and corporations for mass surveillance purposes," the statement adds.

"A person under surveillance is no longer free; a society under surveillance is no longer a democracy. To maintain any validity, our democratic rights must apply in virtual as in real space."

It comes in the wake of a similar letter signed by eight of America’s biggest technology firms.

Source: the guardian

Featured by The Drum