Restraining the surveillance state: A global right to privacy

Edward Snowden's revelations of massive data collecting surveillance conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency in June 2013 suggest that Franz Kafka's vision of a surveillance state has been globalised. A movement has developed in response to it urging reforms on an international scale. One feature of this debate lies in the idea of a global right to privacy. A global right to privacy suggests a global freedom from unjustified, bulk surveillance beyond the reaches of judicial oversight. While there are international covenants protecting the right to privacy, opinions on how such a right is enforced differ. This paper examines the nature of such a privacy right, its universal feasibility, and the arguments against it. It argues that privacy must keep pace with the technological applications that undermine it.