New America’s Open Technology Institute Welcomes Report by Privacy International on Need for Robust Oversight of International Intelligence Sharing

New America’s Open Technology Institute (OTI) welcomes the release today by Privacy International of its report Secret Global Surveillance Networks: Intelligence Sharing Between Governments and the Need for Safeguards. The report sheds much needed light on the practice of international intelligence sharing and sounds an important call for improved oversight and accountability. Although the report is drafted solely by Privacy International, OTI has participated as one of the partner organizations in seeking information regarding oversight conducted in the United States.

In its report, Privacy International outlines how intelligence agencies in nations around the world secretly share information, and describes the dearth of meaningful oversight review of such practices. While recognizing that international intelligence sharing can play an important role in enabling governments to protect their residents from serious security threats, the report also outlines the risks that these practices pose for human rights and the challenges that oversight bodies face in assessing these sharing arrangements. In September 2017, as part of its research for this report, Privacy International wrote to oversight bodies in 42 countries, including the United States, asking for information about their oversight of international intelligence sharing agreements. National non-governmental organizations in each country, including OTI, served as partners in these inquiries. Oversight bodies in 21 of the countries responded, and these responses are included in the report. The report concludes with a series of recommendations to expand and improve oversight, transparency, and accountability for such intelligence sharing arrangements.

The following statement can be attributed to Sharon Bradford Franklin, Director of Surveillance and Cybersecurity Policy at the Open Technology Institute; former Executive Director, Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board:

“The world of intelligence collection and sharing is, by its nature, shrouded in secrecy. Robust oversight is therefore essential to ensuring that intelligence activities are conducted in accordance with the rule of law and in a manner that safeguards human rights, and there should be no exception for international intelligence sharing agreements. Existing gaps in oversight create risks that intelligence agencies may evade domestic legal requirements or otherwise infringe upon human rights. Governments around the globe should take heed of Privacy International’s important recommendations for enhanced oversight, accountability and transparency for international intelligence sharing agreements.”