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First report: Important developments and substantive issues, March-July 2016 2016, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, where, ironically, the origins of the right to silence may be traced for well over four hundred years, has actually taken the position that national security or the suppression of crime trumps privacy or the right to silence when it comes to electronic devices. In terms of sections 49 and 53 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, it is an offence to fail to disclose the key to encrypted data when requested (with a penalty of two years in prison, or five years with regard to child sex abuse cases). Therefore, not only is the smartphone a compellable witness in the United Kingdom, but if you don't provide the keys to the device you could also be looking at an additional jail sentence. The case of Apple versus the FBI was slightly different in that the accused were actually dead and there was no doubt as to their culpability, but rather that access to the phone was required to get the bigger picture in terms of facts and the preparation of the terrorist act, as well as associates and connections in what could be a national or international terrorist network. The interest that the case has raised, however, is justly deserved because it takes us to the heart of discussions about privacy, security and the right to silence. Perhaps the next step would be to organize a study at the intersection of the right to privacy and the right to silence. The Special Rapporteur will consult with the International Bar Association, European bar associations and various other stakeholders before forming a view as to whether the time is ripe for an in-depth investigation and whether recommendations for evidence-based policymaking in this field are required.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 13, 2020
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