ABSTRACT
Instances of legislation that expand intelligence-collection powers raise serious concerns for privacy, autonomy, ethics and justice. Concerns about the erosion of civil liberties raised by philosopher Jeremy Waldron shortly after the passing of the PATRIOT Act (2003) have proven prescient – not least after Edward Snowden’s revelation of mass surveillance and data-gathering programmes amongst global intelligence organisations such as the NSA (Greenwald & Snowden 2013). Justifications proposed by the organisations implementing these programmes are weakly supported by public evidence. Public scrutiny is avoided by pointing to the inherently secret nature of intelligence collection and national security concerns. Secrecy and lack of public oversight leave the ultimate judgment of the programme’s effectiveness, weighed against the degree of privacy violations it entails, in the hands of officials with sufficient security clearance – which involves a conflict of interest. In addressing these concerns, we propose a code of ethics built around the framework of the Just War theory and democratic theories regarding privacy.
