The Financial Times of London published an interview with Robert Hannigan, the new head of the British intelligence agency GCHQ. Mr. Hannigan said that American technology companies should work better together to fight terrorism, in partnership with governments rather than working against the secret services in the wake of the revelations by Edward Snowden.
The article focused on tackling the growing threat from ISIS.
Hannigan, who took over GCHQ intelligence agency last year, said that in order to combat the new threat of terrorism, “better arrangements are needed to facilitate lawful investigation by security services than we have now.”
It indicated that as we approach the 25th anniversary of the Web, there must be a «new agreement» between governments and technology companies “in the area of protecting our citizens.”
For this purpose, he noted that GCHQ is “happy” to take part in the discussion concerning privacy in the digital age, although “the protection of private life was never an absolute right” especially in the wake of the growing threat from ISIS.
It is not surprising that the head of the intelligence service considers that the violation of international law protecting the privacy of millions of people is not that significant.
Hannigan's remarks clearly come into conflict with a fundamental European principle: the protection of privacy is an inalienable right for all residents of the 28 member states of the Union.
It seems that technology companies are retaliating, although we are not entirely sure about this, as governments and intelligence agencies know very well how to apply pressure. In a cat-and-mouse game between the American government and Silicon Valley, played at the consumer's expense, we are certainly not the winners. Intelligence agencies know very well how to blur the landscape; that's their job, after all. Hannigan's statement from GCHQ is quite encouraging for public opinion, as well as for companies seeking to restore their reputation. Where is the truth? No one knows. Nevertheless, speaking about Mr. Hannigan and rights, everyone has the right to discuss, but they do not have the right to protest on fundamental issues of international law.
