The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions announced their endorsement of the “International Principles on the Application of Human Rights to Communications Surveillance” – text available here.
This could represent a watershed moment for libraries and archives as we come to terms with trends in digital service provision that have profound – and deeply troubling – implications for our users, our professional values, and our societies.
Hopefully IFLA’s principled stance on this will serve as encouragement for other individuals and professional organisations to endorse the Statement – and to take practical steps closer to home to advance its aims.
This announcement certainly represents a step in the right direction. It also serves as a fairly elegant primer on the philosophical issues at stake; it is certainly worth a read.