Human Rights/Ethics and Security ResearchTom Sorell

University of Birmingham

Human Rights

• Limit the powers of states in relation to individuals– Coercion; detention; intrusion

• Limit the discretion of states in identifying threats (threat to life vs way of life)

• Limit the discretion of states in adopting means to prevent/counter threats– Threshold for declaring and maintaining emergency– Use of security technology

Detection Technology

• Any technology that helps to identify terrorists, on-going or imminent terrorist activity, or their weapons

• CCTV• Metal and explosive scanners• Tapping and Bugging devices• Internet monitoring equipment• Data-mining using profiling algorithms

Human Rights risks of detection technologies

• Tapping and bugging devices, internet monitoring:– Rights to privacy– Free association– Freedom of religion– Freedom of expression

• Data-mining and profiling– discrimination

Ethics vs HRs

• Wider than H-Rs (lying)• Deeper: explains why violations of rights and

other things are wrong• Questions HR doctrines of indissolubility and

interdependence of rights• Questions content of rights formulations• Combination of HRs and ethics desirable

Ethics and Detection Technologies

• What kind of violation of privacy?• Detection in public places • Zones of privacy: body vs home• Ethics answers the question why privacy

matters• Ethics addresses the question whether privacy

matters as much as the prevention of injury

Ethics plus HRs

• Sample questions: what is an emergency?• Is privacy a fundamental right?• When is it permissible to let numbers count• How much inconvenience is justified by a low

risk of a serious attack• How far is the right to life in tension or not

with the right to privacy

Incorporating Ethics and HRs

• Specialized ethics and H-R research• Expert consultants on technology projects• Interactions between tech and ethics/HR projects• Empirical security ethics• The need for ethics and HR advice over the life-

time of projects• The possible conflict between public opinion and

ethics

Incorporating Ethics and HRs

• The need for clarity• Public opinion and actual uses, powers of

detection technologies• The possible conflict between public opinion

and ethics/HRs• Citizen jury methodologies