UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy Raises Deep Concerns Over Investigative Agencies’ Warrantless Access to Users’ Data

Mr. Joseph CANNATACI, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy finished his official two-week visit on July 26, 2019. Open Net Korea had put in a request for the UN Special Rapporteur to come visit since March 2016 and hosted the Special Rapporteur as a contact person for the civil society. The statement to the media by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy can be seen here.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy advised that requests for metadata from the police and intelligence services be processed through judicial systems. Open Net had procured a concluding observation by the UN Human Rights Committee back in November 2015 in conjunction with other civil societies that echoes the same concern and urges that the state “should inter alia ensure that subscriber information may be issued with a warrant only”. Open Net is currently in the middle of a civil suit against government agencies that receive subscriber information without warrants.

Open Net will continue to work towards creating a legal frame in which metadata collected for the purposes of telecommunications be provided to the government only in cases with judicial warrants, even if the metadata had been provided to a third party.

Open Net also welcomes the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy’s message of encouragement in writing and written form towards those working on gender issues and privacy infringement in Korea such as DSO and will strive to make change in these issues as well.

Additional NGO Reports submitted:

Additional NGO Report on the Right to Privacy in the Republic of Korea_Open Net

Additional NGO Report on the Right to Privacy in the Republic of Korea_Privacy and Children

For more information, please read the Korean original here.