Surveillance is growing, as are the technologies that extend its reach. But surveillance that facilitates the sustained monitoring of people engaged in everyday activities in public is, in Justice Gerard La Forest’s unforgettable words, “an unthinkable prospect in a free and open society such as ours.” The purpose of this paper is to assist law enforcement, lawmakers, and the broader public in understanding and protecting our fundamental right to privacy with respect to surveillance by the state of our activities in public spaces through the use of ever-growing new technologies.
A proactive Privacy by Design approach is central to designing and implementing the regulatory framework needed to properly supervise state surveillance. It is our experience that, where the use of a particular surveillance technology is justified, proportionate, and effective at delivering public safety, a proactive positive-sum approach is available that will ensure that privacy, accountability, and transparency are embedded into the legal and technical design specifications of any proposed surveillance system.
Whatever the future holds, we know that, in addition to privacy and freedom, people will require safety and security. We believe that now, and for the foreseeable future, it is essential that we strive to have both, in tandem. Freedom must be preserved from both terrorism and tyranny. While eternal vigilance will be required to secure our fundamental rights, including our right to privacy, we remain confident that we can have both public safety and personal privacy in public spaces. There is neither reason, nor need, to settle for anything less.
