GENEVA, Switzerland, June 4 (UPI) -- Security concerns don't give state authorities the right to curb freedom of expression, a privacy envoy for the United Nations said Tuesday in Geneva.
Frank La Rue, U.N. special envoy on the right to free speech, called on the international community to focus more on the use of surveillance of communication by state authorities concerned about national security.
La Rue said national security concerns may justify the "exceptional use" of surveillance, but national laws that spell out what's necessary or legitimate don't always exist.
The U.S. State Department expressed concern recently about claims Iranian authorities were restricting mobile phone networks and Internet access weeks before June 14 presidential elections.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder approved a search-warrant request for a staff member from Fox News who reported in June 2009 about a North Korean nuclear test that had not been made public.
The British newspaper The Guardian reported Tuesday Turkish protesters were using encryption software to get around restrictions placed on social media networks Facebook and Twitter.
"The surveillance of human rights defenders or journalists in many countries has been well documented," La Rue said in a statement. "Freedom of expression cannot be ensured without respect to privacy in communications."
