George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four gives a viewpoint of what it is to be under the constant watchful gaze of “Big Brother”. Winston, the main character in the novel, was bombarded to some degree by the reality that “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU”. He was watched while he was at home, work or even on the road. Perhaps Orwell was predicting what was to come in a modern Internet world because it would appear that we are back in Winston’s world of 1984. Who is Big Brother? Big Brother could be anyone or anything. It could be the government, an employer, internet service providers or hackers – each with their own reasons for watching and listening. What is clear though is that, whatever the reason for conducting surveillance activities, the right to privacy of the individual is being impacted.

This article will discuss:
(a) the impact that state-authorised surveillance has on an individual’s right to privacy;
(b) whether national security should be regarded as a reasonable restriction on the right to respect for private life; and
(c) whether state surveillance is necessary in light of the threats to national security.

The discussion will focus on how state surveillance, privacy and national security are considered from the perspective of the laws in the United Kingdom (“UK”) and European Union (“EU”), with the hope that the laws in these countries can assist in the shaping of the laws in Jamaica, especially as we embark on modernising our Data Protection framework.