{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.03397683397683398, 'fraction_numerical': 0.004633204633204633, 'mean_word_length': 4.76, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Big Brother Watch v. UK (Eur. Ct. H.R. Grand Chamber)

On May 25, 2021, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a final judgment in Big Brother Watch and Others v. United Kingdom (BBW). The decision is the first Grand Chamber ruling on bulk interception in the post-Snowden era and charts the path forward for the use of tools and techniques of mass surveillance for national security purposes by Council of Europe member states. The decision was issued alongside a parallel ruling in Centrum för rättvisa v. Sweden (CFR). While CFR is “very much the companion case to BBW,” an analysis of it is outside the scope of this note. Suffice to say that, combined, both cases reaffirm the Court's position that the operation of foreign bulk interception regimes does not ipso facto violate the Convention, as such operations may be necessary in the investigation of national security threats and serious crime, including in the context of global terrorism, cyber-attacks, counter-espionage, election interferences, drug trafficking, and child pornography. In a rather complex and lengthy judgment, the Court elaborated on a procedural framework that incorporates “end-to-end safeguards” and is aimed at preventing power from being abused in the operation of these tools.