The good folks over at the EFF have a detailed overview of a new report from the UN, which has basically found that mass surveillance, similar to that which is carried out by the NSA and GCHQ can often violate international law. The full report is just 16 pages, but the EFF version highlights some of the key lines. The biggest is the report‘s rejection of the whole „collect the haystack“ approach to mass surveillance. The UN report makes it clear that this is not a reasonable approach, especially when it is not shown to be „necessary and proportionate.“