BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

The Real Story

Discussion & Talk

Factual: Politics

Global experts and decision makers discuss, debate and analyse a key news story.

The Real Story: Watching Big Brother

Factual

The Price of Digital Privacy

02/10/2015 GMT

Watching Big Brother

BBC World Service - The Real Story, Watching Big Brother

Has the right balance been struck between government surveillance and personal privacy?

When former CIA employee Edward Snowden blew the lid on the extent of digital surveillance by western governments two years ago, it sparked a fierce debate about the rights of citizens to privacy versus the duty of governments to protect against the threat of global terror.  Having been exposed as colluding with these surveillance programmes, communications companies have recently sought to distance themselves from state monitoring and new technologies are emerging designed to give consumers the option of greater privacy. In this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss whether Snowden’s revelations have been a gift to terrorists or whether personal freedoms have been rescued from the grip of Big Brother.

(Photo: Digital art of a human eye. Credit: Science Photo Library)

BBC World Service

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

Accessibility links

Programme Index

The Real Story

Watching Big Brother

Genres

Brand

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

About BBC World Service