from civil society organisations, practicing lawyers and
academia tended to identify non-application of the
duty to notify as problematic, especially with regard
to an individual who might seek remedies. They also
questioned the effectiveness of the redress, which is
often linked to notification.
To conclude, even if secrecy does restrict individuals’
awareness, it does not completely exclude it, either.
FRA’s research findings show that freedom of information
principles are completely exempted in the context of
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surveillance. In this case, a degree of proportionality
could be applied to ensure that no blanket exception
based on national security is applied to freedom of
information laws. Consequently, the obligation to inform
and the right of access, either separately or combined,
are crucial enablers of individuals’ awareness. FRA
research indicates that in a large majority of Member
States, these rights are restricted to meet national
security and confidentiality requirements, but are
not left unsupervised.