Allar Jõks: Does 'honest people have nothing to fear' justify every rights violation?

Former Chancellor of Justice and attorney Allar Jõks questions whether the catchphrase 'honest people have nothing to fear' can be used to justify any breach of fundamental rights. He reflects on how the phrase was previously used to defend surveillance measures like number plate recognition cameras and superdatabases.

Estonian attorney and former Chancellor of Justice Allar Jõks raises a pointed question: has the phrase «honest people have nothing to fear» become a blanket justification for curtailing fundamental rights in Estonia?

Jõks recalls how the slogan was previously invoked to defend the introduction of number plate recognition cameras, a superdatabase, and the enforcement register — measures that allowed access to data held in third-party bank accounts. At the time, proponents argued that law-abiding citizens had no reason to object.

According to Jõks, he had genuinely believed that this particular line of reasoning would remain confined to those specific cases. His concern, however, is that the same logic is now resurfacing to justify new intrusions into citizens' private lives and constitutional rights.

The veteran lawyer's commentary is a reminder that convenience arguments in security and surveillance debates tend to expand over time. What starts as an exception — backed by reassuring rhetoric — can quietly become the rule, eroding protections that citizens may not even notice disappearing until they are gone.