USA Big Bro Reaches Into EU

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press

Wednesday June 22, 2005 23:34

by redjade

USA/EU Cooperation: 'Information and Communications Technology Standards: Initial projects under this dialogue include information exchange on e-accessibility, security, and biometrics.'

Uncle is Watching EU

→ Your USA ISP as Net watchdog
June 16, 2005, 4:00 AM PDT
http://www.politechbot.com/2005/06/16/feds-contemplate-forcing/
The U.S. Department of Justice is quietly shopping around the explosive idea of requiring Internet service providers to retain records of their customers' online activities.

Data retention rules could permit police to obtain records of e-mail chatter, Web browsing or chat-room activity months after Internet providers ordinarily would have deleted the logs--that is, if logs were ever kept in the first place. No U.S. law currently mandates that such logs be kept.

. . . . .

→ They are working on this for the EU... (but may be deemed too difficult)

''If all the traffic data covered by the proposal did indeed have to be stored, the network of a large Internet provider would, even at today's traffic levels, accumulate a data volume of 20 - 40 000 terabytes. This is the equivalent of roughly four million kilometres' worth of full files, which, in turn, is equivalent to 10 stacks of files each reaching from Earth to the moon.''
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70091

. . . . .

→ But Ireland has been a pioneer (testing ground?) in this field for some time...

Ireland sneaks data retention into law
10 March, 2005
http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number3.5/ireland
After pushing a framework decision on data retention at the EU, Ireland's Government has decided to focus on its national parliament and to pass a law on data retention there. Data retention was snuck into the Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act, first introduced in 2002, in the final hours before the Bill became law in February 2005. The law now calls for three years data retention at all phone companies that provide fixed line and mobile services....''

- - -

→ CAPPS-II - US Watching who flies and where (may not work though)
read:
http://hasbrouck.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=4&search=CAPPS-II+
If that link does not work, go to http://hasbrouck.org/blog/ and search for CAPPS-II
or check out
http://hasbrouck.org/blog/archives/cat_privacy_and_travel.html

- - -

→ And you think you can trust them....

You can't. Even when the US Congress tells them not to do it.
→ → [ in the third world they call that a coup ]

From Associated Press:
''A federal agency collected extensive personal information about airline passengers although Congress told it not to and it said it wouldn't, according to documents obtained Monday by The Associated Press.

A Transportation Security Administration contractor used three data brokers to collect detailed information about U.S. citizens who flew on commercial airlines in June 2004 in order to test a terrorist screening program called Secure Flight, according to documents that will be published in the Federal Register this week.''

- - -

→ And they are in the libraries too (Libraries are globally linked these days ya know?)

From Reuters
''U.S. librarians say they have been asked at least 268 times since 2001 to give law officers data about readers, despite repeated Justice Department denials that it is interested in patrons' reading habits.

A survey released this week by the American Library Association found the inquiries from law enforcement came formally and informally -- that is, without a formal legal order -- to public and academic libraries.''

The TSA had ordered the airlines to turn over data on those passengers, called passenger name records, in November."

- - -

→ Distraction is the key to keeping the peasants docile, works most of the time....

From Associated Press:
''The House on Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment that would give Congress the power to ban desecration of the American flag, a measure that for the first time stands a chance of passing the Senate as well.''

→ Read
http://amsam.org/2005/06/governement-agencies-overstepping.html
for more details on above quotes.

------

Oh, one more tidbit...

→ Irish Blogger (in the states) blogs this one...

"On Monday the EU and US "endorsed a concrete roadmap to improve regulatory cooperation" in a range of industry sectors. Of relevance to this blog:

'Information and Communications Technology Standards: Initial projects under this dialogue include information exchange on e-accessibility, security, and biometrics.'
and
'Telecommunications and Radio-communications Equipment, Electromagnetic Compatibility: consider cooperative approaches for achieving consistent regulatory treatment of telecommunications and radio-communications products whenever possible.' "

click here for more info
→ http://funferal.org/mt-archive/000983.html

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Giving airline data to US illegal: EU court adviser

Wed Nov 23, 2005 18:11

The European Union's transfer of airline passenger data to the United States -- part of U.S. efforts to fight terrorism -- should be declared illegal, an adviser to the European Union's highest court said on Tuesday.

Since May, 2004, the EU has shared with U.S. authorities 34 categories of information on airline passengers flying to U.S. destinations, including name, address, all forms of payment information and contact phone numbers.

The agreement sprang from one of the anti-terrorism laws passed by U.S. Congress in response to September 11, 2001, attacks using hijacked aircraft.

A court statement said: "Neither the (European Union) Council decision approving the agreement nor the (European) Commission decision holding that information be sufficiently protected by the United States have an adequate legal basis."

If the European Court of Justice accepts the advice of its adviser the data-sharing system will be made illegal.

The Luxembourg-based court will likely rule next year. It follows the lead of its advisers in most cases.

EU Parliamentary question...

Wed Jul 06, 2005 16:12

Subject:
Access to personal data of customers
5 July 2005
by Alexander Alvaro ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Nuno_Alvaro ) to the Commission

Is the Commission aware of the fact that according to a press article by the Wall Street Journal Europe of 30 May, a series of US-based companies such as Western Union, America Online and Wal-Mart have granted to US law enforcement authorities access to the personal data of their customers, including EU citizens? Furthermore the shipping company FedEx has granted customs inspectors access to the company's database of international shipments, which includes among others the name and the address of a shipper.

Does the Commission not think that since these data also concern EU citizens, their fundamental right to privacy and data protection as granted by EU directives is being violated? What initiatives does the Commission intend to enact to stop the violation of EU law? Will the Commission raise this issue with the US Government, with EU Member States and with national data protection authorities?

http://tinyurl.com/89mdo

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USA Big Bro Reaches Into EU

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