This is a Must See!
The PBS two part documentary United States of Secrets will give you the background to NSA surveillance and the Snowden leaks.
The film shows how US politicians at the highest level knowingly violated the law and the constitution; how the NSA bullied and silenced whistleblowers; how the US IT- and telecoms community cooperates with the NSA – and how all of this lead to Edward Snowden becoming the most important whistleblower in history.
See it at: PBS Frontline »
The European Parliament and the EU Ombudsman have been denied access to a report drafted by the EU:s own police agency Europol–because the US say so.
The purpose of the report is to evaluate how the EU-US terrorist financial tracking programme (TFTP) is being implemented, including handling of data about European bank transfers.
Earlier evaluations have been heavily redacted, but have still managed to point out serious problems with the TFTP (a.k.a the SWIFT agreement). There is reason to believe that the US don’t keep their part of the agreement. And there is information that the NSA has broken into the SWIFT bank transfer system anyway.
The European Parliament has demanded that the TFTP should be suspended–because of US mass surveillance and the fact that the US doesn’t respect the “safe harbour” agreement (regulating how US companies should protect personal data about European customers).
However, the European Commission has refused to do anything of that sort–so the TFTP agreement is still in effect.
This is so wrong… The people’s elected representatives are not allowed to scrutinize the TFTP. And they are not allowed to revoke the agreement on their own. All they can do is to watch when data about European citizens and companies bank transfers are shipped in bulk to the US.
The Dutch liberal member of the European Parliament Sophie In’t Veld comments the latest TFTP information cover up in the EU Observer…
“If the US says ‘No disclosure’ then it won’t be disclosed, which is ridiculous because we are EU citizens, we vote, we pay taxes, we have EU laws, and we decide what happens on this continent. Nobody else.”
Read more over at the EU Observer: Europol chief takes instructions on document access from Americans »
/ HAX
Update Sept. 9th: Techdirt »
From Arstechnica: For the first time a US Appeals Court has considered whether the “bulk telephony” database is constitutional.
The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, takes the NSA to the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit.
First US appeals court hears argument to shut down NSA database »
This week internationally renowned hacktivist Gottfrid Svartholm Warg–a.k.a. Anakata–will appear in court in Denmark, accused of breaking into the IT system of Computer Sciences Corporation, CSC.
GSW is known as one of the founders of The Pirate Bay. He hosted Wikileaks before the whistleblower site rose to fame–and is credited for his assistance with making the video Collateral Murder going viral and global. He is also a passionate defender of freedom of speech, with a libertarian background.
Since being extradited from Cambodia to Sweden, GSW has been serving prison time for his work with The Pirate Bay and some hacking related charges. However, a Swedish high court has cleared him in a case of hacking where the circumstances are just about the same as in the Danish case. (Jacob Appelbaum gave witness for the defence.)
As the media tends to copypaste prosecutors press releases, here is some additional information worth keeping in mind…
I have no idea what Gottfrid Svartholm Warg might have done or not done. Or any possible intentions. But I don’t like the look of this case…
/ HAX
Update: The Local – Pirate Bay Swede’s trial set for final stage »
Update 2, Sept. 2nd: Pirate Bay founder case starts in confusion »
Update 3, Sept. 8th: Gottfrid Svartholm Trial Starts & Ends Week in Controversy »
NSA mass surveillance has not led to one single terrorist being sentenced in a court of law. Not one.
NSA did not manage to foresee the Russian annexation of Crimea. And it does not seem to give western leaders any assistance of substance when it comes to predicting Russian moves in eastern Ukraine.
NSA did not manage to predict the sudden rise of IS in Iraq and Syria.
NSA apparently had no clue when it came to the uprising in parts of the Arab world during the Arab Spring. And the agency seems to be of little help when it comes to keeping the western world in touch with developments as that spring turns into autumn and winter.
NSA do, however, manage to keep track of the telecommunications of millions and millions of ordinary people–who are not suspected for doing anything wrong or dangerous at all. And the NSA has succeeded in causing resentment among some of the US most important allies.
I feel sorry for the US taxpayers.
/ HAX
I can strongly recommend the European Digital Rights collection of papers on digital rights, human rights, copyright, data protection, surveillance etc.
Link: The EDRi Papers »
I have spent many years fighting for liberty for people in the old communist east block. There people who spoke their mind were imprisoned. The judicial system was mastered by the political elite. And government kept control by a system of intrusive surveillance.
Obviously, that system was built to protect the ruling political class from the people.
In the end that system fell apart and people got their civil liberties and personal freedoms back.
Disturbingly, today that system is in a state of resurrection. Right here.
In my home country, Sweden, laws against hate speech are increasingly suppressing freedom of speech. Just the other day some oddball artist who makes a point of annoying almost everyone was thrown in jail, just because of his art. In lower Swedish courts there is no separation of politics and the judiciary, as co-magistrates are appointed by the political parties. With the data retention program all citizens all phone calls, text messages, e-mails, internet connections and mobile positions are being logged.
And it’s not just Sweden. In the UK government officials shows up at a newspaper to smash a computer containing incriminating information. And the US is turning into some sort of police state.
It is obvious that we–in what used to be the free world–are building a new system to protect the ruling political class from the people.
This is extremely dangerous. Especially as our politicians and bureaucrats show no sign of restraint when it comes to introducing new laws and systems that infringe our privacy and curb our civil rights.
That is why the people must protect itself from the government. Encryption and new forms of secure communications are needed to defend our right to privacy; Bitcoins can move power over our money back from politicians to ordinary people and the market; Using free and open software will make it harder for those with a hidden agenda to invade our IT environment; Supporting consumer friendly and privacy minded Internet service providers will safeguard a free flow of information.
Now is the time for ordinary people to reclaim power from the government. And we have the tools to do it.
/ HAX
The conflict between copyright holders and the internet seems to be a never ending story.
And, of course… Copyright is about restricting access to information. Internet is about making information available.
The copyright war has been fought in the world of physical objects. It has been fought in the digital world.
And it’s about to be fought in your mind.
Some copyright holders now forbid memorization of information.
Read the whole story here: Licensing Boards Think Studying For A Test Is Copyright Infringement, Forbid Memorization Of Material »
/ HAX
There are some interesting similarities when it comes to mass surveillance in the US and in NSA partner countries. There is no doubt that system and judicial designs often are copied directly from the US system.
As an example, in Sweden the Government talking point is that it assumes that (the Swedish NSA partner) FRA is conducting its mass surveillance in accordance with the law.
Yeah, right. The legality of NSA as well as FRA surveillance lies with secret courts, with no effective representation of civil rights or the public interest. In the US it’s the FISA Court and in Sweden the FRA Court.
And here is the “beauty” of it all: What the secret courts says is legal is legal.
So, mass surveillance carried out is legal in a formal sense–regardless of what’s going on.
That is how Sweden has managed to cram hostile IT attacks on systems in other countries into a law that mentions nothing of the sort. If the secret court says it’s legal, it doesn’t matter what laws Parliament has set down.
This is not how things are to be carried out in a democracy. Rules should be decided in an open, democratic process. And the people must be able to hold politicians accountable.
The way mass surveillance is managed in the NSA sphere, it short-circuits democracy as well as rule of law.
This is utterly unacceptable.
/ HAX
Just before the European elections, the European Parliament dug into the controversy of mass surveillance. Short of time, the EP managed to pinpoint some of the relevant issues. But the outcome was mainly in form of sweeping resolutions, expressing concern.
Now, the EP is not allowed to propose any new regulations or reforms by it self. The Parliament can ask for change. But only the European Commission may introduce any actual proposals.
At the moment, there is no new Commision, only a president. When it comes to surveillance, we don’t yet know who will be commissioner for the “interior” (police, security and border control). The surveillance issue will also be dealt with by the new commissioners for legal affairs; industry; telecoms and possibly also by a new commissioner dealing with human rights issues.
After the European Court of Justice overthrowing the EU directive on data retention, we can assume that a new and revised directive will be put forward relatively soon.
In this process the European Council (the member states) will be the third player. And there the opinions are deeply divided. Some MS would like to scrap data retention, while others like the UK and Sweden (NSA partners) are very insistent on continuing to store data on all citizens all telecommunications.
It is hard to tell about the outcome, but one possibility is that if the Parliament, the Commission and the Council cannot agree–there will be no new directive. If so, every member state will have decide for itself. (Keeping in mind that the ECJ considers warrantless blanket mass surveillance being in breach of human rights.)
Then we have the issue of NSA global mass surveillance, member states cooperating with the NSA and various national surveillance programs. In these matters member states are very clear that they consider them to be national issues, outside EU competence.
In this they are correct. And we should be thankful that surveillance as such is not an EU issue. (Centralized EU surveillance and intelligence would be a nightmare.) However, human rights are. And on that note we should expect the EP to continue fight member states over privacy issues related to surveillance policies.
There are also internal market and competition issues related to national surveillance programs. Those will be covered in the EU Data Protection Package, now being in limbo between outgoing and incoming EU institutions.
There is a sense of urgency in the EU apparatus when it comes to issues mentioned above. In the present power vacuum the EU bureaucracy will continue to prepare these matters without sufficient democratic oversight. That is cause for concern.
On a positive note, a newly elected European Parliament is always sensitive about activism, public debate and publicity.
So, the present interruption in EU policy making might actually be a window of opportunity for privacy and civil rights activists to strengthen their case.
/ HAX
