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Facebook Faces PRISM Data Investigation In Ireland

Posted by samzenpus on from the like-this dept.

judgecorp writes "Facebook's links to the NSA's PRISM program could be investigated in Ireland, thanks to the persistence of some Austrian law students. The group has challenged Facebook in Europe as it has its regional headquarters there for tax reasons. 'The [Data Protection Commissioner] simply wanted to get this hot potato off his table instead of doing his job. But when it comes to the fundamental rights of millions of users and the biggest surveillance scandal in years, he will have to take responsibility and do something about it,' said the leader of the student group, Max Schrems."

19 of 86 comments (clear)

  1. Re: what is dpc by des_irl · · Score: 5, Informative

    the Data Protection Commissioner

  2. Re:what is dpc by duke_cheetah2003 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC)

  3. About fuckin' time! by frootcakeuk · · Score: 3, Funny

    I hope someone's balls get cut off! Maybe they can sort this 'beheading vids' bullshit out while they're at it

    --
    Remember kids: What's right isn't as important as what's profitable.
  4. Potatoes by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    The DPC simply wanted to get this hot potato off his table

    I thought the Irish liked potatoes.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  5. Re:Quick, somebody do something! by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What gave it away? Sloppy work 'cause nobody gives a fuck anymore. Why bother hiding that you're spying on the people after you noticed that, hey, the people don't care?

    Wouldn't you feel a bit let down? I mean, think about it, you spend resources, time and energy on hiding that you're essentially putting your citizens under total surveillance, you enjoy how you manage to deceive and fool your population, only to notice that the main reason it worked was that nobody gives a shit?

    That must hurt some egos, really. And of course they go "ffft, why bother with stealth, they don't appreciate it at all!"

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  6. HA-ha! by SeaFox · · Score: 3, Insightful

    See where your tax dodging schemes got you, Facebook?

    1. Re:HA-ha! by Sique · · Score: 4, Informative
      In this case, setting up their EU headquarters in any other EU state wouldn't have made a difference, because Data Protection laws are similar through the whole EU. Setting up country headquarters in each country they are operating in would have made it more easy for Max Schrems to go after them, as he would have filed the complaint in his home country.

      We should rather say: "See, even your tax and judical review dodging schemes didn't help you."

      --
      .sig: Sique *sigh*
  7. Re: what is dpc by EJB · · Score: 2

    RTFA

  8. Email and Social Network for Europe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What we need is a European Email and Social Network company. One that we know won't offer back doors to the US Security Organisations. One that is free from interference

    1. Re:Email and Social Network for Europe by Lennie · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Federated or disitributed is the only solution.

      Everything else is useless. As Eben Moglen would say: everything can keep their own logs.

      --
      New things are always on the horizon
    2. Re:Email and Social Network for Europe by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 4, Interesting

      How about one without back doors toany security organisations?

      Same problem with that proposed new EU law: if adopted, it will forbid companies to share data to non-EU law enforcement agencies without an EU judge approving the matter. I am much in favour of this idea: if the law does not compel you to share data, you are forbidden to share it; none of this voluntary cooperation crap. But I was disappointed to note that no-one spoke up to make the law universal, i.e. to also forbid voluntary sharing with EU-based agencies.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    3. Re:Email and Social Network for Europe by jalopezp · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Yeah, but it's not up to the average user to get the network going. It is the technically proficient that should install diaspora, if enough of us have a server signing up won't be difficult. And as time passes and the network grows, diaspora will become easier to install. Walk throughs get written, makeuseof and lifehacker write articles, then some of the steps get automated as more people post the subtleties of their particular configuration, and finally you get something that's as easy as installing mint.

      I dislike it when technical people complain about average users finding things difficult that average users shouldn't be doing anyway. It's not their job, dummy, if we want a better network it's up to us to build it. What do we run servers for anyway?

    4. Re:Email and Social Network for Europe by Godwin+O'Hitler · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I suspect most of the European national security services (well, all except GCHQ) are delighted the NSA has taken the heat off them.
      A few insincere sound bytes from Merkel and Hollande and it's Vive la liberté—when all the time the deceitful bastards know fine well "there but for the grace of Snowden go I."

      My point being that I have totally no reason to prefer snooping from by government over snooping by another.

      --
      No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
    5. Re:Email and Social Network for Europe by Godwin+O'Hitler · · Score: 2

      errr ... that was meant to be "snooping by one government over snooping by another"

      --
      No, your children are not the special ones. Nor are your pets.
  9. Re:Quick, somebody do something! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What gave it away? Sloppy work 'cause nobody gives a fuck anymore. Why bother hiding that you're spying on the people after you noticed that, hey, the people don't care?

    Wouldn't you feel a bit let down? I mean, think about it, you spend resources, time and energy on hiding that you're essentially putting your citizens under total surveillance, you enjoy how you manage to deceive and fool your population, only to notice that the main reason it worked was that nobody gives a shit?

    That must hurt some egos, really. And of course they go "ffft, why bother with stealth, they don't appreciate it at all!"

    The more central and pertinent issue might be that people feel powerless and don't know how to respond to such a broad and overarching system of checks that were unknown to them until recently. The mouse does not complain about the maze because the mouse knows no better. Cheese, wheels and conditioning.

    God bless America.

  10. Re: what is dpc by jeromef · · Score: 2

    Sure, the OP should probably have read the article before asking. But am I the only one thinking that the summary should be understandable without RTFA first? For non-obvious abbreviations, I think an editor's note is appropriate.

  11. Re:Quick, somebody do something! by znrt · · Score: 2

    The more central and pertinent issue might be that people feel powerless

    that's definitely an issue, but GP's irony is spot on, the central issue is that most of us simply don't know / don't care. if we did we'd eventually find out that we're not so powerless after all.

    God bless America.

    abuse of power comes with power, it's not an "US mentality" thing. it's just US (elite) has (still) way too much power (right now), but don't believe for a second that EU powers, despite all of the public righteousness in these topics, don't incur in the very same abuse aswell. and even though current US policing is strongly questionable there's absolutely no sign that the world will be better off after the foreseeable coming power shift. quite the contrary.

  12. Re:Quick, somebody do something! by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The main reason the EU powers that are are so outraged about the spying is simply that it happens TO them, not BY them.

    Merkel (German chancellor) just yesterday found out that her cell was bugged by the NSA. The outrage was all over the place. Just a year ago the total surveillance of Germans on the internet was "without alternative".

    Don't ever think anyone of the polidroids that now get irate over the wholesale spying wouldn't do it to you in the blink of an eye. They only hate if if it's done ON them, but they love to have it done BY them.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  13. Re:Quick, somebody do something! by gbjbaanb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    someone needs to reveal that Obama's phone was tapped by, say, the Korean government. Then, surely we'd see the American government continue to say how perfectly reasonable and normal phone interception of world leaders is.