EU Committee Issues Report On NSA Surveillance; Snowden To Testify

Qedward writes with word that the EU Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee published the draft of their report on the impact of dragnet surveillance by the NSA on EU citizens (PDF). Quoting CIO: "... Members of the European Parliament say that it is 'very doubtful that data collection of such magnitude is only guided by the fight against terrorism,' and that there may be other motives such as political and economic espionage. The document urges EU countries to take legal action against the breach of their sovereignty perpetrated through such mass surveillance programs." The same committee voted today to allow Edward Snowden to testify before them in a special hearing.

Comments

EU to grow balls, News at 11

[zlives]

nope false alert, not gonna happen.

Re:Where?

[gstoddart]

Snowden will absolutely be captured if he appears in any of these places and would be a great fool to testify there.

Or, if they're going to have him testify, they have diplomats collect him and bring him in on a plain covered by immunity, move him around in diplomatic cars, and house him in diplomatic residences.

Do you *really* think that it is impossible to basically "fuck you" and bring him there safely if there's the political will?

Re:Where?

[Grantbridge]

RTFA: The former US National Security Agency worker would testify by interactive video link from Russia, where he has been granted temporary asylum.

Perhaps

[pablo_max]

Perhaps the EU members will think that.
However, there is a major difference between say, Germany and America. The difference is, the German public will freak out and actually take to the streets.
I am reasonably sure that Germany would exit the EU if such a program was installed.
Same is true for France. They say that France is one of the few countries who does democracy right. The government is scared shitless of the people. Not the other way around like in the US where people fear their government. Hell, in France they will burn an entire city over a small issue.
Of course in England, they are even more willing to give up their rights than Americans.

Re:Perhaps

[Alain Williams]

Of course in England, they are even more willing to give up their rights than Americans.

Some of us are apathetic, the rest are incensed are to how our government is acting as the USA's poodle.

Re:Perhaps

[pablo_max]

I am reasonably sure that Germany would exit the EU if such a program was installed.

I did not say that the German government did not WANT to spy. Sure they do. All governments want to spy, be they western or not.
The point is, the population would freak out if it actually came out that the government was spying on every German and what they did.

Look, I will be the first to admit it. Germans are about the stingiest people I ever met. I have only lived here for about 5 years, but that much is clear. "Hey, why don't you have a clothes dryer?". response: "Why should I pay 200€ for what the sun does for free!" Classic German thinking. Save save save save. That is a good thing though.
Now, I know 3 different people who have canceled their family trips to the US over this matter. These are already paid for trip with no chance to get the money back.
The fact is, they are afraid of the US government. They are afraid that the TSA will confiscate their notebooks because the agent would like to have a new one. Or copy all their private information.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/apr/18/tsa-to-download-your-itunes/

Re:Perhaps

[davester666]

I think you have that reversed.

Some of us are incensed, the rest are apathetic to how our government is acting as the USA's poodle.

Re:Perhaps

[WilliamBaughman]

Have you visited the Stasi museum in Leipzig? I've been and I recommend it. I think those people you know have good reason to be outraged at the spying revelations and cancel their trips beyond the fear that the TSA will confiscate their property, intrude on their documents, or abuse them.

Re:Where?

[dkleinsc]

Or, if they're going to have him testify, they have diplomats collect him and bring him in on a plain covered by immunity, move him around in diplomatic cars, and house him in diplomatic residences.

The last time they thought that he was on a plane protected by diplomatic immunity, they grounded it and searched it at the request of the United States. That's also why Julian Assange is still stuck in the Ecuadorian embassy in London: The UK authorities have made it clear that they will pull him out of a diplomatic vehicle if they try to transport him to Ecuador.

Of course its economics

[MouseR]

There was a story a few years ago that showed Boeing was successful in derailing an Airbus deal by using espionage and hacking to gather intelligence on the Airbus proposal, allowing Boeing to cut-in the proposition with their own submissions, finally realizing the deal at the expense of Airbus.

so says

[pablo_max]

So says the man from America. The country who's population literally could not care less that their own government is spying on them as well AND systematically removing their rights and dismantling their constitution.
But you go on and talk about how stupid and cowardly we in the EU are. After all, we can see how strong your back bone is. After all, it is not we who have the backbones to bomb brown people "into freedom".

Re:so says

[cold fjord]

After all, it is not we who have the backbones to bomb brown people "into freedom".

As in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, and Syria?

Here is a tip for you. Over the years, Europeans, just like Americans and various Asian nations, have demonstrated their willingness to bomb people of all colors for many reasons, including to make their lands a colony, and lately to free them. It is happening right now.

Your sense of superiority is based on mistaken ideas, bad history, and bile.

Re:Where?

[Grishnakh]

It's worse than that. The EU is where the US gets its guns from, because the US is too incompetent to make its own guns any more. Most police departments use Glocks, which come from Austria, and the US military is going to use an H-K rifle from Germany for their next-generation assault rifle. The US military already uses the Beretta M-9 for its standard sidearm: Beretta is an Italian company. All the best guns come from the EU (or Switzerland, which is surrounded by the EU): FAL in Belgium with their P90 submachine gun and F2000 rifle (standard rifle used by many countries' armies including Pakistan), H-K in Germany with their MP5 submachine gun used by lots of militaries and police departments including probably every US SWAT team, Glock in Austria, SIG in Switzerland, HS in Croatia, Steyr in Britain, I'm sure there's lots more. The US gunmakers mostly only make historical replicas (e.g. Colt 45s from the 1800s) and copies of aging and obsolete guns like the 1911 and the AR-15. When they want something new and innovative, they import it from Europe and rebadge it (like the Springfield XD series, made by HS in Croatia).

Having read the report, the main points are:

[hazeii]

A quick synopsis (so may contain stuff to quibble over) but the meat appears to be the action list (read the original document - link in article - for the rest):

Action 1: Adopt the data protection package

Action 2: Set up an overall agreement ensuring 'proper redress mechanisms' for EU citizens where data is passed to the US for law enforcement purposes.

Action 3: Suspend 'safe harbour' (covering personal data) until the US comply with 'EU highest standards'

Action 4: Suspend the 'TFTP' (Terrorist Finance Tracking Package) until a) Action 2 complete b) the EU have looked into it

Action 5: Worth quoting in full: "Protect the rule of law and the fundamental rights of EU citizens, with a particular focus on threads to the freedom of the press and professional confidentiality (including lawyer-client relationships) as well as enhanced protection for whistleblowers".

Action 6: Develop a european strategy for IT independence (that'll send cold shivers down the spine of certain US companies).

Action 7: Develop the EU as a reference player for a democratic and neutral governance of the internet (my translation: currently it's a US party, we want in on that).

Re:Where?

[dkleinsc]

the plane that they grounded that time was headed to somewhere in Latin America (Cuba or Ecuador I think).

That would be Bolivia. Which, since it was Bolivian President Evo Morales's plane, is about as serious a diplomatic violation as you can get (imagine Russia or China grounding Air Force One and searching it).

Legal action?

[BringsApples]

The document urges EU countries to take legal action against the breach of their sovereignty perpetrated through such mass surveillance programs.

What in the hell are they going to do? Tell the world-police on the... well, world-police?

I've been called troll for saying it in the past, but I'll try again here... If anything has come of "the Snowden release", it's only to inspire more hatred for the American government. This will always be taken out on the American people in the end. Assuming that 9/11 wasn't an inside job, and assuming that 9/11 was done by the people that were "charged" with doing so, could their reason have been hatred for "The People" of America, or "The Government" of America? And if that's the case, can we expect more of that same shit? Will it ever stop? Should American forever live in fear, based on the bullshit steps taken by it's "protective" government to stop such actions? It's so silly there aren't words to describe it without seeming like a troll.