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Edward Snowden Promotes Global Treaty To Curtail Surveillance
An anonymous reader writes: In a video appearance, Edward Snowden said domestic digital spying on ordinary citizens is an international threat that will only be slowed with measures like a proposed international treaty declaring privacy a basic human right. "This is not a problem exclusive to the United States.... This is a global problem that affects all of us. What's happening here happens in France, it happens in the U.K., it happens in every country, every place, to every person," he said.
The US exerts their political influence on other countries like the UK, France, Germany, and so many others to engage in surveillance of innocent citizens. Sure, other countries engage in mass surveillance, but most of it is instigated by the US. Unlike the US, Europe has learned its lessons from many bloody conflicts and tyrants of the past. We have no interest in taking away the rights of our citizens, but the US is able to place tremendous political and economic pressure that our leaders feel they have to play along anyway. When we take away the influence of the US on the rest of the world, we'll be much freer. It's time for the EU leaders to stand up to the US and bring an end to mass surveillance in Europe.
I wish something like that could happen, but I doubt most governments would ever agree or follow any kind of treaty. People also talked about solving world hunger... We already grow enough food to feed more than the people on this planet, but there are still numerous people starving and dying because of it. Not to mention corporations that "spy" on their customers to give something away for free, like facebook. Wouldn't be hard for the governments to get that info. I respect Snowden for what he did, but governments are afraid of privacy and encryption.
Even if a global treaty is struck to declare privacy a basic human right -- who is going to provide the oversight, who will punish those that breach the treaty and how will such punishment be administered?
Reality check: There's just no way this is going to work.
Aren't there global treaties that outlaw torture?
What happens at Gitmo, who is punished for the violations and how is that punishment metered out?
This, I am afraid, is nothing more than an exercise in futility. We have already lost our right to privacy and the only way it will return is probably by way of an armed uprising.
If our grandfathers and great-grandfathers could see just how many of the rights and freedoms they fought to protect have now been lost in the name of "safety" and "security", they'd turn in their graves.
Saying what you need to say publicly - such as signing a no-spying treaty - and then gathering whatever you think you need to gather regardless, that seems like part of the game. Any declaration of the human right of privacy, while a great first step, needs to be backed up with consequences for violations.
Look at the Bush revelation the other day, he tried to change the wording of an old authorization to legalize something the NSA was already doing.
So we learn three things from that: 1. He didn't know they were doing it till after they were doing it. 2. He was more follower than leader, fitting the law to their wishes. 3. They decided to do that, and didn't feel hampered by any legal bounds.
It's really people like General Alexander that have driven this mass surveillance.
You can see it in the FISA courts too. They appear to have been told "we will tap the wires and filter for terrorist communications, do you authorize this?".
Later the judges find out the actual operation is "we will tap the wire AND STORE ALL COMMS, then run filters for terrorist communications AGAINST OUR STORE,".
Which of course is mass surveillance, there would be no court process require for them to pull up anyones data and they could pick the target first, find some excuse to spy on them using their broad rules and then go dig their data. Which is different from the judges approval.
The NSA carefully controlled the message to the FISA court, but couldn't stop the judges finding out about the 7 huge data centers to store all this data they were collecting. Hence I think that was the point the penny really dropped.
Obama appears to have come along and "tweaked" some troubling program. I think he put the US data into a lock box, well at least NSA has told him its a lock box, it will be a column in a database that flag "US", the data would be trivial to access and the 'lock box' exist in office memos only.
The bulk of NSA staff will be following a set of rules, which are strictly enforced, this is the front shown to Congress and Executive. Meanwhile there will be a Uber Style 'God View' for a special group. Because as I said at the start NSA appears to drive the mass surveillance agenda, rather than the politicians driving it.
The problem is that companies like Microsoft and Google profit from the collection of personal data. Once they have it, there is nothing to stop the government from getting it from them. So please, stop using privacy as a payment option. Your decision affects people that understand what is happening.
Already is a basic human right according to Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of human rights.
"No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, [...]."
The fact that nobody seems to care about it is the issue.
The problem is not that US or EU don't want to respect human rights, but that now the technology for total surveillance exists, and it can't be made to disappear any more. Even if US and EU stopped surveilling, other actors would still do it.
Some, like FB, would do it for practical and economical reasons, just because there are server logs and they need to optimize advertising and user engagement. Other, like various totalitarian regimes, would still do it because they see it as a counterbalance for the increased social activism powered by the increase in connectivity that has permeated all societies. People got new powers in the last two decades, and the state got new powers too. They are afraid of these more connected and organized masses.
Even if countries didn't do it, corporations and various shady groups would still do it. All it takes is to put a monitor on the pipe or a video camera on the highway to record everything that passes through there. And when one party does it, all parties need to do it to keep up and not come at a disadvantage in security.
What we need to do is it to regulate how this information is being used to restrain our rights. We need to learn to be more tolerant - we all have our secrets and they shouldn't be weaponized against us, at least not in the public moral court. So we need to adjust our social standards to allow for more diversity, because now we all live in a panopticon and there's no turning back to the privacy and anonymity times of our parents.
Maybe something good will also come out of this. With more data and analysis power, we could guide our policies and avoid some excesses that usually went unnoticed in the dark ages of information. And now we need to accept the reality of our panopticon society and build a better way of living in it.
True, in many ways we are still monkeys swinging clubs.
For example, declare tracking an individual or an individual's property by any automated system, whether government or privately owned, generally illegal. Likewise, storing such records should be generally illegal. Make a few exceptions such as when there is a warrant, or if the individual requests it (where such request must be at the very least "check this checkbox to confirm you want to be tracked, data will be stored for n days", not "click here to agree to wall of text").
Otherwise: all cameras will use image recognition to log where you've been, all cars will be tracked via license plate readers and onboard GPS, all cell phone owners will be tracked and their location logged for years, all purchases (cash or credit card) will be tracked and logged. And all this data will be sold, and God help you if the government doesn't like you.
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
Not going to happen because of Wolfowitz Doctrine.
Only way anything changes is by complete destruction of the current ruling class.
more likely to receive a message from aliens than to get USA, UK, Russia and China to agree to this
Is how Sam Kinison would say it.
The problem is that people seek to expand what the word privacy is all about. We are not talking about two people, home alone, whispering a secret to each other. If I go to the grocery store the items I buy are in plain view in a public space. If i use a debit card to pay for the groceries I have shared that data with banks, the grocery store and god knows who else. It is not private information. So if the data is sold to my life insurance company or my medical insurance company why should I gripe? After all, the purpose of privacy should not be to deceive others who have a financial interest in my health and longevity. Now the second layer of use should kick in. Suppose I buy about five quarts of vodka every week. If that data is mined and passed along to the local police force it might pay to have them make note of the times when my car pulls into my driveway. A sudden police stop as I approached my home and a field sobriety test administered making certain that I do not drive impaired. If that five quarts of vodka is for my personal use you could place a bet that i drive drunk most of the time. Wouldn't it be nice to know the alcohol habits of your surgeon or even your lawyer? And again when you buy liquor at a liquor store it is a public transaction in every sense of the word. Surveillance is only a problem when individuals or companies are not allowed to do what the government does. Equality must extend to data mining and analysis.
The modern political system is based on surveillance. Actually it is the surveillance. Read "Code Book" by Simon Singh, ISBN 1-85702-889-9. All modern state history is basically the history of surveillance.
More than that, in future not just communication devices will be used for surveillance, but any device, a photo-camera, a mixer, TV-set, etc. It is happening already now.
But every cloud has a silver lining, - if you need a private conversation, - put on a light t-shirt and shorts, no watch, not smartphone, no MP3-player, not even a pen, and go with your partner to a park, to a beach, etc. for a private conversation. It would be good not only for privacy, but for heath too. And for environment.
I envision in future important business meeting outdoors while running, or swimming, or just walking. It is the only way to achieve a relative privacy, - an unpredictable outdoor location with no electronic devices around.
Little naive jerk who committed high treason and now works for Putin tries to play politician. From a hideout in Russia.
Sure that is going to fly.
The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
It should read "then all bets are off".
The other typos don't really matter and don't change the meaning.
Marketing/Advertising relies far too heavily on the exploiting of citizens privacy. They're too big to fail.
Rights are recognized. If you declare it, it's a privilege, not a right.
Give the UN enforcement powers for the declaration of human rights. Wipe hands on pants. Solved.
We still have something like 200k Anglosaxon soldiers complete with their NSA snooper troops here. How many German intelligence troops are stationed in America ? Probably one cocksucker at the Washington embassy who does all he can to please his American contacts.
"We need to build a file on everyone, because of those 2% of Mohammedics".
And yeah, they actually build files on everybody. If the total collection of emails, SMSs, chat conversations in their "lockbox" is not a file on everybody, I do not know what a file is.
And they can pull YOUR FILE ANYTIME. According to themselves they can "google" in the lockbox for you and ALL your communications, at least if it was in plaintext. Now or in 20 years, when you oppose the war against Iran, because some Saudis have again hit America. For example.
It is quite obvious that the King (they call him President these days) has amassed tyrannic powers again; something which is not in the Germanic tradition and which is explicitly outlawed by accords like Magna Charta.
Why do they need to collect against everybody and not just the 1% of suspects ? Because they are maniacs, brutes and deep down fecking communists. Yeah, NSA worships communism.
They've proven that they don't care about the US constitution or any other law, why would they care about a treaty? The other human rights treaties are also largely ignore whenever countries feel like it.
Thank you, Bradley Manning, Edward Snowden and so many others, for courageously defending humanity, my freedom and more!
And now we need to accept the reality of our panopticon society and build a better way of living in it.
Civilization, in all it's forms, is surely our greatest creation, but I sometimes wonder if we are creating it, or visa-versa. It is evolving like a living system but much more rapidly, currently it nervous and sensory system are emerging, highly specialised "brain centers" in the form of IBM's watson and other AI systems have recently appeared. Maybe it will kill us all off, or maybe we will develop a planet wide "termite nest" that encapsulates our prefered environment in an artificial structure. One thing is for sure we are never going to get to a point where everyone is comfortable with the status-quo.
And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
Give it up Snowden, nobody's listening .... oh wait!
Russia: The prime example of how not to use the Internet.
NOT gonna happen , better off on global treaty to not back door encryption and your operating systems.....
at least that way you can hinder the idiots
...people who expect privacy on the internet, or in public places, are morons
The way YOOROP is doing nowadays, with millions of moslems flooding in ... not long from now it'll become ALLAHU AKBAR !!
The problem with this is...who with any power is gonna sign it without the full on global revolution that would be need to get those that hold power to put something in place to limit their own power.
There are no longer many countries that care more about personal freedom than they care about their own powerbase.
blindly antisocialist = antisocial
You can't trust authority. How many times does it have to be proven?
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Fucking one trick pony
.. with nonsense arguments.
Sorry Buds, we need this behavior of warrantless spying by governments against citizens made illegal, so there's no PRETENDING it's legal.
Snowden is a spy. He still works for the NSA or CIA and his mission is in part to convince the world that the U.S. government has more capabilities than they actually do. Now it seems his mission is expanding to tricking people into supporting a "treaty" which of course also has hidden terms and conditions.
Don't be fooled by it. Hold on to your freedom, by holding on to your control.
...and then break it. Or claim their illegal activities "were not included". Or claim "exigent circumstances". Or claim "The War on Terror is an actual war and therefore exempt from treaty restrictions". Or...
Is he still a thing?
Your private lives are bleeding out all over the Internet and the "Internet of things" boom hasn't even kicked in yet. If you want privacy you have to make it for yourself, it is social infrastructure, a convenience, and not a necessity of life. I hope people can see the difference, you do have a right to defend your privacy in realms that you have a right to control, but to suggest that it is a universal right is a nonsense.