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Tag: EU Parliament

  • Author of the PATRIOT Act: NSA Abuses Its Power

    On Veteran’s Day, US House representative Jim Sesenbrenner was in Brussels, Belgium, testifying before the European Parliament at the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice, and Home Affairs about the ongoing abuse of the bill he wrote, the Patriot Act. There, he unveiled his true feelings, protesting the NSA’s mass spying, saying James Clapper should be terminated and put on trial, and that Dianne Feinstein’s Fisa Improvements Act is a “scary” lapse of judgment since it allows the government to, without a warrant, search through data collected by the NSA.

    Sesenbrenner said in his speech (PDF) to the EU parliamentarians that he never thought the Patriot Act would be used against the public so intrusively.

    “Congress knew the country needed new tools and broader authorities to combat those who meant to harm us, but we never intended to allow the National Security Agency to peer indiscriminately into the lives of innocent people all over the world.”

    Sesenbrenner defended the Patriot Act for its ability to foil terrorist schemes. However, he went on to state that those in power have abused the law, infringing on the rights of the public; the checks and balances are out of balance.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqHoobjmpps

    “I firmly believe the Patriot Act saved lives by strengthening the ability of intelligence agencies to track and stop potential terrorists, but in the past few years, the NSA has weakened, misconstrued and ignored the civil liberty protections we drafted into law.”

    “Worse, the NSA has cloaked its operations behind such a thick cloud of secrecy that, even if the NSA promised reforms, we would lack the ability to verify them.”

    To combat such offenses, Sesenbrenner paired with Senator Patrick Leahy, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in introducing the Uniting and Strengthening America by Fulfilling Rights and Ending Eaves dropping, Dragnet-collection, and Online Monitoring Act (USA FREEDOM Act).

    “The USA FREEDOM Act would end the NSA’s bulk collection of data under the Patriot Act whether it pertains to Americans or foreigners. The US Government would still be able to follow leads and obtain data when it has a reasonable suspicion that someone is connected to terrorism, but it would no longer be able to collect data indiscriminately in bulk from innocent people.”

    Sesenbrenner had “worked under strict time constraints” when penning the Patriot Act and getting it passed. He said that the NSA “ignored restrictions painstakingly crafted by lawmakers and assumed a plenary authority we never imagined.”

  • ACTA Is Going To Be Passed Whether You Like It Or Not

    ACTA is almost dead. The treaty is heading towards the European Parliament next week where many people feel that it will be rejected after four committees rejected it as well. It will also receive a ruling from the European Court of Justice to see if ACTA was ever compatible with European law. It’s looking bad for the treaty that everybody hates, but one man won’t let it die.

    Techdirt has stumbled across some troubling news that EU Commissioner, Karel De Gucht, will not let ACTA die. This isn’t one of those veiled threats either. He is deadset on making sure ACTA becomes law and he will ignore any ruling from any party to get what he, and the multinational interests backing the bill, want.

    In a speech before parliament last week, De Gucht outlined his vision to get ACTA ratified. He’s still obviously trying to get the parliamentary vote, but that’s looking less likely every day. If it voted down, he will still keep on its case until a hearing comes from the European Court of Justice. Surely if the court strikes it down, he’ll just give up, right?

    Unfortunately, De Gucht’s only quality is his persistence. He says that he’ll push for “clarifications” to the treaty to maybe sway more members of parliament and the public to his way of thinking. These “clarifications” will not change the bill in any meaningful way. It’s more like a sheep in wolves clothing tactic of trying to explain away some of the more damaging provisions in the treaty as harmless.

    After our dear De Gucht has had time to buy convert more members of parliament over to his side, he will put ACTA before parliament again. He’s pushing this treaty like members of Congress push Internet bills in this country – keep pushing the same thing until it sticks.

    It’s important to note that De Gucht will have to wait a while if ACTA is defeated by both parliament and the European Court of Justice. A defeat here would allow the anti-ACTA forces to retaliate and push for even stronger protections against treaties like ACTA. Hopefully European citizens actually care about the Internet and keep on the offensive after only one victory unlike our own country’s utter apathy towards CISPA after getting all hot and bothered over SOPA/PIPA.

    The European Parliament is expected to make a decision on ACTA in the first week of July. We’ll keep you updated on any news. Just like the Euro Crisis, ACTA affects far more people than those in Europe. It will have massive ramifications on those of us in the U.S. since our own representatives decided to sign the treaty without asking permission from Congress first.

  • ACTA Supporters Might Resort To Dirty Tactics For Approval

    The response to ACTA throughout Europe has been the stuff of legends. People from all walks of life have taken to the streets to protest the amendments in the treaty that only help to serve copyright industries while hurting the Internet in much the same way that SOPA proposed. The political response to the protest has also been encouraging with many nations refusing to back the bill, but it could soon all be for naught.

    Techdirt has stumbled upon some rather disturbing movements within the pro-ACTA movement. It looks like the main pro-ACTA forces are using one of three tactics to get the treaty pushed through – arguments, delays, or if all else fails, outright secrecy. All three tactics could work, but it’s the last that is the most worrisome.

    Let’s stick with the traditional ways of getting it approved for now. First up is the argument that ACTA is absolutely necessary to police the ever evolving Internet and protect never evolving copyright industry. It’s like dinosaur scientists wanting to create a shield out of tar and twigs to protect themselves from their own impending doom at the hands of an asteroid.

    The more likely scenario out of the first two is a delay on the vote. Some members of the EU Parliament are hoping to either build up more support, or rewrite ACTA to remove the more offensive bits. The only problems is that the offensive bits is what makes ACTA the treaty that it is. Many people from within the various industries that built the treaty want these provisions (like internet policing and restrictions on generic drugs) to save their own hides against the ever marching giant of progress.

    Unfortunately, there’s an even worse solution to ACTA on the horizon. It’s been rumored now that members of the EU Parliament will push through a vote using secret ballots. What is a secret ballot, you ask? It essentially lets all the members of Parliament vote anonymously so they can’t be held accountable for said vote. Say what you will about our own Congress, but they would never be allowed to get away with something that heinous.

    It’s almost kind of ironic really. The very thing the Internet is trying to protect – anonymity – is being used to save the asses of those who want to destroy the greatest thing the Internet ever gave to mankind. It’s just another sad double standard that governments around the world love to employ.

    The one hope left is that news of the secret ballot gets out. The anti-ACTA protests have been a little on the slow side now that all of Europe is rightly concerned with the current debt crisis. A treaty like ACTA would do nothing to help grow the economy, so here’s hoping that the citizenry understands that and responds appropriately.

    ACTA news has been slow coming, once again due to the debt crisis, but we’ll keep watching the situation. It looks like the vote will be coming to a head soon and we’ll be here to let you know what happens to SOPA’s big international daddy.

  • Proposed EU Law Wants To Make Possession of Hacking Tools A Crime

    The European Union is looking to update and standardize its anti-hacking legislation. Under a draft law backed by the EU Civil Liberties Committee on Tuesday, hacking IT systems, as well as the possession or distribution of hacking tools, would be a criminal offence throughout the EU, one punishable by 2-5 years in prison.

    This latter restriction would be the equivalent of the UK’s “going equipped” statute, whereby suspects are in violation of the law merely by possessing implements necessary to commit an offence. By criminalizing the possession of hacking tools, the proposed law could also hinder the efforts of white and grey hats working on the legal side of the infosec industry. Cyber security expert Mikko Hyppönen, Chief Research Officer at F-Secure in Helsinki, tweeted his disapproval of the draft legislation:

    @mikko
    Mikko Hypponen    Did I understand this correctly? EU wants to improve computer security…by making penetration testing illegal? What? http://t.co/yLWKlN52 7 hours ago via Twitterrific ·  Reply ·  Retweet ·  Favorite · powered by @socialditto

    Meanwhile, Senator Leia Organa of the EU member state Alderaan’s Pirate Party, issued this statement about the proposal:

    (Kidding.)

    Also under the proposal, companies would be liable for cyber attacks committed for their benefit, regardless of whether those attacks were committed deliberately or through a lack of supervision. “We are dealing here with serious criminal attacks, some of which are even conducted by criminal organisations. The financial damage caused for companies, private users and the public side amounts to several billions each year,” said rapporteur Monika Hohlmeier, of Germany. “No car manufacturer may send a car without a seatbelt into the streets. And if this happens, the company will be held liable for any damage. These rules must also apply in the virtual world,” she added.

    With all due respect to Madame Rapporteur, the seatbelt analogy doesn’t exactly fit the legislation. I think the proposal she was meaning to support with that analogy is the one that would hold corporations criminally liable for having with inadequate security systems that allowed a security breach which compromises individuals’ personal data. Oh, but that proposal doesn’t exist. It should, though. It would really fit the analogy, and it would be a surefire way to beef up corporate cyber security. But I digress; on with the legislation:

    The maximum penalty to be imposed by EU states for violation of the law would be at least two years’ imprisonment, and at least five years where there are aggravating circumstances. “Aggravating circumstances” could include the use of a tool specifically designed to for large-scale (e.g. “botnet”) attacks, or attacks cause considerable damage (e.g. by disrupting system service), financial costs or loss of financial data. IP spoofing, the practice of covering one’s tracks by stealing someone else’s electronic identity, would also be an aggravating circumstance, as would attacks committed by a criminal organization or targeting critical infrastructure.

    In liability cases, MEPs say member states should set a maximum penalty of at least three years.

    The proposal to update existing EU cyber attack legislation was approved with by 50 votes in favor, 1 against, and 3 abstentions. Rapporteur Hohlmeier aims for a political agreement between the Parliament and Council on the proposed legislation by this summer.