Wired: Echelon Furor Ends in a Whimper

Thu, 5 Jul 2001 10:16:56 +0100

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http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44984,00.html

| Echelon Furor Ends in a Whimper 
| By Steve Kettmann <kettmann@aol.com>
| 3:00 p.m. July 3, 2001 PDT 
| 
| STRASBOURG, France -- In the end, a year of hard work boils down to this:
| Echelon exists and the Europeans don't like it, but there isn't much they
| can do except wring their hands in impotent fury as the Americans
| continue spying on whomever they please. 
| 
| The resolution approved Tuesday by a European Parliament committee set up
| to investigate the satellite-based surveillance system condemned
| Echelon's existence but, aside from agreeing to step up meaningful
| rhetorical pressure on the Americans, achieved very little. 
| 
| The committee officially wrapped up its inquiry late Tuesday by passing
| more than 60 of 160 amendments before approving the entire resolution,
| 27 to 5. There were two abstentions. 
| 
| Some of the amendments sought to add a harder edge to the language of
| committee head Gerhard Schmid of Germany, whose 113-page report was
| hailed for its balance and fairness, which is often politician-speak for
| blandness. 
| 
| Giuseppe di Lello Finuoli of Italy, one of three vice chairmen, protested
| that the committee's emphasis on legalisms would not prevent Europeans
| from having their e-mail, faxes and phone conversations monitored by nosy
| Americans, along with their English-speaking partners, England,
| Australia, New Zealand and Canada. 
| 
| Di Lello Finuoli believes the system widely known as Echelon -- which
| Schmid's report says may or may not be accurate -- will continue to
| operate with impunity. 
| 
| "That failure to protect European citizens will have been endorsed by the
| failure to take action," Di Lello Finuoli said through the official
| translator. 
| 
| "Everything will continue on as it has in the past. It is possible to
| conduct espionage from one country of the European Union on another
| without any consequences. This group has done some very good work, but I
| think the mountain has given birth to a mouse." 
| 
| That's how his remarks were translated, at any rate. 
| 
| Schmid defended his support of European investment in decryption, not
| just encryption, which some critics see as de facto acknowledgement that
| Europe has its own plans for an Echelon-type system. Then he hurried out
| of the meeting room, waving off questions and saying his comments would
| come at a press conference scheduled for Wednesday morning. 
| 
| Nevertheless, committee chairman Carlos Coelho pronounced the year long
| inquiry a success, saying that given the parliament's diverse
| constituency -- one with a legendary reputation for fractiousness and
| squabbling -- he was pleased by the level of consensus. 
| 
| "I don't think any of the amendments we approved was anything quite
| different," Coelho said. "But there are more references to the United
| States than what was in the draft." 
| 
| For example, Amendment No 105 "Calls on the Member States to negotiate
| with the USA a Code of Conduct similar to that of the EU." 
| 
| Not exactly the kind of tough talk expected to cow the Bush
| administration, but it may have some symbolic value if the full European
| Parliament
| approves the committee's resolution in September. 
| 
| Then there's Amendment No 94, stating that the committee "regards it as
| essential that an agreement should be ... signed between the European
| Union and the United States stipulating that each ... should observe ...
| the provisions governing the protection of the citizens and the
| confidentiality of business communications applicable to its own citizens
| and firms...."   
| 
| In other words, knock off the industrial espionage, Yank. 
| 
| That expands on previous language urging the UN secretary general to push
| for Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
| Rights to be updated so that it "guarantees the protection of privacy,
| into line with technical innovations." Article 17 also calls upon the
| United States to sign this "Additional Protocol," so that individuals can
| submit complaints to the Human Rights Committee set up under the
| covenant.   
| 
| Language was also added referring to "authoritative sources" confirming a
| US congressional report which estimated that economic intelligence
| funneled from the government could give US companies up to $7 billion in
| added contracts. 
| 
| Damning stuff, at least compared with the cautious tone taken by Schmid
| in his report, or even in the amendments he offered Tuesday, all of which
| were passed. 
| 
| One of Schmid's seven amendments, for example, noted that "the US
| intelligence services do not merely investigate general economic facts
| but also intercept detailed communications between undertakings,
| particularly where contracts are being awarded, and they justify this on
| the grounds of combating attempted bribery.... (This) detailed
| interception poses the risk that information may be used for the purpose
| of competitive intelligence- gathering rather than combating corruption,
| even though the US and the United Kingdom state that they do not do so." 
| 
| This focus on industrial espionage reflects the general thinking of many
| in the European Parliament that the threat to commerce is as much a
| concern as potential violations of individual privacy rights. But it was
| criticized by some committee members, at times quite fiercely. 
| 
| "We are being completely hypocritical," said Alain M Krivine of France.
| "All countries are engaged in political and (industrial) espionage. It is
| just a question of power, and the United States has the most power. It is
| part and parcel of globalization. However, the United States are not the
| only ones who are promoting capitalism this way." 
| 
| Copyright © 1994-2001 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved.
| <http://hotwired.lycos.com/home/copyright.html>

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