21 May 2015 — Statewatch.org/ • e-mail: office@statewatch.org
NEWS
http://www.statewatch.org/news/
1. Council of the European Union: Eurojust: Confiscation, Bosnia: Mandate & Revised civilian tasks: CSDP
2. Big Brother is watching EU – as US moves towards privacy reform, Europe enacts sweeping new spying powers
3. European Commission: Better regulation for better results – An EU agenda
4. Council of Europe (CoE): European ministers adopt new legal standards for tackling foreign terrorist fighters
5. Bureau of Investigative Journalists and the Rendition Project map: The 119 CIA Detainees
6. EU: Council of the European Union: Draft Manual on Law Enforcement Information Exchange
7. EU: Council of the European Union: Law Enforcement Working Party: Overview of expert groups and networks
8. EU: Council of the European Union: LIMITE documents: Data Protection Regulation, EPPO, Presumption of Innocence & Fraud
9. European Parliament: Comparative study on access to documents in international trade negotiations
10. EU: PRUM STATISTICS: Council of the European Union
11. EU: Council of the European Union: SEAFARERS RIGHTS
12. CYPRUS: KISA: Serious violations of detainee’s rights in Detention Centre in Mennogeia
13. EU: Council of the European Union: Salzburg Forum, Austria
14. FRANCE: Controversial French Surveillance Regulation
15. UK & IRELAND: Miscarriages of justice
16. Statewatch Analysis: Full compliance: the EU’s new security agenda
17. EU: SCHENGEN: Germany to reintroduce border controls for G7 conference
18. EU Ombudsman: Frontex and “forced returns”
19. EU-TTIP: European Commission Note
20. European Parliament Study: Analysis of Agenda Setting in the European Council, 2009-2014
21. UK: Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance: We are all targets now
22. EU: Council of the European Union: EU Internet Referral Unit at Europol
23. EU: European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Speech in Berlin
24. EU: Junker demands secret service for Europe
25. EU: DATA PROTECTION REGULATION: Council of the European Union discussing its negotiating positions
26. EU: RETURNS POLICY: Council of the European Union: Discussion paper
27. EU: Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2015
28. European Commission & HR REP: Action Plan on Human Rights
29. CoE: Secretary General cites judicial weaknesses and media freedom as top human rights concerns
30. SECURITY AGENDA: European Commission
31. EU: Council of the European Union: DATA PROTECTION REGULATION
32. EU: CONNECTED CONTINENT: Council of the European Union
EU-UK-GCHQ-USA-NSA SURVEILLANCE
http://www.statewatch.org/eu-usa-data-surveillance.htm
1. UK: MAKING REMOTE ACCESS TO COMPUTERS “LAWFUL”
2. NSA: US Freedom Act passes House
3. GERMANY-NSA-INQUIRY:
4. German government denies deceit in NSA scandal
5. USA: NSA mass phone surveillance ruled illegal
6. USA- NSA: NSA converting spoken words into searchable text
7. GERMANY-NSA: BND scandal: Bundestag committee issues ultimatum
8. Germany spied on France and EU Commission
9. UK: GCHQ conducted illegal surveillance
10. USA: NSA allowed to continue spying on the rest of the world
And see: NEWS DIGEST: dozens of news links every month:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/Newsinbrief.htm
NEWS
1. Council of the European Union: Eurojust: Confiscation, Bosnia: Mandate & Revised civilian tasks: CSDP
– EUROJUST: Strategic Seminar towards greater cooperation in Freezing and Confiscation of the proceeds of crime: a practitioner’s approach Eurojust, The Hague, 11 December 2014 Report (LIMITE doc no: 8570,pdf)
– BOSNIA MANDATE EXTENDED: Proposal of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for a Council Decision extending the mandate of the European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (LIMITE doc no: 8829-15, pdf)
– Revised draft list of generic civilian CSDP tasks (LIMITE doc no 7656-REV-2-15, pdf)
2. Big Brother is watching EU – As the US moves towards privacy reform, Europe enacts sweeping new spying powers (Politico, link):
“A strange and strangely unnoticed trend is emerging in the evolving global response to massive 2013 leaks about US surveillance activities. While our European cousins talk privacy reform, the United States is actually moving ahead with it, albeit more slowly than many would like. As the American side of the Atlantic inches toward self-restraint, many European governments are seeking
3. European Commission: Better regulation for better results – An EU agenda (COM 215-15 Final (pdf)
“In particular, we are calling on the European Parliament and the Council to: Carry out an impact assessment on any substantial amendments the Parliament or Council propose during the legislative process. Where the Parliament and the Council find an agreement significantly different from the initial Commission proposal, they should assess the likely impact and regulatory burden before any final decision” [COM 215-15] and
“The three institutions will ensure an appropriate degree of transparency of the legislative process, including of trilateral negotiations between the three institutions.” [emphasis added] The question is how will “appropriate” be defined?
and see earlier draft: COMMUNICATION: Better Regulation For Better Results – An EU Agenda (pdf)
Adopted: Proposal for an Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Regulation (COM 216-15, pdf)
Also: The Commission goes big on downsizing – Frans Timmermans presents his plan for cutting red tape. But it’s already undergoing an impact assessment of its own (Politico, link) and EU to shed light on law-making ‘kitchen’ (euobserver, link): “The European Commission on Tuesday (19 May) presented plans designed to rid itself of its image as of an out-of-touch and overactive bureaucracy…. A regulatory scrutiny board of seven members including three from outside the commission will replace the impact assessment board created in 2006. It will be chaired by a person independent of the commission hierarchy.”
4. Council of Europe (CoE): European ministers adopt new legal standards for tackling foreign terrorist fighters: “Foreign ministers from across Europe have adopted the first set of legally-binding international standards to help tackle so-called “foreign terrorist fighters”. The measures take the form of an additional protocol to the Council of Europe’s convention on the prevention of terrorism, which has so far been signed by 44 of the organisation’s 47 member states. The protocol will require countries to outlaw various actions including intentionally taking part in terrorist groups, receiving terrorism training or travelling abroad for the purpose of terrorism. It also provides for a round-the-clock network of national contact points to rapidly exchange information.”
– Additional Protocol to Convention on Terrorism (pdf)
– Action Plan (pdf)
– Political Declaration (link)
5. The Bureau of Investigative Journalists and the Rendition Project map: The 119 CIA Detainees (link): “The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Rendition Project compiled this information from the US Senate intelligence committee’s summary report on CIA detention and torture, from documents relating to military detention in Bagram and Guantanamo Bay, and from media and NGO reports.”
See also: Statewatch’s Observatory on “rendition” including over 220 submissions to the European Parliament inquiry
6. EU: Council of the European Union: Draft Manual on Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LIMITE doc no: 7779-15, 366 pages, pdf):
“The manual contains an overview of all EU systems, legal bases and instruments of information exchange available to the law enforcement authorities of the Member States.” [emphasis in original] and includes the : “following key operational contexts:
– prevention and investigation of criminal offences (and illegal immigration)
– combating terrorism
– maintaining public order and security.”
7. EU: Council of the European Union: Law Enforcement Working Party: Overview of expert groups and networks related to the LEWP and the provisional planning of their meetings (LIMITE doc no: 7706-rev-1-15, pdf): “Updated overview of the expert groups and networks related to the LEWP and the provisional planning of their meetings”
Includes RAILPOL (link), European Union (EU) Mobile identification interoperability group (e-Mobidig) (link), AQUAPOL (link), AIRPOL (link), EMPEN (European Medical and Psychological Experts’ Network for law enforcement) (link) and ENLETS (link)
8. EU: Council of the European Union: LIMITE documents: Data Protection Regulation, EPPO, Presumption of Innocence & Fraud
– DP REGULATION: REMEDIES, LIABILITY AND SANCTIONS: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation) – Chapter VIII(LIMITE doc no: 8371-15,pdf) 87 Footnotes with Member State positions.
See also European Parliament: Councils consolidated version of March 2015) (630 pages, 4.5MB, pdf) Multi-column document: Commission proposal, European Parliament and Council positions and proposed “compromise”
– EPPO: Proposal for a Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office – Orientation debate (LIMITE doc no: 8240-15, pdf)
– PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE: TRILOGUE: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings – Preparation of second trilogue (LIMITE doc no: 8547-15, 86 pages, pdf) Multi-column document with Commission Proposal, European Parliament and Council positions and proposed “compromise”
– FRAUD: TRILOGUE: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law[First reading] – Preparation of the next trilogue (LIMITE doc no: 8604-15, (pdf)
9. European Parliament Study: Comparative study on access to documents (and confidentiality rules) in international trade negotiations (pdf):
“It is extremely difficult to strengthen parliamentary oversight of the EU’s trade policies without clear and predictable rules and procedures for the EP to access relevant information from the Commission and the Council. This study provides an overview on the rules guaranteeing access to information in international trade negotiations both in the EU and in selected third countries.”
10. EU: PRUM STATISTICS: Council of the European Union: “PRUM Decisions”: overview of documents and procedures – overview of declarations – state of play of implementation of automated data exchange (28 pages, pdf):
“The provisions of the “Prüm Decisions” relating to information exchange concern:
– supply of information relating to major events and in order to prevent terrorist offences;
– automated searching of DNA profiles, dactyloscopic data [fingerprints] and vehicle registration data (VRD);
– data protection.” [emphasis added]
The Council Decision on PRUM data exchange (2008, pdf) Article 14:covers the “Supply of personal data”:
“For the prevention of criminal offences and in maintaining public order and security for major events with a cross-border dimension, in particular for sporting events or European Council meetings, Member States shall, both upon request and of their own accord, supply one another with personal data if any final convictions or other circumstances give reason to believe that the data subjects will commit criminal offences at the events or pose a threat to public order and security, in so far as the supply of such data is permitted under the supplying Member State’s national law.”
No figures are supplied in the Annex on the use of Article 13 or 14 (Article 13 concerns the exchange of “non-personal data” for the same purpose)
11. EU: Council of the European Union: SEAFARERS RIGHTS: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on seafarers amending Directives 2008/94/EC, 2009/38/EC, 2002/14/EC, 98/59/EC and 2002/23/EC – Analysis of the final compromise text with a view to agreement (LIMITE doc no: 8664-15, pdf) and 8664-ADD-1-15 (pdf): EP/Council deal is important for workers’ rights – improving protection for everyone who works at sea.
See: Commission Proposal (pdf) and Staff Working Dcoument (pdf)
12. CYPRUS: KISA Press Release: Serious violations of detainee’s rights in Detention Centre in Mennogeia (pdf):
“On Friday, 08.05.2015, delegation of KISA visited and talked to a number of detainees, the majority of who are currently on a hunger strike. Unfortunately, the findings of the meeting confirm the findings of our previous meetings according to several serious violations of the rights of the detainees….”
13. EU: Council of the European Union: Salzburg Forum Ministerial Conference St. Pölten, Austria, 4 and 5 May 2015 – Joint Declaration (LIMITE doc no: 8626-15, pdf ): “The three main challenges discussed were migration and asylum, security and police cooperation with a focus on the fight against terrorism and cyber security.”
The Salzburg Forum: Its member states are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. It is based on an Austrian initiative taken in 2000, is a platform for multilateral dialogue and cooperation on issues of internal security.
14. FRANCE: Controversial French Surveillance Regulation Should Re-Ignite EU Debate on Surveillance Reform (Center for Democracy & Technology, link): “As has been widely reported in the press, France is moving ahead with new legislation to enable expanded electronic surveillance.. the bill is so excessive that we believe it could, and should, lead to a renewed debate on surveillance reform across Europe. We have long believed that action at the EU level is critical to protecting human rights in the surveillance context, and the French bill shows that this need is more urgent than ever.“
See: Full-text of the law: Assemblée Nationale: Projet de loi relatif au Renseignement (link) and France passes new surveillance law in wake of Charlie Hebdo attack (The Guardian, link)
15. UK & IRELAND: MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE
UK: Sam Hallam: The man who spent over seven years in jail for a murder he did not commit (The Independent, link): “‘I used to get really angry. But now, I say to people I feel more angry than I did then,’ says Sam Hallam, who spent more than seven years in jail for a murder he didn’t commit. A teenager when he was sentenced to life in 2005 for a gang-related murder in north London, Mr Hallam always protested his innocence.“
See also: Wrongly convicted men launch new case against the Justice Secretary (The Independent, link): “Victims of two of Britain’s most worrying miscarriages of justice of modern times [Sam Hallam and Victor Nealon] are to take the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, to court over changes to the law stopping them from receiving compensation for the 24 years they wrongly spent behind bars.“
And: Europe: Irish families seek justice for dead relatives (BBC News, link)
16. Statewatch Analysis: Full compliance: the EU’s new security agenda (pdf) by Chris Jones
“On the basis of the Commission’s communication and ongoing political and legal developments, it is doubtful – to say the least – whether the proposed “full compliance with fundamental rights” will be achieved. Instead, the Agenda looks likely to legitimise more repressive laws and policies at EU and national level.“
See also: European Commission: The European Agenda on Security (pdf) published 28 April 2015
17. EU: SCHENGEN: Germany to reintroduce border controls for G7 conference
Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s Interior Minister, informed the Council of the EU at the end of April that Germany will be reintroducing border controls from 26 May to 15 June 2015. This is to due to the “increased security requirements” of the G7 summit which takes place in Elmau, Bavaria, on the 7 and 8 June. According to de Maizière’s letter, “the controls will be conducted subject to police intelligence, not on a permanent or nationwide basis, but flexibly in terms of time and place. Controls are likely to be focused on the German-Austrian border and… the German-Czech border... In particular, potential perpetrators of violence should be prevented from travelling to the venue in Germany, to help ensure that the summit passes without incident.“
Protests against the summit are taking place, for example: Stop G7 Elmau 2015 (link). See also the official site: G7 Germany 2015: “Think Ahead. Act Together.” (link)
18.EU Ombudsman: How Frontex can ensure respect for migrants’ fundamental rights during “forced returns” (pdf) and Decision of the European Ombudsman closing her own-initiative inquiry OI/9/2014/MHZ concerning the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) (link)
19. EU-TTIP: Council of the European Union: European Commission Note: Investment in TTIP and beyond – the path for reform (LIMITE doc no: 8555-15, pdf):“CONCEPT PAPER: Investment in TTIP and beyond – the path for reform Enhancing the right to regulate and moving from current ad hoc arbitration towards an Investment Court.” This TTIP document is on the key issue of investment arbitration against governments.
And see: European Commission: RECONSTRUCTED: Draft sent 26/3-15 from the Commission to the Trade Policy Committee CHAPTER [ ] Regulatory Cooperation (pdf)
20. European Parliament Study: Analysis of Agenda Setting in the European Council, 2009–2014 (80 pages, pdf): “The research is based on a quantitative analysis of the European Council Conclusions (ECCs) complemented by qualitative examinations of particular elements of the agenda that emerge from the results of the quantitative analysis.”
21. UK: Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance: We Are All Targets Now (COPS, link):
“The political police’s choice of who it is reasonable to spy on includes anyone who is politically active, anyone who is related to them, anyone who attends an event at which they’re present. The construction blacklist proves that this is not mere background gathering of information in case it becomes useful. The political policing units have actively broken the law to help ensure their targets are denied work, deliberately inflicting the impacts that has on a person and their family. They are there to disrupt the activities and lives of those they spy on, and that can be anyone.”
See: Sitting in the Spycops Priority Area (Bristling Badger, link)
22. EU: Council of the European Union: EU Internet Referral Unit at Europol – Concept note (LIMITE doc no: 7266-15, pdf)
“Given the size of the problem, its span across multiple linguistic audiences and jurisdictions, tackling this phenomenon efficiently requires the EU Member States to pool resources and devise a coherent and coordinated European prevention strategy to counter terrorist propaganda and ensure that Internet remains a public good, free of terrorist and violent extremist propaganda while respecting fundamental principles such as the freedom of speech.
Accordingly, on 12 March 2015 the Council of Ministers agreed that building on the Check-the- Web project, Europol will develop an EU Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU) by 1 July 2015″
23. EU: European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Speech in Berlin: Value of the EU Data Protection Reform against the Big Data challenges (pdf):
“Let me start with a message that I hope will resonate with all of you: We need global bridges to be able to protect the personal data and privacy of the individuals facing borderless technologies, business models and networks that use their data as fuel.”
24. EU: Juncker demands secret service for Europe (The Times, link): “The president of the European Commission has demanded his own secret service to counter spies from the bloc’s national governments after it emerged that German secret agents helped America to spy on Brussels.”
25. EU: DATA PROTECTION REGULATION: Council of the European Union discussing its negotiating positions (30 April 2015): Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation):
• Relationship Chapters II and IX (LIMITE doc no: 8309-15, pdf) includes “Purpose limitation and further processing in Chapter II” and “Further processing and Article 83”, includes research exception.
• GENERAL PRINCIPLES: Chapters I and XI (LIMITE doc no: 8372-15, pdf) 66 Member State positions.
26. EU: RETURNS POLICY: Council of the European Union: From Council Presidency: Return and readmission policy – Discussion paper (LIMITE doc no 7156-15, pdf):
“In its March 2014 Communication on EU Return Policy, the Commission reported that “there is a considerable gap between the persons issued with a return decision (approximately 484 000 persons in 2012, 491 000 in 2011 and 540 000 in 2010) and those who, as a consequence, have left the EU (approximately 178 000 in 2012, 167 000 in 2011 and 199 000 in 2010). There are multiple reasons for this gap, including in particular lack of cooperation from the non-EU country of origin or transit (e.g. problems in obtaining the necessary documentation from non-EU consular authorities) and lack of cooperation from the individual concerned (i.e. he/she conceals his/her identity or absconds).”…..
Quite frequently, the third countries concerned appear reluctant to accept the “third country national clause” or even oppose its inclusion in the agreement…. It would probably be useful to further reflect on the need to review this strategy on readmission, adopted by the Council in 2011, and to look for more powerful incentives for third countries of origin to cooperate on readmission.
It might be useful to establish a linkage between the currently negotiated amendment of the Visa Code and the cooperation of third countries in the return/readmission of their nationals. The currently negotiated amendment of the Visa Code provides for a number of visa facilitations to third country nationals who are subject to the visa requirement. The applicability of these facilitations is currently exclusively linked to individual circumstances of third-country nationals. This approach might be reviewed, and visa facilitation only be granted to nationals of third countries who cooperate on readmission.” [emphasis in original]
27. EU: Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2015 (pdf)
See also: Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2014 (pdf), Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2013 (pdf) and Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2012 (pdf)
28. European Commission and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: Joint Communication: Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy (2015-2019) “Keeping human rights at the heart of the EU agenda” (JOIN 15-15, pdf)
29. CoE: Secretary General cites judicial weaknesses and media freedom as top human rights concerns: State of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe; A shared responsibility for democratic security in Europe : Report by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (pdf)
“Europe’s democratic shortcomings are bigger, deeper and geographically more widespread than previously understood according to the latest overview of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the 47 Council of Europe member states. The report, by Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, identifies the lack of judicial independence in many countries and threats to media freedom across the continent as the two biggest challenges to democratic security.
“Honest and decent courts are essential for supporting democracy and maintaining stability, yet over a third of our member countries are failing to ensure that their legal systems are sufficiently independent and impartial,” said the Secretary General.
“Media freedom, on the other hand, is under pressure across the whole continent. Journalists face physical threats in many places, anti-terror laws are being used to limit free speech and certain media arrangements unfairly favour those who are in power.”
30. SECURITY AGENDA: European Commission: The European Agenda on Security (pdf) published 28 April 2015
31. EU: Council of the European Union: DATA PROTECTION REGULATION: LIMITE documents from 27 April 2015: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation):
” RIGHTS OF THE DATA SUBJECT: Preparation for a general approach: Chapter III (LIMITE doc no: 7978-REV 1-15, pdf) 53 pages with 233 Member State positions. Possible deal on the key chapter of the data protection regulation – going to COREPER tomorrow.
” SWEDEN: Chapters I and XI (LIMITE doc no: 8353-15,pdf)
32. EU: CONNECTED CONTINENT: Council of the European Union: Proposal for a Regulation laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent, and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No 531/2012:
” Preparation for the third informal trilogue – examination of the Presidency compromise text (LIMITE doc no: 8337-15,pdf)
EU-UK-GCHQ-USA-NSA SURVEILLANCE
http://www.statewatch.org/eu-usa-data-surveillance.htm
1. UK: MAKING REMOTE ACCESS TO COMPUTERS “LAWFUL”: Intelligence officers given immunity from hacking laws, tribunal told – Legislative changes exempting law enforcement officers from ban on breaking into people’s digital devices were never debated by parliament, tribunal hears (Guardian, link):
“GCHQ staff, intelligence officers and police have been given immunity from prosecution for hacking into computers, laptops and mobile phones under legislative changes that were never fully debated by parliament, a tribunal has been told.
The unnoticed re-writing of a key clause of the Computer Misuse Act has exempted law enforcement officials from the prohibition on breaking into other people’s laptops, databases, mobile phones or digital systems. It came into force in March. The new clause 10, entitled somewhat misleadingly “Savings”, is designed to prevent officers from committing a crime when they remotely access computers of suspected criminals.
Changes to the Computer Misuse Act were introduced by the Serious Crime Act 2015 which received royal assent on 3 March 2015. No reference to the true impact of the changes was made in the parliamentary explanatory notes that accompanied the bill, according to Privacy International.”
The Serious Crimes Act 2015 (pdf) contains the following amendment to the Computer Misuse Act: “the person does any unauthorised act in relation to a computer”[emphasis added: Section 41] As long as it is “authorised” its lawful.
See: After legal claim filed against GCHQ hacking, UK government rewrite law to permit GCHQ hacking (PI, link):
“In its legal filings, sent to Privacy International only the day before the hearing began, the Government notified claimants that the Computer Misuse Act was rewritten on 3 March 2015 to exempt the intelligence services from provisions making hacking illegal.
The explaintory notes that accompanied the act [Computer Misuse Act] make no reference to the true impact of the change. It appears no regulators, commissioners responsible for overseeing the intelligence agencies, the Information Commissioner’s Office, industry, NGOs or the public were notified or consulted about the proposed legislative changes. There was no published Privacy Impact Assessment. Only the Ministry of Justice, Crown Prosecution Service, Scotland Office, Northern Ireland Office, GCHQ, Police and National Crime Agency were consulted as stakeholders. There was no public debate.That legislation, deemed the Serious Crime Bill 2015, passed into law on 3 March 2015 and become effective on 3 May 2015.”
15 May 2015, the Home Office issued two amended Codes of Practice:
– Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data Code of Practice (pdf)
– Retention of Communications Data Code of Practice (pdf)
2. NSA: USA Freedom Act Passes House, Codifying Bulk Collection For First Time, Critics Say (The Intercept, link):
“After only one hour of floor debate, and no allowed amendments, the House of Representatives today passed legislation that seeks to address the NSA’s controversial surveillance of American communications. However, opponents believe it may give brand new authorization to the U.S. government to conduct domestic dragnets. The USA Freedom Act was approved in a 338-88 vote… The measure now goes to the Senate where its future is uncertain. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declined to schedule the bill for consideration, and is instead pushing for a clean reauthorization of expiring Patriot Act provisions that includes no surveillance reforms.”
It does not limit the government’s authority to collect information overseas, including data on telephone and email records – in short NSA can carry on spying on the rest of the world.
3. GERMANY-NSA-INQUIRY: WikiLeaks, er, leaks the Bundestag Inquiry into NSA naughtiness – Includes a German spook explaining how to siphon data from fibre-optic cables (The Register, link)
See: Bundestag Inquiry into BND and NSA (Wikileaks, link) Excellent, with transcripts of hearings.
4. German government denies deceit in NSA scandal (euractiv, link):
“Chancellor Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert rejected accusations of a govenment cover-up in the mushrooming NSA scandal. Seibert said on Monday (11 May) that he reported on the issue that to the best of his judgement, appropriately presenting his level of knowledge at that time. His statement comes in response to accusations that Washington never offered Germany a No-Spy-Agreement, in contrast to government statements that suggested otherwise at the time. “
and see: BND spying affair divides German coalition (euractiv, link)
5. USA: NSA mass phone surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden ruled illegal (The Guardian, link): “The US court of appeals has ruled that the bulk collection of telephone metadata is unlawful, in a landmark decision that clears the way for a full legal challenge against the National Security Agency.“
See the full judgment: ACLU v. Clapper (pdf)
6. USA- NSA: The Computers are Listening – How the NSA Converts Spoken Words Into Searchable Text (The Intercept, link):
“Top-secret documents from the archive of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show the National Security Agency can now automatically recognize the content within phone calls by creating rough transcripts and phonetic representations that can be easily searched and stored.”
See documents: Media Mining – the future is now (pdf) and UK: Security Service and speech technology (STRAP 1, pdf):
7. GERMANY-NSA: BND scandal: Bundestag committee issues ultimatum (euractiv, link):
“The Bundestag’s NSA investigation committee has demanded lists of search terms Germany’s intelligence service, the BND, allegedly spied on for Washington.”
And see: Merkel defends BND amid NSA spy scandal (euronews, link): “intelligence agencies must be able to work in secret to ensure the public’s safety. The German government will do everything it can to ensure that intelligence agencies are able to carry out their duties. In the face of international terrorism threats, they can only do this in cooperation with other intelligence agencies and that includes first and foremost the NSA.”
8. Germany spied on France and the EU Commission: Report (euobserver, link):
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has been embarrassed by reports that the country’s intelligence service was spying on France and the European Commission for the US National security agency (NSA).
According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Thursday (30 April), the BND, the German intelligence service, listened in on officials from the French presidency and foreign affairs ministry, as well as the EU Commission…. “The core of the issue is the political espionage of our European neighbours and of the EU institutions,” a German official is quoted as saying by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.”
9. UK: GCHQ conducted illegal surveillance, investigatory powers tribunal rules – Eavesdropping agency must destroy documents containing legally privileged communications relating to Libyan rendition victim Sami al-Saadi (Guardian, link):
“The ruling marks the first time in its 15-year history that the investigatory powers tribunal has upheld a specific complaint against the intelligence services, lawyers have said. It is also the first time the tribunal has ordered a security service to give up surveillance material.
The IPT says GCHQ must destroy two documents which are legally privileged communications belonging to a former opponent of the Gaddafi regime, Sami al-Saadi, who was sent back to Libya in 2004 in a joint MI6-CIA “rendition” operation with his wife and four children under 12.”
10. USA: NSA allowed to continue spying on the rest of the world: Nearly Two Years After Snowden, Congress Poised to Do Something Just Not Much (The Intercept, link):
“Congress is doing nothing to limit NSA programs ostensibly targeted at foreigners that nonetheless collect vast amounts of American communications, nor to limit the agency’s mass surveillance of non-American communications. The limited reforms in the new bill affect only the one program explicitly aimed at Americans.”[emphasis added]
See: US Freedom Act 2015 (pdf)
And see: GCHQ is authorised to spy on the world but the UK Interception of Communications Commissioner says this is OK as it is lawful (Statewatch Analysis)
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NEWS
http://www.statewatch.org/news/
1. Council of the European Union: Eurojust: Confiscation, Bosnia: Mandate & Revised civilian tasks: CSDP
2. Big Brother is watching EU – as US moves towards privacy reform, Europe enacts sweeping new spying powers
3. European Commission: Better regulation for better results – An EU agenda
4. Council of Europe (CoE): European ministers adopt new legal standards for tackling foreign terrorist fighters
5. Bureau of Investigative Journalists and the Rendition Project map: The 119 CIA Detainees
6. EU: Council of the European Union: Draft Manual on Law Enforcement Information Exchange
7. EU: Council of the European Union: Law Enforcement Working Party: Overview of expert groups and networks
8. EU: Council of the European Union: LIMITE documents: Data Protection Regulation, EPPO, Presumption of Innocence & Fraud
9. European Parliament: Comparative study on access to documents in international trade negotiations
10. EU: PRUM STATISTICS: Council of the European Union
11. EU: Council of the European Union: SEAFARERS RIGHTS
12. CYPRUS: KISA: Serious violations of detainee’s rights in Detention Centre in Mennogeia
13. EU: Council of the European Union: Salzburg Forum, Austria
14. FRANCE: Controversial French Surveillance Regulation
15. UK & IRELAND: Miscarriages of justice
16. Statewatch Analysis: Full compliance: the EU’s new security agenda
17. EU: SCHENGEN: Germany to reintroduce border controls for G7 conference
18. EU Ombudsman: Frontex and “forced returns”
19. EU-TTIP: European Commission Note
20. European Parliament Study: Analysis of Agenda Setting in the European Council, 2009-2014
21. UK: Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance: We are all targets now
22. EU: Council of the European Union: EU Internet Referral Unit at Europol
23. EU: European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Speech in Berlin
24. EU: Junker demands secret service for Europe
25. EU: DATA PROTECTION REGULATION: Council of the European Union discussing its negotiating positions
26. EU: RETURNS POLICY: Council of the European Union: Discussion paper
27. EU: Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2015
28. European Commission & HR REP: Action Plan on Human Rights
29. CoE: Secretary General cites judicial weaknesses and media freedom as top human rights concerns
30. SECURITY AGENDA: European Commission
31. EU: Council of the European Union: DATA PROTECTION REGULATION
32. EU: CONNECTED CONTINENT: Council of the European Union
EU-UK-GCHQ-USA-NSA SURVEILLANCE
http://www.statewatch.org/eu-usa-data-surveillance.htm
1. UK: MAKING REMOTE ACCESS TO COMPUTERS “LAWFUL”
2. NSA: US Freedom Act passes House
3. GERMANY-NSA-INQUIRY:
4. German government denies deceit in NSA scandal
5. USA: NSA mass phone surveillance ruled illegal
6. USA- NSA: NSA converting spoken words into searchable text
7. GERMANY-NSA: BND scandal: Bundestag committee issues ultimatum
8. Germany spied on France and EU Commission
9. UK: GCHQ conducted illegal surveillance
10. USA: NSA allowed to continue spying on the rest of the world
And see: NEWS DIGEST: dozens of news links every month:
http://www.statewatch.org/news/Newsinbrief.htm
NEWS
1. Council of the European Union: Eurojust: Confiscation, Bosnia: Mandate & Revised civilian tasks: CSDP
– EUROJUST: Strategic Seminar towards greater cooperation in Freezing and Confiscation of the proceeds of crime: a practitioner’s approach Eurojust, The Hague, 11 December 2014 Report (LIMITE doc no: 8570,pdf)
– BOSNIA MANDATE EXTENDED: Proposal of the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for a Council Decision extending the mandate of the European Union Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina (LIMITE doc no: 8829-15, pdf)
– Revised draft list of generic civilian CSDP tasks (LIMITE doc no 7656-REV-2-15, pdf)
2. Big Brother is watching EU – As the US moves towards privacy reform, Europe enacts sweeping new spying powers (Politico, link):
“A strange and strangely unnoticed trend is emerging in the evolving global response to massive 2013 leaks about US surveillance activities. While our European cousins talk privacy reform, the United States is actually moving ahead with it, albeit more slowly than many would like. As the American side of the Atlantic inches toward self-restraint, many European governments are seeking
3. European Commission: Better regulation for better results – An EU agenda (COM 215-15 Final (pdf)
“In particular, we are calling on the European Parliament and the Council to: Carry out an impact assessment on any substantial amendments the Parliament or Council propose during the legislative process. Where the Parliament and the Council find an agreement significantly different from the initial Commission proposal, they should assess the likely impact and regulatory burden before any final decision” [COM 215-15] and
“The three institutions will ensure an appropriate degree of transparency of the legislative process, including of trilateral negotiations between the three institutions.” [emphasis added] The question is how will “appropriate” be defined?
and see earlier draft: COMMUNICATION: Better Regulation For Better Results – An EU Agenda (pdf)
Adopted: Proposal for an Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Regulation (COM 216-15, pdf)
Also: The Commission goes big on downsizing – Frans Timmermans presents his plan for cutting red tape. But it’s already undergoing an impact assessment of its own (Politico, link) and EU to shed light on law-making ‘kitchen’ (euobserver, link): “The European Commission on Tuesday (19 May) presented plans designed to rid itself of its image as of an out-of-touch and overactive bureaucracy…. A regulatory scrutiny board of seven members including three from outside the commission will replace the impact assessment board created in 2006. It will be chaired by a person independent of the commission hierarchy.”
4. Council of Europe (CoE): European ministers adopt new legal standards for tackling foreign terrorist fighters: “Foreign ministers from across Europe have adopted the first set of legally-binding international standards to help tackle so-called “foreign terrorist fighters”. The measures take the form of an additional protocol to the Council of Europe’s convention on the prevention of terrorism, which has so far been signed by 44 of the organisation’s 47 member states. The protocol will require countries to outlaw various actions including intentionally taking part in terrorist groups, receiving terrorism training or travelling abroad for the purpose of terrorism. It also provides for a round-the-clock network of national contact points to rapidly exchange information.”
– Additional Protocol to Convention on Terrorism (pdf)
– Action Plan (pdf)
– Political Declaration (link)
5. The Bureau of Investigative Journalists and the Rendition Project map: The 119 CIA Detainees (link): “The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and the Rendition Project compiled this information from the US Senate intelligence committee’s summary report on CIA detention and torture, from documents relating to military detention in Bagram and Guantanamo Bay, and from media and NGO reports.”
See also: Statewatch’s Observatory on “rendition” including over 220 submissions to the European Parliament inquiry
6. EU: Council of the European Union: Draft Manual on Law Enforcement Information Exchange (LIMITE doc no: 7779-15, 366 pages, pdf):
“The manual contains an overview of all EU systems, legal bases and instruments of information exchange available to the law enforcement authorities of the Member States.” [emphasis in original] and includes the : “following key operational contexts:
– prevention and investigation of criminal offences (and illegal immigration)
– combating terrorism
– maintaining public order and security.”
7. EU: Council of the European Union: Law Enforcement Working Party: Overview of expert groups and networks related to the LEWP and the provisional planning of their meetings (LIMITE doc no: 7706-rev-1-15, pdf): “Updated overview of the expert groups and networks related to the LEWP and the provisional planning of their meetings”
Includes RAILPOL (link), European Union (EU) Mobile identification interoperability group (e-Mobidig) (link), AQUAPOL (link), AIRPOL (link), EMPEN (European Medical and Psychological Experts’ Network for law enforcement) (link) and ENLETS (link)
8. EU: Council of the European Union: LIMITE documents: Data Protection Regulation, EPPO, Presumption of Innocence & Fraud
– DP REGULATION: REMEDIES, LIABILITY AND SANCTIONS: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation) – Chapter VIII(LIMITE doc no: 8371-15,pdf) 87 Footnotes with Member State positions.
See also European Parliament: Councils consolidated version of March 2015) (630 pages, 4.5MB, pdf) Multi-column document: Commission proposal, European Parliament and Council positions and proposed “compromise”
– EPPO: Proposal for a Regulation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office – Orientation debate (LIMITE doc no: 8240-15, pdf)
– PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE: TRILOGUE: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the strengthening of certain aspects of the presumption of innocence and of the right to be present at trial in criminal proceedings – Preparation of second trilogue (LIMITE doc no: 8547-15, 86 pages, pdf) Multi-column document with Commission Proposal, European Parliament and Council positions and proposed “compromise”
– FRAUD: TRILOGUE: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the fight against fraud to the Union’s financial interests by means of criminal law[First reading] – Preparation of the next trilogue (LIMITE doc no: 8604-15, (pdf)
9. European Parliament Study: Comparative study on access to documents (and confidentiality rules) in international trade negotiations (pdf):
“It is extremely difficult to strengthen parliamentary oversight of the EU’s trade policies without clear and predictable rules and procedures for the EP to access relevant information from the Commission and the Council. This study provides an overview on the rules guaranteeing access to information in international trade negotiations both in the EU and in selected third countries.”
10. EU: PRUM STATISTICS: Council of the European Union: “PRUM Decisions”: overview of documents and procedures – overview of declarations – state of play of implementation of automated data exchange (28 pages, pdf):
“The provisions of the “Prüm Decisions” relating to information exchange concern:
– supply of information relating to major events and in order to prevent terrorist offences;
– automated searching of DNA profiles, dactyloscopic data [fingerprints] and vehicle registration data (VRD);
– data protection.” [emphasis added]
The Council Decision on PRUM data exchange (2008, pdf) Article 14:covers the “Supply of personal data”:
“For the prevention of criminal offences and in maintaining public order and security for major events with a cross-border dimension, in particular for sporting events or European Council meetings, Member States shall, both upon request and of their own accord, supply one another with personal data if any final convictions or other circumstances give reason to believe that the data subjects will commit criminal offences at the events or pose a threat to public order and security, in so far as the supply of such data is permitted under the supplying Member State’s national law.”
No figures are supplied in the Annex on the use of Article 13 or 14 (Article 13 concerns the exchange of “non-personal data” for the same purpose)
11. EU: Council of the European Union: SEAFARERS RIGHTS: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on seafarers amending Directives 2008/94/EC, 2009/38/EC, 2002/14/EC, 98/59/EC and 2002/23/EC – Analysis of the final compromise text with a view to agreement (LIMITE doc no: 8664-15, pdf) and 8664-ADD-1-15 (pdf): EP/Council deal is important for workers’ rights – improving protection for everyone who works at sea.
See: Commission Proposal (pdf) and Staff Working Dcoument (pdf)
12. CYPRUS: KISA Press Release: Serious violations of detainee’s rights in Detention Centre in Mennogeia (pdf):
“On Friday, 08.05.2015, delegation of KISA visited and talked to a number of detainees, the majority of who are currently on a hunger strike. Unfortunately, the findings of the meeting confirm the findings of our previous meetings according to several serious violations of the rights of the detainees….”
13. EU: Council of the European Union: Salzburg Forum Ministerial Conference St. Pölten, Austria, 4 and 5 May 2015 – Joint Declaration (LIMITE doc no: 8626-15, pdf ): “The three main challenges discussed were migration and asylum, security and police cooperation with a focus on the fight against terrorism and cyber security.”
The Salzburg Forum: Its member states are Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. It is based on an Austrian initiative taken in 2000, is a platform for multilateral dialogue and cooperation on issues of internal security.
14. FRANCE: Controversial French Surveillance Regulation Should Re-Ignite EU Debate on Surveillance Reform (Center for Democracy & Technology, link): “As has been widely reported in the press, France is moving ahead with new legislation to enable expanded electronic surveillance.. the bill is so excessive that we believe it could, and should, lead to a renewed debate on surveillance reform across Europe. We have long believed that action at the EU level is critical to protecting human rights in the surveillance context, and the French bill shows that this need is more urgent than ever.“
See: Full-text of the law: Assemblée Nationale: Projet de loi relatif au Renseignement (link) and France passes new surveillance law in wake of Charlie Hebdo attack (The Guardian, link)
15. UK & IRELAND: MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE
UK: Sam Hallam: The man who spent over seven years in jail for a murder he did not commit (The Independent, link): “‘I used to get really angry. But now, I say to people I feel more angry than I did then,’ says Sam Hallam, who spent more than seven years in jail for a murder he didn’t commit. A teenager when he was sentenced to life in 2005 for a gang-related murder in north London, Mr Hallam always protested his innocence.“
See also: Wrongly convicted men launch new case against the Justice Secretary (The Independent, link): “Victims of two of Britain’s most worrying miscarriages of justice of modern times [Sam Hallam and Victor Nealon] are to take the Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, to court over changes to the law stopping them from receiving compensation for the 24 years they wrongly spent behind bars.“
And: Europe: Irish families seek justice for dead relatives (BBC News, link)
16. Statewatch Analysis: Full compliance: the EU’s new security agenda (pdf) by Chris Jones
“On the basis of the Commission’s communication and ongoing political and legal developments, it is doubtful – to say the least – whether the proposed “full compliance with fundamental rights” will be achieved. Instead, the Agenda looks likely to legitimise more repressive laws and policies at EU and national level.“
See also: European Commission: The European Agenda on Security (pdf) published 28 April 2015
17. EU: SCHENGEN: Germany to reintroduce border controls for G7 conference
Thomas de Maizière, Germany’s Interior Minister, informed the Council of the EU at the end of April that Germany will be reintroducing border controls from 26 May to 15 June 2015. This is to due to the “increased security requirements” of the G7 summit which takes place in Elmau, Bavaria, on the 7 and 8 June. According to de Maizière’s letter, “the controls will be conducted subject to police intelligence, not on a permanent or nationwide basis, but flexibly in terms of time and place. Controls are likely to be focused on the German-Austrian border and… the German-Czech border... In particular, potential perpetrators of violence should be prevented from travelling to the venue in Germany, to help ensure that the summit passes without incident.“
Protests against the summit are taking place, for example: Stop G7 Elmau 2015 (link). See also the official site: G7 Germany 2015: “Think Ahead. Act Together.” (link)
18.EU Ombudsman: How Frontex can ensure respect for migrants’ fundamental rights during “forced returns” (pdf) and Decision of the European Ombudsman closing her own-initiative inquiry OI/9/2014/MHZ concerning the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex) (link)
19. EU-TTIP: Council of the European Union: European Commission Note: Investment in TTIP and beyond – the path for reform (LIMITE doc no: 8555-15, pdf):“CONCEPT PAPER: Investment in TTIP and beyond – the path for reform Enhancing the right to regulate and moving from current ad hoc arbitration towards an Investment Court.” This TTIP document is on the key issue of investment arbitration against governments.
And see: European Commission: RECONSTRUCTED: Draft sent 26/3-15 from the Commission to the Trade Policy Committee CHAPTER [ ] Regulatory Cooperation (pdf)
20. European Parliament Study: Analysis of Agenda Setting in the European Council, 2009–2014 (80 pages, pdf): “The research is based on a quantitative analysis of the European Council Conclusions (ECCs) complemented by qualitative examinations of particular elements of the agenda that emerge from the results of the quantitative analysis.”
21. UK: Campaign Opposing Police Surveillance: We Are All Targets Now (COPS, link):
“The political police’s choice of who it is reasonable to spy on includes anyone who is politically active, anyone who is related to them, anyone who attends an event at which they’re present. The construction blacklist proves that this is not mere background gathering of information in case it becomes useful. The political policing units have actively broken the law to help ensure their targets are denied work, deliberately inflicting the impacts that has on a person and their family. They are there to disrupt the activities and lives of those they spy on, and that can be anyone.”
See: Sitting in the Spycops Priority Area (Bristling Badger, link)
22. EU: Council of the European Union: EU Internet Referral Unit at Europol – Concept note (LIMITE doc no: 7266-15, pdf)
“Given the size of the problem, its span across multiple linguistic audiences and jurisdictions, tackling this phenomenon efficiently requires the EU Member States to pool resources and devise a coherent and coordinated European prevention strategy to counter terrorist propaganda and ensure that Internet remains a public good, free of terrorist and violent extremist propaganda while respecting fundamental principles such as the freedom of speech.
Accordingly, on 12 March 2015 the Council of Ministers agreed that building on the Check-the- Web project, Europol will develop an EU Internet Referral Unit (EU IRU) by 1 July 2015″
23. EU: European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS): Speech in Berlin: Value of the EU Data Protection Reform against the Big Data challenges (pdf):
“Let me start with a message that I hope will resonate with all of you: We need global bridges to be able to protect the personal data and privacy of the individuals facing borderless technologies, business models and networks that use their data as fuel.”
24. EU: Juncker demands secret service for Europe (The Times, link): “The president of the European Commission has demanded his own secret service to counter spies from the bloc’s national governments after it emerged that German secret agents helped America to spy on Brussels.”
25. EU: DATA PROTECTION REGULATION: Council of the European Union discussing its negotiating positions (30 April 2015): Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation):
• Relationship Chapters II and IX (LIMITE doc no: 8309-15, pdf) includes “Purpose limitation and further processing in Chapter II” and “Further processing and Article 83”, includes research exception.
• GENERAL PRINCIPLES: Chapters I and XI (LIMITE doc no: 8372-15, pdf) 66 Member State positions.
26. EU: RETURNS POLICY: Council of the European Union: From Council Presidency: Return and readmission policy – Discussion paper (LIMITE doc no 7156-15, pdf):
“In its March 2014 Communication on EU Return Policy, the Commission reported that “there is a considerable gap between the persons issued with a return decision (approximately 484 000 persons in 2012, 491 000 in 2011 and 540 000 in 2010) and those who, as a consequence, have left the EU (approximately 178 000 in 2012, 167 000 in 2011 and 199 000 in 2010). There are multiple reasons for this gap, including in particular lack of cooperation from the non-EU country of origin or transit (e.g. problems in obtaining the necessary documentation from non-EU consular authorities) and lack of cooperation from the individual concerned (i.e. he/she conceals his/her identity or absconds).”…..
Quite frequently, the third countries concerned appear reluctant to accept the “third country national clause” or even oppose its inclusion in the agreement…. It would probably be useful to further reflect on the need to review this strategy on readmission, adopted by the Council in 2011, and to look for more powerful incentives for third countries of origin to cooperate on readmission.
It might be useful to establish a linkage between the currently negotiated amendment of the Visa Code and the cooperation of third countries in the return/readmission of their nationals. The currently negotiated amendment of the Visa Code provides for a number of visa facilitations to third country nationals who are subject to the visa requirement. The applicability of these facilitations is currently exclusively linked to individual circumstances of third-country nationals. This approach might be reviewed, and visa facilitation only be granted to nationals of third countries who cooperate on readmission.” [emphasis in original]
27. EU: Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2015 (pdf)
See also: Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2014 (pdf), Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2013 (pdf) and Frontex: Annual Risk Analysis 2012 (pdf)
28. European Commission and the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy: Joint Communication: Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy (2015-2019) “Keeping human rights at the heart of the EU agenda” (JOIN 15-15, pdf)
29. CoE: Secretary General cites judicial weaknesses and media freedom as top human rights concerns: State of democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe; A shared responsibility for democratic security in Europe : Report by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (pdf)
“Europe’s democratic shortcomings are bigger, deeper and geographically more widespread than previously understood according to the latest overview of human rights, democracy and the rule of law in the 47 Council of Europe member states. The report, by Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland, identifies the lack of judicial independence in many countries and threats to media freedom across the continent as the two biggest challenges to democratic security.
“Honest and decent courts are essential for supporting democracy and maintaining stability, yet over a third of our member countries are failing to ensure that their legal systems are sufficiently independent and impartial,” said the Secretary General.
“Media freedom, on the other hand, is under pressure across the whole continent. Journalists face physical threats in many places, anti-terror laws are being used to limit free speech and certain media arrangements unfairly favour those who are in power.”
30. SECURITY AGENDA: European Commission: The European Agenda on Security (pdf) published 28 April 2015
31. EU: Council of the European Union: DATA PROTECTION REGULATION: LIMITE documents from 27 April 2015: Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (General Data Protection Regulation):
” RIGHTS OF THE DATA SUBJECT: Preparation for a general approach: Chapter III (LIMITE doc no: 7978-REV 1-15, pdf) 53 pages with 233 Member State positions. Possible deal on the key chapter of the data protection regulation – going to COREPER tomorrow.
” SWEDEN: Chapters I and XI (LIMITE doc no: 8353-15,pdf)
32. EU: CONNECTED CONTINENT: Council of the European Union: Proposal for a Regulation laying down measures concerning the European single market for electronic communications and to achieve a Connected Continent, and amending Directives 2002/20/EC, 2002/21/EC and 2002/22/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1211/2009 and (EU) No 531/2012:
” Preparation for the third informal trilogue – examination of the Presidency compromise text (LIMITE doc no: 8337-15,pdf)
EU-UK-GCHQ-USA-NSA SURVEILLANCE
http://www.statewatch.org/eu-usa-data-surveillance.htm
1. UK: MAKING REMOTE ACCESS TO COMPUTERS “LAWFUL”: Intelligence officers given immunity from hacking laws, tribunal told – Legislative changes exempting law enforcement officers from ban on breaking into people’s digital devices were never debated by parliament, tribunal hears (Guardian, link):
“GCHQ staff, intelligence officers and police have been given immunity from prosecution for hacking into computers, laptops and mobile phones under legislative changes that were never fully debated by parliament, a tribunal has been told.
The unnoticed re-writing of a key clause of the Computer Misuse Act has exempted law enforcement officials from the prohibition on breaking into other people’s laptops, databases, mobile phones or digital systems. It came into force in March. The new clause 10, entitled somewhat misleadingly “Savings”, is designed to prevent officers from committing a crime when they remotely access computers of suspected criminals.
Changes to the Computer Misuse Act were introduced by the Serious Crime Act 2015 which received royal assent on 3 March 2015. No reference to the true impact of the changes was made in the parliamentary explanatory notes that accompanied the bill, according to Privacy International.”
The Serious Crimes Act 2015 (pdf) contains the following amendment to the Computer Misuse Act: “the person does any unauthorised act in relation to a computer”[emphasis added: Section 41] As long as it is “authorised” its lawful.
See: After legal claim filed against GCHQ hacking, UK government rewrite law to permit GCHQ hacking (PI, link):
“In its legal filings, sent to Privacy International only the day before the hearing began, the Government notified claimants that the Computer Misuse Act was rewritten on 3 March 2015 to exempt the intelligence services from provisions making hacking illegal.
The explaintory notes that accompanied the act [Computer Misuse Act] make no reference to the true impact of the change. It appears no regulators, commissioners responsible for overseeing the intelligence agencies, the Information Commissioner’s Office, industry, NGOs or the public were notified or consulted about the proposed legislative changes. There was no published Privacy Impact Assessment. Only the Ministry of Justice, Crown Prosecution Service, Scotland Office, Northern Ireland Office, GCHQ, Police and National Crime Agency were consulted as stakeholders. There was no public debate.That legislation, deemed the Serious Crime Bill 2015, passed into law on 3 March 2015 and become effective on 3 May 2015.”
15 May 2015, the Home Office issued two amended Codes of Practice:
– Acquisition and Disclosure of Communications Data Code of Practice (pdf)
– Retention of Communications Data Code of Practice (pdf)
2. NSA: USA Freedom Act Passes House, Codifying Bulk Collection For First Time, Critics Say (The Intercept, link):
“After only one hour of floor debate, and no allowed amendments, the House of Representatives today passed legislation that seeks to address the NSA’s controversial surveillance of American communications. However, opponents believe it may give brand new authorization to the U.S. government to conduct domestic dragnets. The USA Freedom Act was approved in a 338-88 vote… The measure now goes to the Senate where its future is uncertain. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declined to schedule the bill for consideration, and is instead pushing for a clean reauthorization of expiring Patriot Act provisions that includes no surveillance reforms.”
It does not limit the government’s authority to collect information overseas, including data on telephone and email records – in short NSA can carry on spying on the rest of the world.
3. GERMANY-NSA-INQUIRY: WikiLeaks, er, leaks the Bundestag Inquiry into NSA naughtiness – Includes a German spook explaining how to siphon data from fibre-optic cables (The Register, link)
See: Bundestag Inquiry into BND and NSA (Wikileaks, link) Excellent, with transcripts of hearings.
4. German government denies deceit in NSA scandal (euractiv, link):
“Chancellor Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert rejected accusations of a govenment cover-up in the mushrooming NSA scandal. Seibert said on Monday (11 May) that he reported on the issue that to the best of his judgement, appropriately presenting his level of knowledge at that time. His statement comes in response to accusations that Washington never offered Germany a No-Spy-Agreement, in contrast to government statements that suggested otherwise at the time. “
and see: BND spying affair divides German coalition (euractiv, link)
5. USA: NSA mass phone surveillance revealed by Edward Snowden ruled illegal (The Guardian, link): “The US court of appeals has ruled that the bulk collection of telephone metadata is unlawful, in a landmark decision that clears the way for a full legal challenge against the National Security Agency.“
See the full judgment: ACLU v. Clapper (pdf)
6. USA- NSA: The Computers are Listening – How the NSA Converts Spoken Words Into Searchable Text (The Intercept, link):
“Top-secret documents from the archive of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show the National Security Agency can now automatically recognize the content within phone calls by creating rough transcripts and phonetic representations that can be easily searched and stored.”
See documents: Media Mining – the future is now (pdf) and UK: Security Service and speech technology (STRAP 1, pdf):
7. GERMANY-NSA: BND scandal: Bundestag committee issues ultimatum (euractiv, link):
“The Bundestag’s NSA investigation committee has demanded lists of search terms Germany’s intelligence service, the BND, allegedly spied on for Washington.”
And see: Merkel defends BND amid NSA spy scandal (euronews, link): “intelligence agencies must be able to work in secret to ensure the public’s safety. The German government will do everything it can to ensure that intelligence agencies are able to carry out their duties. In the face of international terrorism threats, they can only do this in cooperation with other intelligence agencies and that includes first and foremost the NSA.”
8. Germany spied on France and the EU Commission: Report (euobserver, link):
“German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has been embarrassed by reports that the country’s intelligence service was spying on France and the European Commission for the US National security agency (NSA).
According to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Thursday (30 April), the BND, the German intelligence service, listened in on officials from the French presidency and foreign affairs ministry, as well as the EU Commission…. “The core of the issue is the political espionage of our European neighbours and of the EU institutions,” a German official is quoted as saying by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.”
9. UK: GCHQ conducted illegal surveillance, investigatory powers tribunal rules – Eavesdropping agency must destroy documents containing legally privileged communications relating to Libyan rendition victim Sami al-Saadi (Guardian, link):
“The ruling marks the first time in its 15-year history that the investigatory powers tribunal has upheld a specific complaint against the intelligence services, lawyers have said. It is also the first time the tribunal has ordered a security service to give up surveillance material.
The IPT says GCHQ must destroy two documents which are legally privileged communications belonging to a former opponent of the Gaddafi regime, Sami al-Saadi, who was sent back to Libya in 2004 in a joint MI6-CIA “rendition” operation with his wife and four children under 12.”
10. USA: NSA allowed to continue spying on the rest of the world: Nearly Two Years After Snowden, Congress Poised to Do Something Just Not Much (The Intercept, link):
“Congress is doing nothing to limit NSA programs ostensibly targeted at foreigners that nonetheless collect vast amounts of American communications, nor to limit the agency’s mass surveillance of non-American communications. The limited reforms in the new bill affect only the one program explicitly aimed at Americans.”[emphasis added]
See: US Freedom Act 2015 (pdf)
And see: GCHQ is authorised to spy on the world but the UK Interception of Communications Commissioner says this is OK as it is lawful (Statewatch Analysis)
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