At the end of 2012 we told you about the renewal of the FISA
law in the United States a regulation that gives intelligence
agencies the ability to spy on the country's citizens without
warrants.
Now, after a report to the European Parliament, has warned
that the law also authorizes the surveillance of foreigners if
data are stored in cloud services from U.S. companies like
Google, Facebook or Microsoft
Something similar to what happened with the Patriot Act, which
could be used for obtaining data of citizens outside the United
States if there is a threat of terrorism.
This time, the approach is different, as the report makes clear
that FISA is an even greater risk for Data sovereignty
of EU member.
FISA was passed in 1978 by Carter, a regulation establishing
procedures for physical and electronic surveillance in addition
to the information collection U.S. citizens and permanent
residents suspected of being involved in espionage in the
country.
In 2008 FISA was introduced retroactively since the end of
2012 was renewed until 2017.
During the renewal process, a conflict arose between those
defenders civil liberties that warned the law as an attack on
the privacy of citizens
According Caspar Bowden, former chief advisor on Microsoft's
privacy Europe and the man who drafted part of the report:
- " The amendment gives U.S. created a power of mass
surveillance specifically aimed at non-US persons data
located abroad using cloud services. "
The law comes to indicate that U.S. companies with a presence
in the EU may be forced by a secret surveillance dictated in turn
by a court in secret, to deliver the data of Europeans.
According to Bowden account, most intelligence agencies of the
countries monitored real-time communications, such as emails or
phone calls from those groups under suspicion because of national
security.
FISA however, expressly authorizes the monitoring of these
communications real time data in the cloud related located abroad.
According to the ex-advisor:
- " It's like a blank favoring any interest in foreign policy U.S. and
legalized up to European journalists or political activists engaged in
any problem in which the United States may have some involvement. "
FISA explicitly makes it lawful for the country perform surveillance
continuous mass democratic ordinary activities. '
Even more, because it allows forcing U.S. providers in the cloud
like Google to provide the data required for European users.
Bowden finished the report asking the European Union to seek
explanations urge as providing a framework where every
European citizen can receive warnings that their data could
be violated under FISA.
FISA is: ( Foreign Intelligence and Surveillance Act Amendments )
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