[h2o-discuss] Tuyet/How's the musical composition going? [maryanne] mon amie

[mary anne simpson <mas115@netscape.net>]

"Tuyet A. Ngoc Tran" <tatn2000@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hi everyone,

I am forwarding a short e-newsclip regarding Echelon.
I am curious as to how the discussants think about the
issue that seems to elude the interest of cyberlaw,
individual privacy and rights. This is not to
encourage alarmist response but rather soliciting for
some thoughtful contributions regarding your opinions
on an issue that affects all of us. 

My parents uprooted our family by choosing the
difficult refugee life overseas and,  drastically
altered their lives and that of their children just
for to retain individual rights and freedom to express
our ideals and beliefs. I admit that my background has
shaped my interests in personal rights and respecting
individual expressions however different from mine. 

The Net has opened doors for me in countless ways and
manners that are considerably wonderful. I am also
mindful of the dual edged values of technological
developments. By this, I mean as the "cyber doors" are
opened to me as I hop around the globe and meet
countless people;  the same "doors" can be used for
other than legitimate purposes where personal rights
and privacy are invariably compromised. This is an
area where the Berkman Center can address in tandem
with the interests in open-code, users, and
intellectual property. Each issue involves the concept
of "rights" such as the development of open-source so
to provide choices, therein lies the individual
right/decision. By the same token, users are people
who are given the options/choices to have access to
different platforms and means of access. I realize
that it is a bit of stretch for me to connect human
rights & personal privacy to the open-source concept. 
On the other hand, if you review the underlying
reasons in the argument for open-source, therein lies
the notion of personal choices. Personal privacy
however cumbersome on a day-to-day basis remains an
inalienable right of that individual, on or off-line. 

The question is how essential is the draconian means
of governmental monitoring some unsuspecting users'
activities whose most exciting news for the day could
be, that their Csound musical instrument sounds like a
sitar! In brevity, most average users' activities need
not even the most passive interest by NSA. On the one
hand, someone will invariably point to the need of
deterrence and/or controllin  terroristic acts that
may justify Echelon's existence, on another there is a
viable need for legislative regulations to establish
guidelines that protect the average users. 
 
I look forward to hearing from other H2o discussants.
Thank you. 

Tuyet


__________________________________________
>From Wired News, available online at:
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,32586,00.html
 
ACLU to Spy on Echelon  
by Chris Oakes  
3:00 a.m. 17.Nov.1999 PST 

The American Civil Liberties Union has focused its
eye on an international electronic surveillance system
that allegedly eyeballs regular citizens. 
 
The civil liberties watchdog launched Echelon Watch,
a site designed to prompt governmental investigation
into the reality -- and the legalities -- of a global
electronic surveillance system said to be code-named
"Echelon." 

"This has gone from X Files material to clear
reality," said ACLU associate director Barry
Steinhardt. "I think at this point it's fact that it
exists."  The ACLU created and administers the site in
conjunction with the Electronic Privacy Information
Center and the Omega Foundation of Great Britain,
which prepared a report on the issue to the European
Parliament. 
 
No US intelligence agency has confirmed Echelon, but
Steinhardt believes there is sufficient evidence to
require a congressional investigation. "I admit that
we do not know all the details,"  Steinhardt said.
"But based on these credible reports, it is plainly
very large, and very sophisticated." 
 
The ACLU bases its position mainly on two reports
commissioned by the European Parliament and a letter
written by an Australian intelligence official, which
confirmed aspects of an Echelon-like operation
involving the United Kingdom, the United States, and
Australia. 
 
According to reports such as those solicited by the
European Parliament, Echelon is led by the National
Security Agency in the United States, in conjunction
with its counterpart agencies in England, Canada,
Australia, and New Zealand. 
 
Such reports paint a picture of an internationally
coordinated surveillance system that intercepts and
analyzes global land-based and space-based
communications networks, such as the Internet.
Monitoring operations run by intelligence agencies
worldwide are said to catch everyday telephone, data,
cellular, fax, and email transmissions. The
transmissions are then purportedly analyzed for
suspect activity -- such as terrorism -- and handed
off to the appropriate government. 

By coordinating across national boundaries,
governments can monitor each other's traffic and
circumvent laws prohibiting governments from spying on
their own citizens. Echelon reportedly attempts to
capture satellite, microwave, cellular, and
fiber-optic
communications.   The latest in a trickle of what are
often merely suggestions of Echelon-like operations is
a patent issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office
to the US National Security Agency in August for
voice-recognition technology.   Steinhardt pointed out
that the technology is designed to summarize voice
communications for further examination. Such
technology sounds Echelon-ish -- but then again, it
was issued to an intelligence-gathering agency. 
 
That's partly why the ACLU wants to see the issue
taken beyond disparate reports, theories, and rumors. 
"Echelon operates inside this black box -- without
judicial supervision, without public notice,"
Steinhardt said. "At this point what the ACLU is
asking for is full disclosure of the laws under which
Echelon operates -- something the NSA has refused to
provide, even to Congress." 
 
The report to the European Parliament said that the
United Kingdom used the Echelon system to spy on
charities, including Amnesty International and
Christian Aid. 
 
The United States has never officially acknowledged
Echelon's existence. When approached to discuss
Echelon-related developments, the National Security
Agency repeatedly declines comment. 
 
Representative Bob Barr (R-Georgia) earlier this year
amended intelligence legislation in the House of
Representatives to require US intelligence agencies to
report on legal standards used in surveillance
activities. 
 
The legislation -- which targets the National Security
Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the
Department of Justice -- remains in a House-Senate
conference committee awaiting action. 
 
Barr is a former CIA official and US attorney who
serves on the House Judiciary and Government Reform
committees. He has accused the NSA of conducting a
"dragnet" of communication and "invading the privacy
of
American citizens." 
 
Documents posted at Echelon Watch include the fax
image of a letter sent to an Australian journalist
from the Office of the Director of the Australian
Defence Signals Directorate (DSD), Martin Brady. 

The operating rules of the Australian agency "do
provide mechanisms to permit DSD to monitor and report
foreign communications involving Australians in some
special carefully-defined circumstances," the
letter said. "DSD does cooperate with counterpart
signals intelligence organizations overseas under the
UK-USA relationship." 

In addition to a collection of such documents
related to Echelon, the new ACLU site will leverage
the group's existing site traffic to encourage public
discussion of Echelon's impact on civil liberties. It
features links prompting visitors to urge an
investigation to Congress. 
 
"I think it's beginning to be taken seriously in
Washington," Steinhardt said. "It's certainly being
taken seriously in other parts of the world. I think
the hearings will be the likely next step."  



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