Saturday, October 14, 2006

Privacy Group Files Suit Against FBI WASHINGTON -- A privacy-advocacy group is suing the U.S. government for records concerning electronic-surveillance tools such as one that appears to be a successor to the FBI's abandoned Carnivore program. The Electronic Frontier Foundation said it is suing the Department of Justice because the FBI failed to respond in time to its Freedom of Information Act request for records on the DCS-3000 and Red Hook programs. DCS-3000 is an interception system that the EFF said apparently evolved out of Carnivore, a system later renamed DCS-1000. The FBI developed Carnivore to read e-mails and other online communications among suspected criminals, terrorists and spies, but privacy groups and lawmakers complained it could collect much more than allowed by a warrant. 1:17:29 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

EFF Sues the Dept. of Defense Over Surveillance. EFF Sues the Dept. of Defense Over Surveillance. An anonymous reader writes "The Electronic Frontier Foundation has launched a lawsuit against the US government, demanding the publication of information about FBI cyber surveillance operations. The EFF launched its action after the authorities failed to disclose information requested under the Freedom of Information act. The EFF wants to find out more about two electronic surveillance systems used by the government agency to monitor electronic communications." From the article: "A Justice Department Inspector General report in March said the FBI had spent about $10 million on DCS-3000 to intercept communications over emerging digital technologies used by wireless carriers before next year's federal deadline for them to deploy their own wiretap capabilities. The same report said the FBI spent more than $1.5 million to develop Red Hook, 'a system to collect voice and data calls and then process and display the intercepted information' before those wiretap capabilities are in place." [Slashdot: Your Rights Online] 1:14:27 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

ITworld.com - E.U. parliament gets ready to fight passenger data vote European Union parliamentarians are gearing up for a fight over data privacy, after justice ministers from the 25 countries in the E.U., together with the European Commission, signed a new temporary agreement to pass over airline passenger data to American authorities last week. Debating the agreement late Wednesday, many members of the European Parliament criticized the deal, which grants U.S. government agencies greater access to the passenger name record information than under a previous agreement that was deemed illegal by the European Court of Justice in May. "The European Union has completely capitulated to U.S. demands on this issue," Sylvia Kaufmann, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with the European United Left/Nordic Green Left alliance. "The fact that the CIA, an agency whose activities, torturing and kidnapping, this house is investigating in a special committee, will have access to passenger data is the real scandal, especially when one considers that the right of redress held by U.S. citizens is not extended to E.U. citizens," she added. 1:08:03 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []

E.U. Preps for Fight over Passenger Data. E.U. Preps for Fight over Passenger Data. narramissic writes "Following last week's signing of a new temporary agreement to pass over airline passenger data to American authorities last week, European Union parliamentarians are gearing up for a fight over data privacy. Sylvia Kaufmann, a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), commented that 'The fact that the CIA, an agency whose activities, torturing and kidnapping, this house is investigating in a special committee, will have access to passenger data is the real scandal, especially when one considers that the right of redress held by U.S. citizens is not extended to E.U. citizens.'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online] 1:05:00 AM  PermaLink   / trackback []