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Two critical notes to the general "holland is fantastic" fuzzy feelings. The Netherlands are European leaders when it comes to wiretapping communications. Its
by maurits 14y ago
Two critical notes to the general "holland is fantastic" fuzzy feelings.
The Netherlands are European leaders when it comes to wiretapping communications. Its laws gives the intelligence communities extensive powers to tap, filter and store. This was already the case well before 9/11. Secondly, privacy is usually not a political or social issue of any real significance.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- jkn 14y agoThe Netherlands recently passed a law on Net neutrality stating that a warrant is required for internet wiretapping: https://www.bof.nl/2012/05/08/netherlands-first-country-in-europe-with-net-neutrality/ https://www.bof.nl/2012/05/08/netherlands-first-country-in-e... I don't see anything wrong with wiretapping with a warrant. Do people who argue against them also argue against home search warrants?
- joelhaasnoot 14y agoLittle bit ironic BTW, seeing as The Netherlands has one of the highest phone wiretapping rates in the world.
- icoder 14y agoTrue, however the phone wiretapping rates are subject of debate as well. Phone wiretapping is simply one way a country can decide on by which criminal activities should be traced. Other countries do so in different ways, and comparing them, especially in different jurisdictions is not straightforward. For civilians that do not exercise criminal activities, wiretapping will be less of an influence on their lives as ACTA or non-net-neutrality would be. On average.
- lifeisstillgood 14y agoThe difficulty here is that NL has a strong oversight on wiretapping - so whereas in the UK, a single wiretap warrant can get other phone numbers on as riders (usually one cop doing a favour for another cop), which makes the UK numbers look smaller, the NL is more open and so has larger looking wiretaps.
- rickmb 14y agoThat "strong oversight" has been hampered by a refusal to publish details (we have absolutely no clue why there are so many wiretaps, and it's been hard enough to get the authorities to publish the raw numbers), and the oversight fails when it comes to storing and providing access to the collected data. The latter is particularly worrying, because we already know that in other areas, police access to private data collection is seriously being abused, and very badly organized. The oversight basically starts and ends with granting the permission to wiretap. Everything else is murky as hell.
- dlitz 14y agoI see something wrong with it if everyone is required to keep logs and to "know their customers", just in case someone comes along with a warrant. Such requirements destroy the ability to offer free public wi-fi.
- gaius 14y agoThe Dutch are historically Calvinists. That's why there are so few shutters on windows in Amsterdam, of if there are they have been added to buildings later. The cultural belief of "having nothing to hide" runs deep.
- darkestkhan 14y agoPhone wiretapping? DO you know what you are even talking about? They are only wiretapped... Come to Poland - to most invigilated country in Europe.