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How do we know there isn't a European equivalent of PRISM? The American one was kept secret for quite some time and it's not like European countries are any les

How do we know there isn't a European equivalent of PRISM? The American one was kept secret for quite some time and it's not like European countries are any less technically advanced or motivated.

swombat 13y ago
We know that GCHQ in the UK is doing something similar. But unlike the US system, we may have a chance to make a difference here since the EU is already pretty strict on data protection laws.
- kintamanimatt 13y ago
  I was under the impression that the data protection laws don't really say much about what the government can do internally, or even whether they play by the rules.
malandrew 13y ago
A loose federation would make it harder at the Europe-level, I would think. Don't national laws, or at least allegiance to laws at the national level, trump EU laws? Can the EU issue the equivalent of national security letters? In the US, it seems like the exploitation of obedience to authority (1963) and the fear of federal prison helped keep PRISM secret. I can't imagine the same thing happening in the EU. At the state level, I reckon it is possible that things are happening, but even in that case, how hard is it for an EU citizen to move across their nearest border and set up life their in order to whistleblow against their home country? Does the EU have whistle-blower protection laws where I could work in country away, move across the border to country B, blow the whistle on country A, and not fear extradition to country A since I'm protected under whistle blower laws?
- kintamanimatt 13y ago
  > Don't national laws, or at least allegiance to laws at the national level, trump EU laws? No. The EU issues directives which EU countries have to turn into laws. The implementation details vary from country to country, but save a few exceptions, laws the meet the minimum requirements of these directives must be enacted. This doesn't always happen in practice but it's a violation of EU law. Sometimes the laws just aren't enforced, like the UK's implementation of the EU cookie directive. No idea about any of the rest of your comment. Perhaps someone better informed will chime in.

How do we know there isn't a European equivalent of PRISM? The American one was kept secret for quite some time and it's not like European countries are any less technically advanced or motivated.

swombat 13y ago

We know that GCHQ in the UK is doing something similar. But unlike the US system, we may have a chance to make a difference here since the EU is already pretty strict on data protection laws.

kintamanimatt 13y ago
I was under the impression that the data protection laws don't really say much about what the government can do internally, or even whether they play by the rules.

malandrew 13y ago

A loose federation would make it harder at the Europe-level, I would think. Don't national laws, or at least allegiance to laws at the national level, trump EU laws? Can the EU issue the equivalent of national security letters? In the US, it seems like the exploitation of obedience to authority (1963) and the fear of federal prison helped keep PRISM secret. I can't imagine the same thing happening in the EU. At the state level, I reckon it is possible that things are happening, but even in that case, how hard is it for an EU citizen to move across their nearest border and set up life their in order to whistleblow against their home country? Does the EU have whistle-blower protection laws where I could work in country away, move across the border to country B, blow the whistle on country A, and not fear extradition to country A since I'm protected under whistle blower laws?

kintamanimatt 13y ago
> Don't national laws, or at least allegiance to laws at the national level, trump EU laws? No. The EU issues directives which EU countries have to turn into laws. The implementation details vary from country to country, but save a few exceptions, laws the meet the minimum requirements of these directives must be enacted. This doesn't always happen in practice but it's a violation of EU law. Sometimes the laws just aren't enforced, like the UK's implementation of the EU cookie directive. No idea about any of the rest of your comment. Perhaps someone better informed will chime in.