The infamous “Echelon” spying network operated by the U.S. and some of our allies has drawn increasing queries from Europe, and now the European Parliament also wants some answers (The Register).
In the United Kingdom, meanwhile, business leaders and civil libertarians are up in arms about a government proposal that is among the most big-brotherish ideas ever concocted. The British government wants pervasive surveillance rights over e-mail and other Internet traffic, as well as the right to demand people’s and companies’ encryption keys in certain circumstances.
The plan is an unworkable mess, but it’s going to cause huge damage if it passes. It may turn out that the British economy takes the worst hit, with businesses moving offshore to avoid the problems this proposal would surely cause. But the civil liberties aspect is even more foul. People may go to jail for refusing to turn over the keys to their entire lives.
I’ve been speaking to people on several sides of this question, and will have more on this in an upcoming column.