ECHELON COMMUNICATIONS INTERCEPTION SYSTEM DEBATED IN BELGIUM
Belgian Parliament is poised to open public debate on communications spy systems next week in move to persuade govt. to step up privacy protections. In report issued March 12, Belgian Senate intelligence and security committee and House police services panel said Belgian citizens were being spied on and recommended creating European intelligence service and barring any sort of espionage or economic spying among European Union (EU) members. Report followed -- and built upon -- resolution adopted last Sept. by European Parliament (EP) that confirmed existence of global spy network dubbed “ECHELON” but was unable to find proof U.S. was using system, said to be able to intercept satellite, fax, Internet and other communications. Nevertheless, EP recommended EU states adopt laws protecting privacy of their citizens and businesses and urged EU and U.S. to step up international rules and data and privacy protection.
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Belgian Parliament decided to conduct its own investigation of ECHELON and other interception systems because “scope of the EP report is limited by the competence accorded to it by EU law [it’s considered guidance only],” said Hans Vanhevele, secy. of committee that drafted report. Countries can take broader judicial view of spy system -- which is said to be run by U.S. in conjunction with Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand -- under both their own national laws and European Treaty on Human Rights, Vanhevele told us. Report doesn’t deal with any specific kind of communications interception, he said, but “points out that ECHELON is focused for satellite interception which does not exclude that specific means might be developed for other forms of interception.” Moreover, Vanhevele said, report finds that ECHELON isn’t only existing communications satellite interception system around.
In addition to in-depth probe of ECHELON, report examined International Law Enforcement Telecommunication Seminars (ILETS) and interception systems in other countries such as France, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Russia. Its findings include: (1) Many nations, particularly powerful ones, have available global interception system that picks up satellite communications. (2) Systems such as ECHELON violate privacy and human rights laws. (3) Existing technologies permit criminal organizations and terrorists to intercept communications on grand scale.
Panels recommended, among other things, that Belgian govt.: (1) Raise political and legal questions about global listening schemes at govt. meetings of EU and other organizations. (2) Adopt general principles for protecting communications and sensitive information. (3) Consider creating service charged with recommending solutions to problem of protecting information and electronic method for alerting the govt. of abnormal interests in sensitive information. (4) Ask EU to create European intelligence service.
Public debate takes place March 27, Vanhevele said, “and the Senate expects the Belgian government to react to the conclusions and recommendations of the report.”