Internet

摘要

EU privacy chiefs will investigate the U.S. spy program Prism, the U.K.'s Tempora and other intelligence-ngathering systems, they said in an Aug. 13 letter to Justice, Fundamental Rights and CitizenshipnCommissioner Viviane Reding made public Monday (http://bit.ly/14XqCHR). The Article 29 Data ProtectionnWorking Party (WP29), whose members are national data protection authorities, said it's particularlynalarmed at recent revelations about the U.S. National Security Agency's XKeyscore, which allegedlynpermits the collection and analysis of the content of Internet communications from around the world. Althoughnthe U.S. has offered some clarifications, “many questions as to the consequences of these intelligencenprograms remain,” the group said. The WP29 is part of the joint EU-U.S. panel established to discussnmass surveillance (CD June 20 p10), but it “considers it its duty to also assess independently to whatnextent the protection provided by EU data protection legislation is at risk and possibly breached and whatnthe consequences of PRISM and related programs may be for the privacy of our citizens' personal data.”nThe WP29 wants answers to several questions, including: (1) What information is actually collectednthrough the intelligence programs of the U.S. Patriot Act, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Actn(FISA) Amendment Act, Executive Order 12333 and related measures; (2) Whether metadata on non-nU.S. individuals collected as a by-product of investigations of U.S. citizens may then be used to investigatenthe non-U.S. individuals and, if so, under what provisions; (3) Since data may apparently only be accessednif it comes from non-U.S. persons and is collected from sources inside the U.S., when U.S. authoritiesnconsider personal data to be inside the U.S., given the use of cloud and other online services; (4)nWhat the FISA Court's involvement is in terms of procedures, and whether its processing of personal datanaligns with the data protection principle of purpose limitation; (5) What the relationship is between thenintelligence programs and organizations' compliance with third-country personal data transfer rules such as Safe Harbor; (6) Whether American intelligence programs are in line with European and internationalnlaw. Reding welcomed the WP29's “strong support” for European Commission efforts to build an ambitiousnEU data protection regulation to safeguard fundamental rights, including in relation to third countries.nShe urged WP29 members to “exert their influence” in their respective nations to help ensure thatngovernments “support unequivocally a robust level of data protection in the new EU data protection regulationnthat is also effectively enforceable in PRISM-type situations.” Privacy authorities should help getnthe new regulation approved “as soon as possible and at the latest in spring 2014,” she said in a writtennstatement.