Library Briefing Library of the European Parliament 27/06/2013

Impact of programmes on EU citizen's rights to privacy

On 6 June 2013, articles in and cables (including connections to EU Member Washington Post based on information from States and the US) and shared it with the NSA. former US employee Full data were preserved for three days while stoked up the debate on inter- (e.g. in an e-mail the sender, net data surveillance. Further allegations that US recipient, IP address, date and time) were kept and UK intelligence agencies had accessed and for 30 days. The data included recordings of stored large quantities of data followed. phone calls, content of e-mail messages, Facebook content and users' histories. US Prism programme Apparently 300 GCHQ and 200 NSA analysts According to press sources, the US National were working on this project in May 2012. Security Agency (NSA)'s Prism programme A source with knowledge of intelligence collects various communication data flowing explained to the Guardian that the programme through the US from nine major US internet focuses on security, terror and organised firms – Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, crime. Even if a large amount of data was PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube and Apple. accessible, the vast majority of it was discarded Several providers disclosed that they received without being looking at. between 4 000 and 13 000 government requests for user data in six months. It was not EU, US, and analysts' views indicated how many of them were criminal or Central to the discussion is the right balance national security requests or whether they between data protection and security. EU and were related to Prism. US views differ in this regard. Academics The US legal background is the Foreign consider that the US's response to 9/11 relied Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which heavily on an expeditionary military effort, provides a framework for electronic whereas the EU considers terrorism a problem surveillance and collection of "foreign of internal security best addressed by law intelligence information" between "foreign enforcement and intelligence agencies. powers" and "agents of foreign powers". However, there is also a growing consensus. Requests are adjudicated by the Foreign In the plenary debate of 11 June 2013, MEPs Intelligence Surveillance Court, a secret 11- criticised the US' distinct rules for US citizens member court (hearings and records are not and foreign nationals. During the 20 June open to the public). The US President may debate in the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home authorise surveillance through the Attorney Affairs Committee with Commissioner Viviane General without a court order for periods of up Reding, most MEPs agreed that the Prism case to one year if there is no "substantial highlights an urgent need to pass legislation to likelihood" that a US citizen is involved. protect EU citizens' personal data. In the 2000 According to the press, the British Government debate on the existence of a global system for Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) and the intercepting communications among the USA, Dutch General Intelligence and Security the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Service (AIVD) had access to the data collected. Parliament set up a temporary committee which drafted the Echelon report. UK Tempora programme Concerning Tempora, press sources report Snowden also leaked information on the UK's several German government requests to British Tempora programme to the press. Apparently, counterparts on the legal basis and the extent the British GCHQ had extracted and stored data of surveillance. Commissioner Reding has also from more than 200 transatlantic fibre-optic written to UK Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Author: Franziska Zibold 130585REV1 Contact: [email protected] Disclaimer and Copyright: This briefing is a summary of published information and does not necessarily represent the views of the author or the European Parliament. The document is exclusively addressed to the Members and staff of the European Parliament for their parliamentary work. Links to information sources within this document may be inaccessible from locations outside the European Parliament network. © European Union, 2013. All rights reserved. http://www.library.ep.ec – http://libraryeuroparl.wordpress.com