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                Date: 1999-11-17
                 
                 
                Neu: www.echelonwatch.org
                
                 
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      Die American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU], EPIC [Electronic  
Privacy Information Center] sowie die britische Omega  
Foundation, die den ersten STOA-Bericht [An Appraisal of  
the Technologies of Political Control 1996/97] an die EU- 
Kommission verfasst hat, hosten  
 
http://www.echelonwatch.org
                   
 
Man erwartet, dass die aus aller Herren stammenden  
Mitglieder der Global Internet Liberty Campaign, das Ihrige an  
regionalen Puzzlesteinen beitragen werden, damit die  
Dimensionen des globalen Molochs  ECHELON sichtbar  
werden. 
 
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  WASHINGTON-The American Civil Liberties Union today  
launched a web site designed to shed light on a global  
electronic surveillance system known by the code name  
"Echelon" that reportedly allows the United States and other  
governments to eavesdrop on private citizens. "Echelon is  
perhaps the most powerful intelligence gathering network in  
the world," said Barry Steinhardt, Associate Director of the  
ACLU. "But it is still very much a black box, which  
apparently operates without the oversight of Congress or the  
courts." The website - www.echelonwatch.org - encourages  
public discussion of the potential threat that Echelon poses  
to civil liberties, and allows visitors to fax free letters to  
Congress, urging their support for a congressional inquiry into  
the Echelon project. It also provides a collection of research  
documents on Echelon. After many years of reports by  
investigative journalists, the existence of Echelon became an  
international issue when the European Parliament received  
two reports detailing its operations and after the Australian  
government confirmed its participation in the operation.  
According to those reports, Echelon is led by the U.S.  
National Security Agency in conjunction with its counterpart  
agencies in England, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.  
Echelon reportedly attempts to capture all satellite,  
microwave, cellular and fiber-optic communications  
worldwide, including communications to and from North  
America. Computers then use sophisticated filtering  
technology to sort through conversations, faxes and emails  
searching for keywords or other flags. Communications that  
include the flags are then forwarded to the intelligence  
agency that requested them. The report to the European  
Parliament charged that Echelon had been used in the  
United Kingdom to spy on charities such as Amnesty  
International and Christian Aid. "Echelon can no longer be  
dismissed as an X-Files fantasy," Steinhardt said. "The  
reports to the European Parliament make it quite clear that  
Echelon exists and that its operation raises profound civil  
liberties issues." The NSA has refused to share with  
Congress and the public the legal guidelines for the project.  
This refusal prompted passage of a bill, now in the final  
stages before becoming law, requiring the intelligence  
agencies to prepare a report on the legal standards they use  
for monitoring communications. Within the next few months,  
the U.S. House Government Reform and Oversight  
Committee will hold hearings on Echelon. "It appears that the  
U.S. government is once again spying on Americans' private  
communications," said Gregory T. Nojeim, a legislative  
counsel in the ACLU's Washington National Office.  
"Congress must determine if Echelon is as sweeping and  
intrusive as has been reported, and most importantly, it must  
ensure that Americans' conversations are not intercepted  
without a court order." The ACLU created and administers  
the site in conjunction with the Washington, DC based  
Electronic Privacy Information Center and the Omega  
Foundation of Great Britain, which prepared the first report to  
the European Parliament.  
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edited by Harkank 
published on: 1999-11-17 
comments to office@quintessenz.at
                   
                  
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