[rohrpost]Terror: Offener Brief an EU-Ministerrat (fwd)

[stephan huber <ratzfatz@digitalmind.de>]

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Date: Freitag, 21. September 2001 12:37 Uhr +0200
From: "q/depesche" <depesche@quintessenz.at>
To: quintessenz-list@quintessenz.at
Subject: Terror: Offener Brief an EU-Ministerrat

q/depesche  01.9.21/3

Terror: Offener Brief an EU-Ministerrat

Dies ist ein  offener Brief von sieben europ�ischen
B�rgerrechtsorganisationen [privacy international, CCC,
quintessenz et al. siehe unten] an den Rat der EU Innen- und
Justizminister, der heute in Br�ssel tagt.

Gewarnt wird vor der Konstruktion eines europ�ischen
Polizeistaats im Namen der Terrorbek�mpfung. Wir ersuchen die
Multi-Kommunikator/inn/en auf dieser Liste h�flich, die Message
massiv zu verbreiten, da die �ffentliche Diskussion �ber vor allem in
der n�chsten Woche losbrechen wird.

Terror und �berwachung sind Geschwister. Es darf nicht sein,
dass uns der Terror die Freiheit nimmt.

Fragen beantwortet der quintessenzielle 0perator

++43 699 110 463 26
h@quintessenz.at

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European privacy and civil liberties organisations urge European
leaders to defend citizens' freedoms

21 September 2001

Seven European privacy and civil liberties organisations have urged
European leaders to defend citizens' freedoms in the wake of the
attack on the USA. In an open letter to the extraordinary informal
meeting of the European Council scheduled for Friday evening in
Brussels the organisations ask European leaders to refrain from
new and extended communications interception and lawful access
powers for police forces and intelligences services.

The organisations from Austria, Denmark, Germany, the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom question the effectiveness
and proportionality of such capabilities and warn against the grave
loss of privacy that those measures would lead to.

The open letter also urges to defend and promote the right of
private and secure communications through the use of encryption.
"To restrict the use of cryptography will negatively affect the
security of our communications infrastructure, further damage trust
in our economy, and will restrict the rights of individuals, without
affecting the capabilities of terrorists. We urge Europe's leaders to
carefully take the recommendations of the European parliament
regarding the Echelon report into account and stimulate the use of
open-source encryption technology."


The full text of the letter ---------------------------

21 September 2001

Open letter to the European Council


European privacy and civil liberties organisations urge European
leaders to defend citizens' freedoms


The terrorist attacks on the U.S. did not only target human lives
and property but also the essential values of freedom in open
societies. Political leaders in Europe will now wish to enhance the
security of their countries and protect the public from further
wrongdoing. We urge them to take this opportunity to defend the
freedom and the rights of Europe's citizens.

European privacy and civil liberties organisations urge Europe's
leaders to refrain from new and extended communications
interception and lawful access powers for police forces and
intelligences services. We question the effectiveness and
proportionality of such capabilities and warn against the grave loss
of privacy that those measures would lead to.

We support the recommendations of the European Parliament
regarding Echelon. The existence of the Echelon system did not
provide intelligence services with information about the attacks in
the U.S., and as a result we are concerned that Echelon and
similar systems threaten the rights of all European citizens without
achieving their stated goals. It is not likely that more legal
possibilities and funding for signals intelligence would change the
current situation.

We urge Europe's leaders to defend and promote the right of private
and secure communications through the use of encryption. To
restrict the use of cryptography will negatively affect the security of
our communications infrastructure, further damage trust in our
economy, and will restrict the rights of individuals, without affecting
the capabilities of terrorists. We urge Europe's leaders to carefully
take the recommendations of the European parliament regarding
the Echelon report into account and stimulate the use of open-
source encryption technology.

Also we urge European leaders not to implement legislation that
mandates internet and telecommunication service providers to
retain traffic data for law enforcement purposes. Retention of traffic
data will in effect transform our communications infrastructure into
a surveillance system that records intimate details of the personal
life of all citizens.

We, the undersigned European NGOs concerned with privacy and
civil liberties, look forward to working with Europe's leaders on
these issues. As we all deliberate on how to proceed and the
lessons we may have learned from the sad events in the U.S., we
must resist the political temptation to act hastily.

Signed by,

Bits of Freedom
Netherlands
http://www.bof.nl
+31204686451
info@bof.nl

Chaos Computer Club
Germany
http://www.ccc.de
+493030871715
presse@ccc.de

Digital Rights
Denmark
http://www.digitalrights.dk
+4526227133
phs@digitalrights.dk

Fitug
Germany
http://www.fitug.de
+498999637991
info@fitug.de

Foundation for Information Policy Research
UK
http://www.fipr.org
+442073542333
cb@fipr.org

Privacy International
UK
http://www.privacyinternational.org
+447958466552
pi@privacy.org

quintessenz
Austria
http://www.quintessenz.at
+43 699 110 463 26
h@quintessenz.at


terror und ueberwachung sind geschwister
http://www.bigbrotherawards.at
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q/depesche taeglich ueber
zivile freiheiten im netz

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