Brazil opens investigation into US spying

[Catherina]

Yes indeed, there is a world, full of sovereign nations, outside the US. Pesky foreigners. Don't they knew we had constitutional lawyers in secret courts saying this is legal under secret laws?

Brazil opens investigation into US spying

By BRADLEY BROOKS
Associated Press

SAO PAULO (AP) - The Brazilian government began an investigation Monday into whether telecommunications firms operating in the country cooperated with the U.S. as part of a spying program that has collected data on billions of telephone and email conversations.

...

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff the nation would raise the issue at the 193-country U.N. International Telecommunications Union and also at the U.N. Commission on Human Rights since the "fundamentals" of human rights include "freedom of expression and the right to privacy."

"If there was any involvement of other countries, of other businesses that aren't Brazilian, then it's certainly a violation of our sovereignty, without a doubt, just like it's a violation of human rights," Rousseff said. "Now, we have to look at things without pre-judgment, we have to investigate."

Brazilian regulator Anatel said in its statement that "it's worth clarifying that the confidentiality of data and telephone communications is a right guaranteed by the constitution, by our laws and by Anatel's regulations. Its violation is punishable in civil, criminal and administrative realms."

...

Bernardo met Monday afternoon with U.S. Ambassador Thomas Shannon.

"He denied that there is such monitoring here in Brazil, he said that there never was a data center and that there is no agreement with Brazilian companies to collect data in Brazilian territory," Bernardo said...

...

http://www.kcautv.com/story/22786118/brazil-opens-investigation-into-us-spying

[bemildred]

1. PRISM: EU approves inquiry into NSA cyber snooping

The European Parliament has approved plans to launch an investigation into the US's PRISM cyber snooping programme, following allegations that the National Security Agency (NSA) bugged and spied on government ministers in the region.

The investigation was approved by 483 votes to 98 with 65 abstentions. It will be overseen by the Parliament's Civil Liberties Committee, which will mount an "in-depth inquiry into the US surveillance programmes, including the bugging of EU premises."

---

The news follows reports that US governments had been spying on European government and Commission officials as a part of their PRISM data collection campaign. Prior to the inquiry the EU Commission and Parliament demanded the US government reveal the extent of its spying campaign.

Since the PRISM scandal, reports have emerged claiming that several EU nation states including the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and France are carrying out similar cyber snooping campaigns. The UK is believed to be one of the worst offenders, with reports suggesting the GCHQ is collecting vast reserves of data by tapping into global telecoms cables, under an operation called Tempora.

http://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/2280234/prism-eu-approves-inquiry-into-nsa-cyber-snooping

[Katashi_itto]

2. But...but...according to our authoritarian water carriers this was supposed to blow over...!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3197433

[byeya]

3. Since Brasil was hesitant to join with other nations in S.A. the fact that the nation

is now doing this publically is a big boost for the independence movement on that continent.

[Coyotl]

4. Oh yeah, no agreement with Brazilian companies to collect data "in Brazilian territory" means

that they collect the data after it leaves Brazil! It is all about the routing!

[pinboy3niner]

5. Apparently, the routing has been mapped...

[Igel]

6. And what if it's something like Google in Brazil.

If it didn't happen on Brazilian territory and was done by the US portion of the firm, is it still a violation of Brazilian sovereignty?

I suspect they'd say yes. I suspect I'd disagree with them.

On the other hand, if the information passes through US territory, it's hard to see that the packets enjoy diplomatic immunity.

One has to wonder--if a Brazilian company was aware of a security flaw and didn't handle it immediately, and while it was dawdling the NSA used that flaw to hack a portion of the Brazilian network ... Would that be counted as "cooperation"? In this atmosphere, possibly. The ol' "if you're not for us, you're against us" mentality.