Brussels, 31/10/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 30 October, the initial conclusions from the European Parliament civil liberties committee delegation following its visit that began on Monday 28 October in Washington, stated that “no satisfactory response to the allegations of communications surveillance has been provided and no explanation has been given as to the level of the US government's knowledge in this connection”.
Although the Parliamentary committee in Washington has not brought any further revelations to light on NSA activities, MEPs did highlight the increasing concern of members of Congress. In a press release, the committee indicated that “with regard to the control mechanisms introduced concerning NSA activities, members of the US Congress expressed their concern about the absence of appropriate and efficient control”. Congress also expressed concern about the lack of a mechanism that would help to detect any potential mass espionage activity.
Members of Congress who met MEPs also confirmed that the legal framework set up in 2001 was not intended to allow mass surveillance of EU citizens to take place. Although the US Congress is currently examining several legislative initiatives to reduce or limit the powers of the NSA, this initiative will “focus on US nationals and residents”. The situation regarding nationals from third countries is unlikely to be addressed, says the press release and this issue will remain within the framework of international agreements. It has also been learned that private companies “expressed serious concern about the negative impact of these mass surveillance activities”. The failure of the US authorities to provide a convincing response could have an impact on US trade activities and its image abroad.
On Wednesday, the US press reported that the NSA was spying on Yahoo! and Google servers. According to the Washington Post, internal and private Yahoo! and Google networks that connect server farms across the world and allow the personal data of hundreds of millions of users globally to be organised and processed are being monitored by the NSA. The US agency is said to have extracted hundreds of millions of data, according to a report by AFP. Google, which itself has been berated by European regulators for its inadequate application of European rules has described these practices as “scandalous”. On 7 November, the civil liberties committee will resume its hearings on this subject in Brussels. (SP/transl.fl)