A European Parliament research committee has approved a
resolution requesting that the US government stops monitoring
European citizens’ e-mail and telephone activities. The Committee
has concluded that the suspected US surveillance system named
“Echelon” does exist and that its operation is in breach of EU
privacy laws.
According to Newsbytes, the resolution is expected to be
presented before the full European Parliament in September. It
demands that the US government negotiate an agreement with the EU
to respect the privacy rights of individual citizens. In addition,
it calls for support from the American Civil Liberties Union and
the Electronic Privacy Information Center. Such support could help
because resolutions of the EU are not binding on the US.
Although the US government has never admitted the existence of
the Echelon system, the Committee clearly believes that a US spy
network is in operation. It has urged EU citizens to protect their
on-line privacy through the use of encryption software.
