IP: ECHELON Watch

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> Date: Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:59:41 -0500
> To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
> From: Barry Steinhardt <Barrys () aclu org>
>
> Dave,
>
> ACLU today launched a new web site www.echelonwatch.org, which is designed 
> to focus public attention on the threats to civil liberties which are 
> posed by the massive international communications surveillance program 
> sometimes known by the code name ECHELON. The attached release gives more 
> details on the site.
>
> I believe this issue will be of interest to the IP list.
>
> Regards,
>
> Barry Steinhardt
>
>
> ACLU Launches Web Site On Global Surveillance System
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
> Jennifer Helburn
> Tuesday, November 16, 1999
> (202) 675-2312
> 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.
> ###