FC: German cabinet orders ISPs to install customer-monitoring-ware

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

This reminds me (and some Politech members have mentioned it too) of 
Russia's SORM Internet surveillance system:
http://www.politechbot.com/cgi-bin/politech.cgi?name=sorm

What the Brits have done:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02422.html

And domestically, similar proposals reportedly are already being discussed:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02683.html

-Declan

**********

Date: Thu, 25 Oct 2001 00:51:57 +0200
From: Alexander Svensson <alexander () svensson de>
To: declan () well com
Subject: Germany: Net surveillance and more anti-terrorism plans

Hi Declan!

The German Cabinet has passed an ordinance about
telecommunication surveillance (Telekommunikations-
überwachungs-Verordnung/TKÜV) based on the German
federal telecommunications law, allowing for
monitoring of forms of telecommunications other
than telephone calls. The industry has to create
the conditions allowing for such surveillance.
Excluded are operators of telecommunication
networks for a restricted group of users (i.e.
internal company networks, hotels etc.) and
non-profit operators. Internet exchange nodes
are also exempt.

According to Heise Online/Telepolis, ISPs don't have
to install surveillance facilities for Internet users
on dial-up or ISDN lines, but for those with DSL,
cable or other high-bandwidth connections.
Approval by a judge is needed for the surveillance
and recording of telecommunication. The ordinance
has been debated for years, but after the terrorist
attacks, the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce
and others gave up their resistance to the measures.
Before, they estimated costs in the billions of
deutsche mark.

In other news, several German civil rights activitists
and groups are jointly trying to prevent the passing of
an anti-terrorist bill planned by the Ministry of the
Interior. There are discussions about ID cards carrying
biometrical data and plans for wider use of profiling.
Especially the powers which the government wants to
give to the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation
(Bundeskriminalamt/BKA) are under attack -- the line
between the police, secret service and the agencies
especially charged with the protection of the
Constitution (Verfassungsschutz) is becoming blurred.
However, one of the (governing) Social Democrat members
of parliament promised on TV that the proposals would
be improved until they hardly resemble the first drafts.

Some links, unfortunately all in German:
Civil rights groups coalition: http://www.saveprivacy.de/
Chaos Computer Club: http://www.ccc.de/CRD/CRD20011022.html
Proposed bill: http://www.ccc.de/CRD/schilyterror1.pdf
Telepolis: http://www.heise.de/tp/

/// Alexander 




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