FC: Council of Europe drafts secret "Second Protocol"

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50529,00.html

   Beefed-Up Global Surveillance?
   By Declan McCullagh (declan () wired com)
   2:00 a.m. Feb. 20, 2002 PST
   
   WASHINGTON -- An addition to an international treaty could permit
   police to cooperate more closely on intercepting and decrypting the
   communications of suspected terrorists.
   
   The Council of Europe, which includes nearly all European nations, is
   meeting this week to prepare additions to a controversial "cybercrime"
   treaty that would cover decoding terrorist messages. The United
   States, Canada and Japan are non-voting members of the council.
   
   Peter Csonka, the head of the Council of Europe's economic crime
   division, said when the drafting process for the so-called Second
   Protocol is complete, the document will address "how to identify, how
   to filter, and how to trace communications between terrorists."
   
   Details are scarce, and the Council of Europe has repeatedly refused
   to elaborate. Csonka would not confirm or deny whether the Second
   Protocol will advance limits on encryption technology, coordinate
   code-breaking efforts among member nations, or increase electronic
   surveillance performed against people linked to terrorism.
   
   This week's closed-door meeting, reportedly taking place at the
   council's headquarters in Strasbourg, France, includes representatives
   from the U.S. Justice Department, which was one of the most
   enthusiastic backers of the original treaty.

   [...]



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