41–50 of 67 posts
European governments haven't earned our trust any more than the US government. The adversary may vary, but the network is the same hostile environment and should be treated with the same caution.
Would they force European users to not use GMail? Or force GMail to create a European branch?
I don't think governments prescribing what services to use is a good idea...
While I welcome the initative, I think this a case of sky hooks and tartan paint. I also find it highly amusing that based on her comments she suggests that the UK is considered to be outside Europe.
Based on the UK's actions they consider themself the same. EG. Hacking Belgacom to to snoop on the EU.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cameron promised a referendum. I hope they get out for good this time.
Heh, there is absolutely no way that the Conservatives will let the UK leave the EU. This is an empty promise to try and stop their grassroots voting UKIP. The thing it, while many of the people who vote Tory want the UK to leave Europe, the people who actually fund the Conservative party make a lot of money from being part of the EU. The disconnect between the voters and the funders of the Conservative Party has bee…
There will be a certain irony if the Conservatives lose out at the next general election because UKIP divides their vote and something between a Labour landslide and a Labour-Lib Dem coalition happens... because of the AV voting reforms that the Conservatives heavily opposed a couple of years ago.
European governments haven't earned our trust any more than the US government. The adversary may vary, but the network is the same hostile environment and should be treated with the same caution.
I would say that at least the German government has a better track record in consumer/privacy protection. Far from perfect obviously, but better.
I seriously doubt that Merkel's intentions are pure on this. For starters, we know that Germany has given some degree of cooperation in NSA spying, including allowing the US to build an army base that will be used by the NSA[1]. Secondly, we know that the BND used the NSA's systems for its own intelligence purposes[2]. Something tells me this is as much (if not more) an attempt to put European users' data within reac…
That's what we call sovvereignity. And that is the problem with the NSA.
Germany has a project called DE-Mail. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De-Mail
It's a kind of E-Mail service to improve Data-Protection and get legally binding electronic communication. So far so good.
But how is this done, and what are the impacts. At first E-Mail got a price tag. Second, there is no End-To-End-Encryption. Third, you're legally bound if they say this mail arrived, no matter if you even noticed or read. 4th there are public companies involved, able to read high sensitive data sent by DE-Mail, because there is no End-to-End communication. This companies are also able, but not allowed, to send legally binding mails in your name. How could you prove, you didn't sent?
This is the context, when German politicians talk about the internet. They have no clue.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
A more self-sufficient European network, especially one that excludes Great-Britain (sorry guys...), would raise the effort required to do surveillance. The NSA doesn't have a limited budget. It already has more data than it can use.
I don't think any EU network is likely to exclude the UK, given BT's ownership of so many key telecoms patents and the fact that they have the contract to provide external connectivity for the commission, Parliament and Council, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Condit…
And contracts are not forever.
While I welcome the initative, I think this a case of sky hooks and tartan paint. I also find it highly amusing that based on her comments she suggests that the UK is considered to be outside Europe.
(So also be wary about that when interpreting comments - if they're paraphrased in UK media, this can easily creep in)