lambda 3.08
FRENCH CRYPTOSOAP #123578
XS4ALL SUE THE SNOOPERS
CHINA FREE DATA ACT?
SUR MESURE FILTERING
The lambda publishes some documents criticizing the long-awaited French decrees about crypto and key recovery schemes.
- The "observation letter" sent by the EC in Brussels,
explaining how some section could "hinder" the free circulation
of productions in the Union.
> Some abstracts in French
> Some English-translated
sections
> Context
- The French Parliament's Commission for Post & Telecom Public Service (CSSPPT) released a fierce critic - but with no power of action, it's a consultative advice - of the draft crypto policy.
The Amsterdam-based ISP XS4ALL decided to sue police officers and general prosecutors after an instruction to tap a subscriber's Internet account. (see the press-r and also in lambda 3.07).
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From: "Maurice Wessling" <maurice@xs4all.nl>
Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997
XS4ALL files complaint with Chief Public Prosecutor
XS4ALL Internet Friday filed a complaint with Chief Public Prosecutor Vrakking in Amsterdam against the Examining Magistrate and Public Prosecutor who ordered XS4ALL on October 31st to tap the Internet traffic of one of its users.
The Ministry of Justice had based its instruction on Article 125i of the Code of Criminal Procedure. On November 13th XS4ALL refused to comply, as in its view this lacked all legal basis. Failure to comply with legal instructions is a penal offence.
Given all the reactions that XS4ALL has meanwhile received, it is reinforced in its view that the Ministry has exceeded its remit. On the basis of Article 125i of the Code of Criminal Procedure, tapping is not something that can be or should be requested. XS4ALL believes that the attempt by the Ministry to compel it to cooperate in applying illegal methods of investigation should not be allowed to pass off without sanction. XS4ALL is urging that an early trial case be brought so that a penal court can pronounce on the finding and the action of the civil servants involved.
XS4ALL has therefore filed a complaint on the basis of Articles 365 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and article 140 of the Penal Code. Article 365 of the Code of Criminal Procedure implies 'coercion' by a civil servant, whereby a civil servant abuses his authority and compels someone to do something. In this case, the civil servants involved knew that the instruction was not founded in law and abused their authority by still demanding that their instruction be followed. Furthermore, publications also reveal that the same instruction has been given to various other Internet Providers and that there were lengthy discussions with them. There are therefore adequate grounds for suspecting the civil servants involved of participation in an organisation engaged in committing crimes; Article 140 of the Penal Code applies.
XS4ALL feels obliged in principle to protect its users' privacy. Furthermore, XS4ALL has a commercial interest, as it must not run the risk of users bringing proceedings under civil law on account of unlawful acts. This could happen with such an intervention by the provider not based on law. Finally, from the social point of view it is important that means of detection have an adequate legal basis. Complying with the injunction could serve as an undesired precedent which could have a major impact on the privacy of all Internet providers in the Netherlands. ...
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The CND news online service about China released a brief abstracts of a recent South China Morning Post article, in Hong Kong, explaining that China's authorities are about to forget the filtering policy and control of access. It seems, however, that a laissez-faire policy towards English-speaking web sites doesn't mean that the government has lost the power to block data.
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[CND, 12/15/97] The South China Morning Post reports that despite previous efforts by the government to limit domestic access to the internet, more and more Chinese people can obtain full worldwide internet access, and the number of individual and commercial subscribers in China is mushrooming. Internet subscriptions have nearly doubled or grown even beyond that during 1997, to an estimated 250,000 according to the latest figures by the paper, and at 600,000 by a recent Xinhua News Agency's report. Internet service providers (ISPs) and Internet Cafes ... are becoming popular in many of >the largest cities.
The government, which had hitherto been wary of the Internet's potential for >exposing its users to "spiritual pollution," now seems to fear falling behind in Internet technology and literacy levels even more, and is dropping >many of its tries at preventing Chinese users from accessing previously forbidden materials.
>The government began developing a regulatory and technological control structure once access to the Internet started appearing outside academic institutions in 1995. This culminated in broadly-based laws enacted in February 1996 that were backed by secured backbone connections provided only >by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. Scanning software would alert officials were a user to see certain sets of words; furthermore, the Ministry would block certain news, political, and pornographic sites; and it required that users register with the Public Security Bureau. ISPs were held directly responsible for what their users could see.
>These methods are losing effectiveness. Now it is possible to read uncensored reports from such news agencies as Reuters and CNN. Even many sites offering overt access to pornography are getting through the government's screens. The London-based Tibet Information Network server has been seen on some ISPs, even including reports alleging abuses by Chinese authorities in Tibet and chronicling international efforts to promote that Tibet's independence. The China News Digest, the service providing the publication you are reading now, has long been banned in China, but is now reportedly accessible through an ISP in Shanghai. Internet access cards sold >for use at Internet Cafes, similar to telephone calling cards, allow users to browse anonymously.
>Much of the relaxation of Internet controls may stem from pragmatism. The government seems reluctant to invest the money, computers, and technically- proficient labor necessary so that the control infrastructure will grow proportionately with the growth of subscribers. Also, like in many other countries, the authorities may have learned that effectively controlling Internet content is virtually impossible, as nearly anything the government may put in place is too easily bypassed by users and ISPs.
>Many government agencies are even getting into the act themselves, with some establishing their own Internet sites, and one even trying to implement >a system to allow electronic commerce via the Internet. A group of Hong Kong investors are reportedly teaming with Xinhua, the official state news agency, to create the "China Wide Web," a Chinese-language Internet service offering access to business information and to approved Web sites, with full access as an option.
>Internet access remains very expensive in China, with one ISP reportedly asking for 50,000 Yuan (just over US$6,000) up front to set up an account. Internet access is not obtainable by many poorer persons and in remote regions of China. However, marketers are finding that demand for full, uncensored Internet access remains high in China and is growing rapidly. (Phil Stephens, Guochen WAN).
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-- fwd --
From: bortzmeyer@pasteur.fr
Subject: Fwd: CyberPatrol and hate speech Date: Thu, 18 Dec 97
Bientôt sur vos écrans [Tommorow on screen - that's a joke]
"The Learning Company Inc. and the Ku Klux Klan today announced they reached an agreement on the development of a special KKK version of TLC's popular Cyber Patrol Internet filter to screen out sites promoting anti-racism and democracy."
-- Forwarded Message
Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 19:49:12 GMT0BST
From: "Yaman Akdeniz" <lawya@lucs-01.novell.leeds.ac.uk>
Subject: CyberPatrol and hate speech
http://www.microsys.com/pr97/tlc1297c.htm
Fighting High-Tech Hate: The Learning Company Develops Hate Speech Filter For Anti-Defamation League
December 16, 1997
CAMBRIDGE, MA. - The Learning Company Inc. (NYSE:TLC), today announced an agreement with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to develop a special ADL version of TLC's popular Cyber Patrol Internet filter to screen out sites promoting anti-Semitism, bigotry and hatred.
"We are pleased to assist the ADL in its continuing battle against hate and bigotry in all forms, including its latest incarnation in cyberspace," said Richard A. Gorgens, vice president of advanced technology for the Internet Solutions Group of The Learning Company.
The foundation for the ADL filter will be Cyber Patrol, the world's most widely used Internet filtering software. ADL will use its more than 80 years of experience in fighting hate to compile a special list of hate sites that will be embedded in the Cyber Patrol software. The product, to be marketed by the ADL, also will provide parents with the standard Cyber Patrol list of sites inappropriate for children.
...
The Anti-Defamation League has published an 86-page booklet on how extremist organizations are using the Internet. "High-Tech Hate," available from the ADL, examines the growing use of the Internet by hate groups, including established organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazis, militias and independent "webmasters of hate."
...
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