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Europe demands answers from Obama over surveillance by US: Europe calls for ans wers on US surveillance(Guardian (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Barack Obama was last night facing a mounting backlash in Europe against US surveillance operations as leading EU figures demanded immediate answers from their American counterparts and denounced the practice of secretly gathering digital information on Europeans as unacceptable, illegal and a serious violation of basic rights. Angela Merkel indicated she would press Obama on the revelations at a Berlin summit next week, while deputy European commission chief, Viviane Reding, said she would press US officials in Dublin on Friday, adding that "a clear legal framework for the protection of personal data is not a luxury or constraint but a fundamental right". Information chiefs in Berlin and Rome were no less alarmed. Peter Schaar, Germany's federal data protection commissioner, told the Guardian that it was unacceptable that US authorities had access to the data of European citizens "and the level of protection is lower than what is guaranteed for US citizens". His Italian counterpart, Antonello Soro, said that the data dragnet "would not be legal in Italy" and would be "contrary to the principles of our legislation and would represent a very serious violation". In Washington, public criticism grew of the sweeping surveillance state revealed by the whistleblower Edward Snowden, while in London the foreign secretary, William Hague, was forced to defend the UK's use of intelligence gathered by the US. Other European leaders also voiced concern. Political opinion in the US was split, with some members of Congress calling for the immediate extradition of a man they consider a defector, but other senior politicians in both parties questioned whether US surveillance practices had gone too far. Writing in the Guardian, Daniel Ellsberg, the former military analyst who revealed secrets of the Vietnam war through the Pentagon Papers in 1971, described Snowden's actions as the most significant leak in American history. Hours after the video interview with Snowden appeared on the Guardian website, he checked out of the Mira Hotel in Hong Kong and moved to another, safer location in the region. The Obama administration offered no indication of what it intended to do about Snowden, who was praised by privacy campaigners but condemned by some US politicians keen for him to be extradited and put on trial. The White House did, however, say he had sparked an "appropriate debate" and hinted it might welcome revision of the Patriot Act, legislation introduced in 2001 which, it claims, gives legal authority for the programmes carried out by the National Security Agency. "If [congressional] debate were to build to a consensus around changes [to the Patriot Act] the president would look at that," said the spokesman, Jay Carney. "Although this is hardly the manner of discussion we hoped for, we would still like to have the debate." Asked whether the US public had enough information to conduct the debate the president called for, Carney replied: "That's an excellent question - that too is open for discussion." He repeatedly declined to comment on the specifics of the case, even when asked by the Guardian whether Snowden would be permitted to testify at any congressional hearings on the matter. Earlier, the director of national intelligence said Snowden's case had been referred to the justice department, and US intelligence was assessing the damage caused by the disclosures. "Any person who has a security clearance knows that he or she has an obligation to protect classified information and abide by the law," said a spokesman, Shawn Turner. Snowden disclosed his identity in an interview with the Guardian published on Sunday. He revealed he was a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defence contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. He worked at the National Security Agency for the past four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell. He left on 20 May for Hong Kong, a location he chose because "they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent". In his interview, Snowden revealed himself as the source for a series of articles in the Guardian last week, which included disclosures of a wide-ranging secret court order that demanded the telecoms firm Verizon pass to the NSA the details of phone calls related to millions of customers, and a huge NSA intelligence system called Prism, which collects data on intelligence targets from the systems of some of the biggest tech companies. Snowden said he had become disillusioned with the overarching nature of government surveillance in the US. "The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to. There is no public oversight. The result is people like myself have the latitude to go further than they are allowed to," he said. "My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them." Snowden drew support from civil liberties activists and organisations. Ellsberg wrote for the Guardian: "In my estimation, there has not been in American history a more important leak than Edward Snowden's release of NSA material - and that definitely includes the Pentagon Papers 40 years ago". Thomas Drake, a former NSA executive who famously leaked information about what he considered a wasteful data-mining programme at the agency, said of Snowden: "He's extraordinarily brave and courageous." The Electronic Frontier Foundation, an internet rights group, called for a "new Church committee" to investigate potential government infringements of privacy and to write new rules protecting the public. In response to the Watergate affair in the mid-1970s, a Senate investigation led by Idaho senator Frank Church uncovered decades of serious abuse by the US government of its eavesdropping powers. The committee report led to the passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and set up the Fisa courts that today secretly approve surveillance requests. Hong Kong is unlikely to offer Snowden a permanent refuge, but he could buy time by filing an asylum request, thanks to a landmark legal ruling that has thrown the system into disarray. For years, Hong Kong has relied on the United Nations refugee agency to handle the bulk of claims. But in March its court of final appeal ruled that the government must independently screen cases. No system for processing the claims is yet in place. China-watchers also wonder if Beijing would wish to become publicly involved in such a high-profile case - particularly given China's doctrine of non-interference in other countries' domestic affairs, and that it comes days after the meeting between presidents Xi Jinping and Barack Obama, as the countries seek to improve bilateral relations. In New York, the mayor, Michael Bloomberg, cancelled at very short notice a planned photo opportunity with the Hong Kong chief executive, Leung Chun-ying. "It would have been a circus, so we decided to catch up with him another time," a mayoral spokesman told the Guardian. Shares in Snowden's employer, Booz Allen, fell on Monday by 61 cents, or 3.4%, in midday trading, a slight recovery from a 5% drop earlier in the session. In a statement on Sunday, the company said it had employed Snowden for less than three months on a team in Hawaii. It added that it was working with clients and authorities to investigate the leaks. "News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm," the statement said. Booz Allen Hamilton is a consultant to government and corporate clients. About 23% of its revenue, or $1.3bn, came from US intelligence agencies last year. The company has said in SEC filings that security breaches could materially hurt results. Additional reporting by Louise Osborne in Berlin, Lizzy Davies in Rome, Matt Williams and Tom McCarthy in New York, Tania Branigan in Beijing and the Associated Press Continued on page 4 = ? continued from page 1 The flag of Hong Kong, where the United States whistleblower Edward Snowden is unlikely to find permanent refuge (c) 2013 Guardian Newspapers Limited. |