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On Thursday, Congress advanced a bill which would allow European citizens to sue the US government if their data is misused in an international law enforcement investigation. The proposal is one of several cybersecurity bills currently in progress in the US and in Europe.
Known as the Judicial Redress Act, it's intended to address imbalances in how the US and international governments share data in criminal investigations, including terrorism cases. It's part of a larger "umbrella agreement" between the US and the European Union to further define how the two sides share information. Currently, US citizens can sue in European courts over the misuse of their data, but the US does not have similar protections.
...
"If we fail to pass the Judicial Redress Act, we will undermine several important international agreements, harm our businesses operating in Europe and severely limit the sharing of law enforcement information," Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R) of Wisconsin, who introduced the bill in March, said during the meeting.
Will Europeans fare better than the American citizens who already sued the US government for total surveillance?
(Score: 3, Funny) by TheGratefulNet on Tuesday September 22 2015, @12:46AM
"If we fail to pass the Judicial Redress Act..."
well, we'll just try again, but this time, with a blue dress act!
"we have lots of tries left", Dr. Roy G. Biv was quoted as saying.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 22 2015, @12:56AM
They should be able to sue over the unconstitutional, unethical, and democracy-destroying mass surveillance, but we also need to severely restrict the sharing of people's private information between governments.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by Fluffeh on Tuesday September 22 2015, @03:00AM
It's got nothing to do with whether they "should have the right" or not.
This is about Congress either deciding to make it less appealing for the three letter agencies to use/abuse this information - or at least to put on the impression that they are trying to do something about it. In reality, it is very unlikely that any European will actually sue, much less that any such case would actually win (because winning such a case would likely mean having to dismantle much of the bugging and officially denouncing it as wrong etc) - but if anything, this action would actually *improve* the business opportunities for American corps operating in Europe - after all, they can now say "Hey, if you feel wronged by our government, you can sue them!" rather than only being able to say currently "Yeah, it sucks huh?".
(Score: 5, Informative) by tathra on Tuesday September 22 2015, @04:08AM
they could always just, you know, enforce the law. [cornell.edu] This law, under which they are all criminals, is for the punishment for violating one's oath of office, [abovetopsecret.com] per executive order 10450. [archives.gov]
violating one's oath of office, eg, undermining, subverting, or ignoring the constitution, or suggesting to do so, is a federal crime. its time we start calling for this law to be enforced.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 22 2015, @09:09AM
Nice homework problem for Probability 101 students. Care to calc the odds on that ever happening?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 22 2015, @11:00AM
Trump 2016.
Anything could happen.
(Score: 2) by etherscythe on Tuesday September 22 2015, @05:34PM
Damn his name, I want to make a Wild Card joke and I can't!
"Fake News: anything reported outside of my own personally chosen echo chamber"
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Joe Desertrat on Tuesday September 22 2015, @01:29AM
we will undermine several important international agreements, harm our businesses operating in Europe and severely limit the sharing of law enforcement information
How about ditching any international agreement that requires this and have law enforcement get warrants (or some sort of oversight) to share info. Oh, and fuck our businesses operating in Europe. That's their problem.
(Score: 4, Funny) by jdavidb on Tuesday September 22 2015, @01:33AM
Oh, and fuck our businesses operating in Europe. That's their problem.
Yeah, how about people operate their own business at their own expense and their own risk for a change, instead of passing the risk and expense on to everybody else?
And what is this "our" business? I don't have any businesses in Europe!
ⓋⒶ☮✝🕊 Secession is the right of all sentient beings
(Score: 4, Funny) by FakeBeldin on Tuesday September 22 2015, @11:54AM
And what is this "our" business? I don't have any businesses in Europe!
You're obviously neither a politician nor an entity who owns politicians.
</sarcasm>
(Score: 2) by jdavidb on Tuesday September 22 2015, @01:30AM
ⓋⒶ☮✝🕊 Secession is the right of all sentient beings
(Score: 4, Insightful) by frojack on Tuesday September 22 2015, @02:09AM
The thing is, this law can't give Europeans any better chance of success than an American suing the government.
Most often courts just deny that you have standing, by stating you haven't proven that you were harmed, or that the government actually uses any of your data. Europeans will have to prove that just as Americans do.
But, As TFA says,
the US government is going to have presumption of duty on its side, and it’s going to be an exceptionally rare judge, especially at the appellate level, who will let this case win.”
The presumption of duty means that it is the DUTY of the government to spy and collect data on foreign persons, in order to protect the United States, just as the British and German governments are presumed to have the duty. It would have to be an egregious case of misuse of the information to even get standing.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 22 2015, @02:24AM
The presumption of duty means that it is the DUTY of the government to spy and collect data on foreign persons, in order to protect the United States
No, the government doesn't have a "duty" to violate people's fundamental rights through the use of mass surveillance in the name of safety; in fact, it simply should not be allowed unless they have reason to spy on a specific individual. If the courts say otherwise, they're wrong. And no, it doesn't matter how many other countries do it; that's all the more reason to set an example.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by mhajicek on Tuesday September 22 2015, @02:54AM
So we can't spy on our people, and they can't spy on their people, but we can spy on each others people and trade the info?
The spacelike surfaces of time foliations can have a cusp at the surface of discontinuity. - P. Hajicek
(Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Tuesday September 22 2015, @03:07AM
Ignoring, for the moment, the internal inconsistency in your statement, every country reserves for itself the right to spy on foreigners in this country as well as anywhere else in the world. It is the mandate of the CIA to do so.
The US is almost alone with a law on the books keeping the CIA and NSA from spying on US Citizens on US Soil. (A law often ignored as it turns out). Many EU countries had no such prohibition, until one was forced upon them by the EU, a fact that is similarly ignored for the most part by EU members.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Tuesday September 22 2015, @10:51AM
The headline is supposed to say "US", not "Us" or "us".
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 22 2015, @02:01AM
Seriously. Good luck suing governments.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday September 22 2015, @03:11AM
I recall something to the effect that... you had to ask the government for permission to sue them.
(Score: 4, Funny) by shortscreen on Tuesday September 22 2015, @04:52AM
Maybe it's a thinly-disguised bailout for lawyers.
(Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Tuesday September 22 2015, @08:42AM
Congress Wants to Allow Europeans to Sue Us Over Spying. What's Next?
Did you mean "US"? Or does Congress want to allow Europeans to sue SoylentNews? Or just "people anywhere in the world," since that's who your readership is...
The original article says "US".
systemd is Roko's Basilisk
(Score: 2) by mtrycz on Tuesday September 22 2015, @10:21AM
Yeah, the title is very US-centric.
In capitalist America, ads view YOU!