wiretapping scandal NSA.
This week, US government officials had the audacity to criticize the European Union for wanting to create its own communications system aimed at preventing the interception of emails and phone calls by any National Security Agency (see NSA).
In reality, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) calls the measures «draconian» and argues that it will be a massive economic blow to American technology companies if EU leaders approve these measures.
“Recent proposals from the countries within the European Union to create an electronic network solely for Europe (which was called a “Schengen cloud” by lawyers) or to create only national electronic networks could potentially lead to an effective exclusion or discrimination against foreign services that provide network services”, says the USTR in its annual report.
It is true that the blow would be very strong for American companies if the idea were to be implemented, but it comes directly from the actions of the NSA and the cover-up of the American government.
If the American government did not completely disregard the privacy of billions of people around the world, no country would have thought of separating its network from the global Internet network.
Naturally, many will point the finger at Edward Snowden, who had the courage to share what he thought was a blatant violation of privacy and human rights. Of course, those who point at Snowden are the ones who believe they have done nothing wrong and that NSA surveillance is necessary to protect their country. Unfortunately, there are far too many who swallow the American propaganda whole.
Continuing, the USTR also noted that if the European Union proceeds with such a drastic move, it would constitute a violation of trade laws (related to Internet services) that it has signed with the United States.
The Safe Harbor agreement today allows companies from the United States to access European data. The European Union, however, continues to have stricter rules for the protection of privacy.
Thus, ultimately, it would be wise if the European Union took the side of its citizens, instead of protecting the economic interests of the USA and domestic companies.
Taking into account the strategy that has been adopted so far by the European Union, this particular move appears to be the likely direction.
The USTR is not surprising, given that it recently criticized the Canadian federal government for its decision to have a unified email system. The Canadians' decision excluded U.S. companies. The fact that a government could choose to protect its communications from potential eavesdropping originating in the United States seems absurd to some people.
Finally, it is the right of each state to decide what is safest for its citizens. After the NSA scandal, it was natural for there to be upheavals, as taking additional measures is also very natural.
Perhaps the USA should have thought about it before allowing the NSA to spy on the entire globe.
