Could We Ever Doubt, What The Smokescreen Was All About?

Posted Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012, at 3:58 PM ET

"The Netherlands Wants the Power To "Render Inaccessible" Data on Foreign Servers

"Evading online surveillance is becoming easier as more tools offering anonymous encrypted storage and communication become available. But the trend is starting to worry authorities.

Last week, the government in the Netherlands proposed a new law that would help it circumvent encryption by hacking into computers and infiltrating servers. In a lengthy letter, the country’s security and justice minister, Ivo Opstelten, said police were having difficult tracking down pedophiles posting images of child abuse online because they were allegedly using the anonymizing tool Tor. Tor allows users to mask their IP address by routing connections through a network of virtual tunnels.

Many law enforcement agencies today, including the FBI, have used spyware tools to monitor suspects. But what Opstelten is proposing is different. He doesn’t just want federal police in the Netherlands to have the power to install spyware to secretly intercept data before they are encrypted. He wants the county’s police to have the power to infiltrate servers and destroy data on computers even if they are potentially located in foreign jurisdictions. While there are already mutual legal assistance protocols in place across most Western democracies for such purposes, the rules differ from country to country. And in some cases, because suspects are using tools like Tor, it’s not actually possible to determine their location. So if Dutch police find a hidden Tor server containing “very harmful pornographic material,” for instance, Opstelten wants the authority to take control of the server and “render inaccessible” the data stored on it."

http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/10/25/netherlands_government_wants_power_to_render_inaccessible_data_on_foreign.html

November 1, 2012

Russian Authorities Empowered To Shut Down Internet Sites

"New legislation has taken effect in Russia giving the government powers to shut down websites without a fair trial. The amendment to the Act for Information is, say the authorities, to protect children from the more nefarious aspects of the Internet, such as websites which encourage suicide, drug abuse, child porn, and pedophilia."
http://www.fastcompany.com/3002611/russian-authorities-empowered-shut-down-internet-sites

Censorship row over Russian internet blacklist

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/12/censorship-row-russian-internet-blacklist

New UAE cyberlaw clamps down on political dissent, pornography, gambling

http://www.computerworlduk.com/news/security/3410966/new-uae-cyberlaw-clamps-down-on-political-dissent-pornography-gambling/?olo=rss

Dutch computer plan slammed

http://www.3news.co.nz/Dutch-computer-plan-slammed/tabid/412/articleID/279213/Default.aspx

Washington state admits “sex trafficking” law is unconstitutional

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/12/washington-state-admits-sex-trafficking-law-is-unconstitutional/

Wash. law online sex trafficking law to be struck

http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Wash-law-online-sex-trafficking-law-to-be-struck-4100111.php

ECtHR rules Turkish Internet law contrary to human rights convention

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-302795-ecthr-rules-turkish-internet-law-contrary-to-human-rights-convention.html