JZ and I have an op-ed in CNET on the need for companies to work together on a code of conduct related to Internet censorship and surveillance, as Google, Microsoft, Vodafone, TeliaSonera, and Yahoo! are doing.
-
Follow
Following
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
John Palfrey 
Great article! I couldn’t agree with you and JZ more.
Perhaps the answer is obvious, but I wonder this: If, from a computer in Boston, I use a service that is run by a US firm but that stores data on servers in various parts of the world, could a foreign regime pressure that firm to divulge any personal data I have stored there? Could they capture it as it is transmitted across national borders? While many data centers are still US-based this more of a hypothetical question, but it may be a valid one for the future as firms, NGOs, etc begin to shape guidelines.
TeliaSonera is one of the most experienced spying company in the world. Couple of years ago TeliaSonera’s outlet in Lithuania was caught by undeniable facts that they were spying their VoIP competitors. The sophisticated system named ACB/ITSS along with a phone call bombarding service from Cibertec (Costa Rica) allowed TeliaSonera techno gang to collect all DTMFS dialed by their customers. And what? Corrupted cooperation with local officials allowed them to close the scandal silantly. When TeliaSonera talks about ethics it sounds like wolf talking to sheep about friendship.
You list countries from the south of Asia in your article. Observe the current news in Germany – and count us in!
Our government is about to pass a law for the “Regierungstrojaner” (that’s a new German word meaning a virus or Trojan program spread out by the government to spy the people’s PCs).
A very interesting article indeed. However, I am not so sure that having an industry standard with regards to privacy would cause any change. Something that previous Internet cases have taught the world is that local laws apply, no matter the home country of a business. If it is law in a country for ISPs to hand over all customer information, the an ISP conducting business in that country must comply. There is a disconnect though I think in these sorts of cases. The confussion of applying and comparing one’s own ethical and legal systems to another.