Two stories - a story of the EU's failure to pass laws that clearly violate our rights and freedoms and a story about a failure of the European people through the example of "Wassenaar". What are the EU's failures and how can we unfail them? How do we fail as European civil society?

1. The EU and its people
a failure in democracy
@whvholst
@kirst3nf

2. Story 1
European mass
surveillance
...and the repeated
resurrection of a Bad Idea™

3. 2006
telecommunications
data retention

4. who are you
calling and
who is calling
you?

5. where you are going

6. at what time you are sending
emails & texts and to whom

9. disproportionate
suspicionless
indiscriminate
disproportionate
suspicionless
indiscriminate

12. Passenger Name Records
aka air passenger data retention

14. Other data collected
●
Hotel reservations (How many beds did you and your
travelling companion ask for in your hotel room?)
●
Meal preferences (Kosher? Halal?)
●
Special requests (medical conditions? physical
disabilities?)
●
Reservations and special service requests for tours,
cruises, ground transport, and other travel service
●
Discount codes (What conference are you attending?)

15. disproportionate
suspicionless
indiscriminate

20. Story 2

21. Wassenaar, a case of
civil society failure
●
Problem
●
Solution
●
Consequences
– Intended
– Unintended

22. Problem
●
Arab Spring of 2010-2012
●
Surveillance tech unearthed
●
Supplied by Western firms
– Bluecoat
– Gamma International
– Hacking Team
– Also: Nokia and Siemens

23. Solution (1/3)
●
Clear need for regulatory action
●
Both civil society and the regular military
were deeply uncomfortable with it
●
So, why not regulate surveillance
technology as a dual purpose good?

24. Solution (2/3)
„Dual Use Goods“ export controls are
internationally coordinated through
so-called Wassenaar Arrangement
(http://www.wassenaar.org)

25. Solution (3/3)
●
In 2013 surveillance technology and
intrusion software were classified as dual
use goods and therefore require export
licenses
●
Transposed into the EU acquis by a
delegated act of the European
Commission in 2014

26. Consequences: intended
● https://www.caat.org.uk
/resources/export-licen
ces/licence?n=0&item=te
lecommunications+interc
eption+equipment
●
In 2015 UK has approved
exports of surveillance
tech to:
– Paraguay
– Singapore
– Vietnam
– Thailand
– UAE
– Israel
– Pakistan
– Ethiopia
– Egypt
– Bangladesh
– Saudi Arabia
– Oman
– Brunei
– Iraq
– Turkmenistan
– Qatar
– Indonesia
– Hong Kong
– Lebanon

27. Consequences: unintended
Intrusion software is defined so broadly
that about any security researcher who
collaborates internationally is committing
an economic crime by violating export
regulations.

28. So we have a new problem

29. UNFAIL
●
Some ideas:
– GET INFORMED
– DEMAND TO BE INFORMED
●
Ask your media
●
Ask your governments for information (FOIA
requests)
– INFORM OTHERS
– CONTACT POLIITICIANS

30. "In many instances activism is only needed
because of those complacent people who fail
to exercise their citizenship"
- Gabriella Coleman