N.S.A. Leaks Stir Plans in Russia to Control Net

[ProSense]

N.S.A. Leaks Stir Plans in Russia to Control Net

By ANDREW E. KRAMER

MOSCOW — Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, fled the United States saying he didn’t want to live in a surveillance state...now the Russians are using his very presence here — on Friday Mr. Snowden said he intended to remain in Russia for some time while seeking asylum elsewhere — to push for tighter controls over the Internet.

<...>

“We need to quickly put these huge transnational companies like Google, Microsoft and Facebook under national controls,” Ruslan Gattarov, a member of the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament, or Federation Council, said in an interview. “This is the lesson Snowden taught us.”

<...>

If anything, requests by law enforcement agencies in Russia, with its long history of people bugging, informing and spying on one another, poses an even more stark quandary for companies like Google and Facebook...companies operating in Russia routinely face demands from law enforcement to reveal user data, and have less recourse than in the United States to resist in the courts.

The Russian reaction may surprise Mr. Snowden most of all. In an interview with The Guardian, Mr. Snowden said he unveiled details of N.S.A. surveillance because “I don’t want to live in a world where there is no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity.”

- more -

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/15/business/global/nsa-leaks-stir-plans-in-russia-to-control-net.html

Call it: unintended consequences.

How the Snowden Affair Became a Freak Show
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023235597

Greenwald tries to do damage control
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023244823

A big "FU" to the United States by other countries?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023185307

[randome]

1. Amateurs playing spy games. Greenwald is just as naive as Snowden.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[ProSense]

2. To say the least. n/t

[leftstreet]

3. No gvt could censor Google as harshly as Google censors itself

You can't find SHIT on Google these days

It's designed to 1)get money from advertisers, and 2) sell users crap, and 3)limit search results to achieve 1 & 2

[flamingdem]

4. Ouch. There goes that Paul Revere bringing freedom

with his thumbdrive and all that.

[ProSense]

23. I don't think

some people like the reality exposed in the OP article. Wonder why?

[flamingdem]

24. Yes, it's gone from ironic to perverse for Mr. Snowden

Then if he makes it to Venezuela he'll be in a security system modeled after the Cuban state security, in turn partially modeled after the Russian/Soviet system. LOL?!

Just saw this Guardian commentary, awkward


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/13/edward-snowden-anna-politkovskaya


Can Edward Snowden cite human rights and still applaud Putin?


What is one to make of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's "reluctant" appeal for temporary asylum in Russia, an appeal that Russia yesterday insisted had still not been received?

It's easy to admire Snowden for what he has revealed about the vast extent of US and UK spying. It is easy, too, to sympathise with the predicament he has found himself in after making his revelations and wishing, understandably, to avoid decades in prison. Indeed, contrary to what some have argued, there is no "rule" that states whistleblowers should voluntarily surrender to the prospect of a long jail sentence.

The consequence is that Snowden has found himself stripped of his passport by the US government that seeks him and has been subjected to a harshly applied international flight ban as Washington has sought to block his travel to a friendly South American country. In these circumstances, his desire for temporary refuge in Moscow – where he is trapped in any case – makes perfect sense.

Yet there is a "but". You can hold all of these ideas as true, yet still feel deeply uncomfortable about the manner of Snowden's request for asylum, not least his praise for Russia.

Perhaps it was no more than being naive, but to list Putin's Russia, as Snowden did, among his little list of countries for "being the first to stand against human rights violations" suggests a dangerous moral relativism.

[Major Hogwash]

5. Snowden is such a pinhead.

Did he really think he could go to Russia to start his campaign for "Freedom Rallies" against Google and other companies to control the internet??
What a fucking loon!!

[railsback]

7. ROFL!

Thanks a lot, Edward.

[Scurrilous]

8. Hilarious!

Can Edward Snowden cite human rights and still applaud Putin?

The whistleblower had few options, but let's not forget Russia's illiberal record when dealing with opponents

<snip>

"What is one to make of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden's "reluctant" appeal for temporary asylum in Russia, an appeal that Russia yesterday insisted had still not been received?

It's easy to admire Snowden for what he has revealed about the vast extent of US and UK spying. It is easy, too, to sympathise with the predicament he has found himself in after making his revelations and wishing, understandably, to avoid decades in prison. Indeed, contrary to what some have argued, there is no "rule" that states whistleblowers should voluntarily surrender to the prospect of a long jail sentence.

The consequence is that Snowden has found himself stripped of his passport by the US government that seeks him and has been subjected to a harshly applied international flight ban as Washington has sought to block his travel to a friendly South American country. In these circumstances, his desire for temporary refuge in Moscow – where he is trapped in any case – makes perfect sense.

Yet there is a "but". You can hold all of these ideas as true, yet still feel deeply uncomfortable about the manner of Snowden's request for asylum, not least his praise for Russia.

Perhaps it was no more than being naive, but to list Putin's Russia, as Snowden did, among his little list of countries for "being the first to stand against human rights violations" suggests a dangerous moral relativism."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/13/edward-snowden-anna-politkovskaya

[ProSense]

20. Thanks for the link. n/t

[Scurrilous]

25. You're welcome.

[BenzoDia]

27. Oh wow, didn't expect to read something like this from The Guardian.

[allin99]

9. So if the U.S. has a way to read emails of russian citizens it's bad that...

snowden would revealed such a thing b/c then russian politicians would use that information as fodder for their own agenda, therefore it should not be addressed as to whether the u.s. is reading emails of russian citizens. funny.

[LumosMaxima]

10. Your characterization of the article is deliberately misleading.

By "control of the Internet," the writer is not referring to controls on users of the Internet, but on the data stored on individuals by companies like Google.

From the article:

"Two members of Russia’s Parliament have cited Mr. Snowden’s leaks about N.S.A. spying as arguments to compel global Internet companies like Google and Microsoft to comply more closely with Russian rules on personal data storage."

and

"The committee also recommended that Russia require foreign companies to comply with the country’s law on personal data, which can require using encryption programs that are licensed by the Federal Security Service, the successor agency to the K.G.B."

and

"The Russian Senate is also proposing the creation of a United Nations agency to monitor collection and use of personal data, akin to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which oversees nuclear materials, to keep tabs on companies like Facebook and Google that harvest personal data."

Also, Edward Snowden has never said that he admired Russian privacy practices & he has never said that they are better than the US in that regard. He went there to avoid arrest by US authorities. That is hardly an endorsement of Russian law enforcement. Russia's internal surveillance practices are completely irrelevant and have nothing to do with Snowden's claims or credibility.

[woo me with science]

11. Propaganda lies.

That is the nature of propaganda.

Ask anyone from a country where citizens are relentlessly lied to like this.

America is a very disturbing place right now.

[ProSense]

12. Your comment is "deliberately" nonsense. n/t

[LumosMaxima]

13. No, it's not.

You were trying to give a false impression of Russia's intentions. I called you out on it. That is not nonsense -- it's the truth.

[ProSense]

14. Oh, yes it is.

You can interpret the article sideways, upside down, left, right, standing on one foot, and the OP will still be the title and an actual snip.

"You were trying to give a false impression of Russia's intentions. "

You can't be serious.

[LumosMaxima]

16. Whatever.

You knew perfectly well that "control of the Internet" would be taken to mean that Russia was attempting to control *use* of the Internet by its citizens, because that is how that vague expression is typically used. You didn't quote any part of the article that would show that the real issue was data collection. I'm done talking to you . . . it's obvious what you tried to do and you can neither deny nor justify it.

[ProSense]

18. "Whatever"?

"You knew perfectly well that "control of the Internet" would be taken to mean that Russia was attempting to control *use* of the Internet by its citizens, because that is how that vague expression is typically used. You didn't quote any part of the article that would show that the real issue was data collection. I'm done talking to you . . . it's obvious what you tried to do and you can neither deny nor justify it."

Did you read the fucking article? How about the title: "N.S.A. Leaks Stir Plans in Russia to Control Net"

How about this:

“We need to quickly put these huge transnational companies like Google, Microsoft and Facebook under national controls,” Ruslan Gattarov, a member of the upper chamber of the Russian Parliament, or Federation Council, said in an interview. “This is the lesson Snowden taught us.”

...and this:

These rules, rights groups say, might help safeguard personal data but also would open a back door for Russian law enforcement into services like Gmail.

I made no comment except "unintended consequences" in the OP.

Your claim about misrepresentation is bullshit.

[ProSense]

15. As for Snowden praising Russia

Yet even in the face of this historically disproportionate aggression, countries around the world have offered support and asylum. These nations, including Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Ecuador have my gratitude and respect for being the first to stand against human rights violations carried out by the powerful rather than the powerless. By refusing to compromise their principles in the face of intimidation, they have earned the respect of the world. It is my intention to travel to each of these countries to extend my personal thanks to their people and leaders.

http://wikileaks.org/Statement-by-Edward-Snowden-to.html

How the Snowden Affair Became a Freak Show
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023235597

[LumosMaxima]

17. He was speaking of his own situation in particular, not their record in general. nt

[ProSense]

19. LOL! n/t

[Waiting For Everyman]

21. Your point is well taken, LM. nt

[ProSense]

22. The point is bullshit. n/t

[BenzoDia]

26. Thanks, Snowden, Greenwald, et al!

[mick063]

28. So after the rest of the world blocks out the NSA

The only people left to collect data on will be us.

And that still won't stop them. They have a 6 billion dollar server in Utah and it's existence must be justified.