Europäische Firmen helfen Folterregimen, Kritiker und Dissidenten auszuspähen. Die Deutschen sind in dieser Branche einer der Marktführer.
On 2 November, Marietje Schaake appeared on the German tv channel ARD. She was interviewed about the export of European technology to authoritarian regimes that enable them to spy on their citizens and infringe on their human rights. Marietje Schaake calls for a European agency that decides on whether to allow such exports from European companies.
Schaake: “European software and technologies are currently used all over the world to suppress people. On top of that, these technologies can be used against European citizens and digital infrastructure. The European Parliament has repeatedly called on the Commission and member states to do something about the legislative vacuum.”
Germany
In May, the German government took action, when it decided to more strictly control the export of dangerous spying technologies to some countries with a bad reputation on human rights.
Germany started to control the export of products on the basis of a list of countries, but Schaake wants a broader strategy in which the entire European Union aims to control the export of these technologies to all countries coherently and using clear criteria on human rights. Schaake: “Not only those countries with the worst track record on human rights need to be included. To be credible, we need a European system with clear criteria that must be adhered to for all destination countries. To do that, we also need clear definitions of which technologies we want to control. It is crucial to avoid controlling harmless technologies and creating unnecessary barriers.”
Written questions
On 29 October, Marietje Schaake submitted written questions to the European Commission about the export of Netclean technology to Turkey and of Finspy technology to Bahrain. Earlier, she raised questions about the use of European spying technology by the Ethiopian government and on the impact of EU exported surveillance- and lawful intercept technologies on the EU’s security and strategic interests.
On Schaake’s initiative, the European Parliament in 2012 adopted the first ‘Digital freedom strategy in the EU’s foreign policy‘. Schaake: “It is essential that we keep realizing what it is that we seek to protect: people’s digital freedoms in relation to technology and open societies as a whole. We cannot ignore vulnerabilities but have to address them together with businesses in an open and transparent manner.”
Please view the item - in German - in the ARD Mediathek.
Media (ARD): 'Mit europäischer Technik ans Messer geliefert'
02 Nov 2014
Europäische Firmen helfen Folterregimen, Kritiker und Dissidenten auszuspähen. Die Deutschen sind in dieser Branche einer der Marktführer.
On 2 November, Marietje Schaake appeared on the German tv channel ARD. She was interviewed about the export of European technology to authoritarian regimes that enable them to spy on their citizens and infringe on their human rights. Marietje Schaake calls for a European agency that decides on whether to allow such exports from European companies.
Schaake: “European software and technologies are currently used all over the world to suppress people. On top of that, these technologies can be used against European citizens and digital infrastructure. The European Parliament has repeatedly called on the Commission and member states to do something about the legislative vacuum.”
Germany
In May, the German government took action, when it decided to more strictly control the export of dangerous spying technologies to some countries with a bad reputation on human rights.
Germany started to control the export of products on the basis of a list of countries, but Schaake wants a broader strategy in which the entire European Union aims to control the export of these technologies to all countries coherently and using clear criteria on human rights. Schaake: “Not only those countries with the worst track record on human rights need to be included. To be credible, we need a European system with clear criteria that must be adhered to for all destination countries. To do that, we also need clear definitions of which technologies we want to control. It is crucial to avoid controlling harmless technologies and creating unnecessary barriers.”
Written questions
On 29 October, Marietje Schaake submitted written questions to the European Commission about the export of Netclean technology to Turkey and of Finspy technology to Bahrain. Earlier, she raised questions about the use of European spying technology by the Ethiopian government and on the impact of EU exported surveillance- and lawful intercept technologies on the EU’s security and strategic interests.
On Schaake’s initiative, the European Parliament in 2012 adopted the first ‘Digital freedom strategy in the EU’s foreign policy‘. Schaake: “It is essential that we keep realizing what it is that we seek to protect: people’s digital freedoms in relation to technology and open societies as a whole. We cannot ignore vulnerabilities but have to address them together with businesses in an open and transparent manner.”
Please view the item - in German - in the ARD Mediathek.
