[sacw] Annoucement: ECHELON Watch.org

[Harsh Kapoor]

ACLU Launches Web Site On Global Surveillance System
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Jennifer Helburn
Tuesday, November 16, 1999
(202) 675-2312

WASHINGTON-The American Civil Liberties Union today launched a web
site designed to shed light on a global electronic surveillance system
known by the code name "Echelon" that reportedly allows the United States
and other governments to eavesdrop on private citizens.

"Echelon is perhaps the most powerful intelligence gathering network
in the world," said Barry Steinhardt, Associate Director of the ACLU. "But
it is still very much a black box, which apparently operates without the
oversight of Congress or the courts."

The website - www.echelonwatch.org <http://www.echelonwatch.org/> -
encourages public discussion of the potential threat that Echelon poses to
civil liberties, and allows visitors to fax free letters to Congress, urging
their support for a congressional inquiry into the Echelon project. It also
provides a collection of research documents on Echelon.

After many years of reports by investigative journalists, the
existence of Echelon became an international issue when the European
Parliament received two reports detailing its operations and after the
Australian government confirmed its participation in the operation.
According to those reports, Echelon is led by the U.S. National Security
Agency in conjunction with its counterpart agencies in England, Canada,
Australia and New Zealand.

Echelon reportedly attempts to capture all satellite, microwave,
cellular and fiber-optic communications worldwide, including communications
to and from North America. Computers then use sophisticated filtering
technology to sort through conversations, faxes and emails searching for
keywords or other flags. Communications that include the flags are then
forwarded to the intelligence agency that requested them.

The report to the European Parliament charged that Echelon had been used in
the United Kingdom to spy
on charities such as Amnesty International and Christian Aid.

"Echelon can no longer be dismissed as an X-Files fantasy," Steinhardt
said. "The reports to the European Parliament make it quite clear that
Echelon exists and that its operation raises profound civil liberties
issues."

The NSA has refused to share with Congress and the public the legal
guidelines for the project. This refusal prompted passage of a bill,
now in the final stages before becoming law, requiring the intelligence
agencies to prepare a report on the legal standards they use for monitoring
communications. Within the next few months, the U.S. House Government Reform
and Oversight Committee will hold hearings on Echelon.

"It appears that the U.S. government is once again spying on
Americans' private communications," said Gregory T. Nojeim, a legislative
counsel in the ACLU's Washington National Office. "Congress must determine
if Echelon is as sweeping and intrusive as has been reported, and most
importantly, it must ensure that Americans' conversations are not
intercepted without a court order."

The ACLU created and administers the site in conjunction with the
Washington, DC based Electronic Privacy Information Center and the
Omega Foundation of Great Britain, which prepared the first report to the
European Parliament.
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