Pirates say NO to increased state surveillance

Piratpartiet in Sweden are organising a demonstration this Wednesday against the EU's "Stockholm package"- a set of measures that, while talking of improving protection of citizens privacy and rights includes a number of measures that strengthen the rise of the surveillance state.

These include:
* Increased co-operation between the EU and the US "in the field of freedom, security and justice".
* National anti-terrorist centres in all EU states that report in to Brussels
* All EU states wil share their espionage information with all their EU states
* More and more effective, "data-mining".
* Real time access to citizens data on e.g travel, banking, mobile position, internet use as well as fingerprint and picture.
* More effective surveillance through pro-active collection of individual citizens electronic footprints.
* EU-standardisation of surveillance
* Harmonisaton of EU rules to avoid (legal) obstructions to surveillance and tapping.
* Analysis at EU level of material from member states sureveillance and mass surveillance.
* An extended EU-bureaucracy for surveillance, tapping and analysis called SitCen.

Sweden have the EU presidency right now - which puts them in the driving seat to push forward this programme - but public opinion throughout Europe will have a bearing on what mandate exists to push through measures.

Piratpartiet is supported in its opposition by a number of other politic organisations including the Green Party, the Young Greens, the Liberal Network for Integrity and 'Social Democrats against Big Brother'.

These measures were discussed in the UK press a year ago but now will move forward towards implementation. Make your voice heard - talk about it, write about it, blog about it - write to your local paper, and write to your MP and MEP....

Facebook event

Links:
The Telegraph:
The Guardian:
EU information: