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• Round-up of news stories from across the EU 11.11.16

Round-up of news stories from across the EU 11.11.16

01 November 2016

China Adopts Cybersecurity Law Despite Foreign Opposition (Bloomberg, link):

"China has green-lit a sweeping and controversial law that may grant Beijing unprecedented access to foreign companies’ technology and hamstring their operations in the world’s second-largest economy.

The Cyber Security Law was passed by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top legislature, and will take effect in June, government officials said Monday. Among other things, it requires internet operators to cooperate with investigations involving crime and national security, and imposes mandatory testing and certification of computer equipment. Companies must also give government investigators full access to their data if wrong-doing is suspected.

China’s grown increasingly aggressive about safeguarding its IT systems in the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations about U.S. spying, and is intent on policing cyberspace as public discourse shifts to online forums such as Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s WeChat. The fear among foreign companies is that requirements to store data locally and employ only technology deemed “secure” means local firms gain yet another edge over foreign rivals from Microsoft Corp. to Cisco System Inc."

DENMARK: Prosecutor drops probe into Danish Nazi camp guard (The Local, link):

"A 91-year-old Danish man who allegedly worked as a guard in a Belarus concentration camp during World War II will not face any charges, a Danish prosecutor said on Friday.

A top Nazi hunter from the US-based Simon Wiesenthal Centre, Efraim Zuroff, travelled to Denmark in July last year to file a police complaint against Helmuth Leif Rasmussen, over war crimes alleged to have taken place between 1942 and 1943.

"Information has not emerged during the investigation to support the complaint we received from the Simon Wiesenthal Centre," chief prosecutor Steen Bechmann Jacobsen told AFP."

Estonia's government collapses as PM loses confidence vote (The Guardian, link):

"Estonia’s government has collapsed after the prime minister, Taavi Rõivas, lost a confidence vote in parliament following months of Cabinet squabbling, mainly over economic policies.

Lawmakers in the 101-seat parliament on Wednesday ousted Rõivas in a 63-28 vote, with 10 members abstaining or absent.

Estonian president, Kersti Kaljulaid, has summoned the heads of the six parliamentary parties on forming a new government.

The main opposition Centre party, which is tipped to lead the new government, has vowed to keep Estonia solidly rooted in the eurozone and Nato as the Baltic state of 1.3 million people gears up to assume the EU’s rotating presidency in the second half of 2017."

EU policy to fight organised crime to be launched during Malta EU presidency (Times of Malta, link):

"A new EU policy to fight organised crime till 2020 is to be launched during Malta’s EU presidency.

Malta will work on the launch of the new EU Policy Cycle on the fight against organised crime, covering the period 2017-2020, following an assessment of the current organised-crime situation carried out by Europol, Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said.

He was addressing a press conference with Europol Director Rob Wainwright at the Police Headquarters in Floriana, following a meeting between the two sides where views were exchanged on dossiers related to security, as part of the final preparations for Malta's upcoming Presidency of the Council of the EU."

Interpol Names Chinese Police Official as Its New President (The New York Times, link):

"HONG KONG — Interpol has chosen a top Chinese security official as its new president, raising alarms from human rights groups concerned that the appointment will lead to abuse of the global police organization’s powers to issue international arrest warrants.

The official, Meng Hongwei, a vice minister of public security, was elected president by the group’s general assembly, Interpol announced on Thursday. His appointment is effective immediately as he replaces Mireille Ballestrazzi of France, the organization said in a statement.

While the job of Interpol’s president is limited in scope, the announcement was met with disdain by human rights groups. Authoritarian governments like Russia and China have been known to abuse Interpol’s “red notices,” tantamount to international arrest warrants, to hunt down political enemies. China’s law enforcement agencies have shown little regard for international borders in recent years, spiriting away political opponents from places like Thailand and Myanmar."

MALTA-EU: Europol director hails ‘impressive growth’ in cooperation with Malta Police Force (Malta Today, link):

"Europol director Rob Wainwright has said he is satisfied with the level of bilateral engagement taking place between the EU’s law enforcement agency and the Malta Police Force.

Speaking at a press conference following talks with home affairs minister Carmelo Abela, Wainwright said that he was pleased that there has been an "impressive growth" in the amount of information exchanged between the two agencies on a daily basis."

MONTENEGRO: Montenegro: Special Prosecutor Says Russian Nationalists Behind Failed Coup (OCCRP, link):

"Montenegro's chief special prosecutor Sunday accused Russian nationalists of plotting to overthrow Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic on Oct. 16, Election Day.

Chief Special Prosecutor Milivoje Katnic said Sunday that the aim of the plot was to assassinate Djukanovic, break into Parliament, and declare victory for a political “structure”, which Katnic did not name, over Djukanovic’s ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), which won the largest number of mandates."

Serbia: OCCRP Partner Complains of Intimidation (OCCRP, link):

"OCCRP partner the Serbian Center for Investigative Journalism (CINS) raised the alarm Wednesday on apparent attempts to intimidate its journalists.

For at least five days, unknown people have stood outside the CINS office in Belgrade, photographing reporters as they come and go, CINS said in a statement. Employees of the organization have also been photographed in other public places."

Should You Spy on Your Kids? (New York Times, link):

"Most Americans don’t like the idea of their government spying on their internet activities, and a lot of them have misgivings about companies tracking their online habits for commercial purposes. But when they are presented with the tools and opportunity to play Big Brother with others in their family, it’s tough for some to resist.

I’m not just talking about family members who register on the creepy-stalker side of the spectrum, although there are certainly jealous spouses and overbearing parents out there who surveil their partners and children with an unhealthy vigilance. Digital monitoring — from tracking those whom loved ones communicate with to snooping on their social media accounts to checking their locations — is becoming common even among people who view themselves as mindful of the boundaries with their children and partners.

Is there such a thing as responsible spying on loved ones?

The answer depends on whom you ask. Strong believers in privacy reject the premise of the question outright, while others believe it is possible if consent, trust and respect are involved."

USA: Yahoo Says Investigating Claim of New Hack of User Data (Bloomberg, link):

"Yahoo! Inc. is investigating a new claim that user account data was obtained by a hacker, the latest security challenge for the company as it prepares for the planned acquisition of its core web services by Verizon Communications Inc.

Law enforcement authorities on Monday began sharing certain information they indicated was provided by a hacker who claimed it was Yahoo user account data, the company said Wednesday in a regulatory filing. Yahoo said it’s analyzing the matter with the help of forensic experts."